2020 Elections

[writingprof]

Where are all the posts about the Iowa caucuses? Don't you all care that Trump and the Russians replaced the state's Democratic operatives with Manchurian candidates who, when activated, forget how to use an app or make a phone call?

But, seriously, let's never forget that these are the people who want to command the entire U.S. economy.

[Treehugger]

There has been some conspiracy theory talk that the Iowa Democrats wanted Biden to win, but Sanders was ahead in the polls so ..

I absolutely do not buy that there was a specific plot to damage Sanders or promote Biden. But I think it's plausible that there was some element of collective passive aggression involved. Sanders is leading in the polls? Why bother losing sleep over whether or not all the precinct captains are trained properly or the app actual works?

Let's face it, if the Democrat leadership absolutely cared that everything went off without a hitch, they probably would have taken more care to anticipate problems, conduct better training sessions, etc. But apparently, they didn't care that much.

[spork]

A bunch of old white people and an untested  smartphone app?  What could go wrong? 

[Ruralguy]

I am trying to wrap my brain around the relevance of "white" here. I get the ageist, but at least somewhat relevant "old."

[Treehugger]

I am trying to wrap my brain around the relevance of "white" here. I get the ageist, but at least somewhat relevant "old."

Right. It seems that humans just have this itch to bash entire groups of people. Such a good thing that we can still bash old white men and feel good about ourselves. Otherwise what else would we do?!?!

[Treehugger]

I am trying to wrap my brain around the relevance of "white" here. I get the ageist, but at least somewhat relevant "old."

You mean you didn't know that old, black dudes are tech wizzes?

[marshwiggle]

I am trying to wrap my brain around the relevance of "white" here. I get the ageist, but at least somewhat relevant "old."

You mean you didn't know that old, black dudes are tech wizzes?

Nah, it's the fact that tech which was developed by mostly white people was designed to exclude non-white people, so non-white people had to become extra tech-savvy to use it in order to overcome the oppression.

[mahagonny]

I am trying to wrap my brain around the relevance of "white" here. I get the ageist, but at least somewhat relevant "old."

You mean you didn't know that old, black dudes are tech wizzes?

Nah, it's the fact that tech which was developed by mostly white people was designed to exclude non-white people, so non-white people had to become extra tech-savvy to use it in order to overcome the oppression.

Has anyone designed the course about this yet? I've got some free time this weekend.

[writingprof]

A bunch of old white people and an untested  smartphone app?  What could go wrong?

The rubes who actually decide elections are constantly told that people "of color" are uniquely victimized by racism, but what such voters actually see is that casual racism against white people is ubiquitous and never punished.  So keep it up, Spork and friends.  There are many more Trumps where Trump came from.

[Treehugger]

I am trying to wrap my brain around the relevance of "white" here. I get the ageist, but at least somewhat relevant "old."

You mean you didn't know that old, black dudes are tech wizzes?

Nah, it's the fact that tech which was developed by mostly white people was designed to exclude non-white people, so non-white people had to become extra tech-savvy to use it in order to overcome the oppression.

Not sure of the tone here. Hope marshwiggle is joking.

[mahagonny]

A bunch of old white people and an untested  smartphone app?  What could go wrong?

Switch target groups and see what this sounds like. I know, because I was there. My roommate in college actually said this once. We were waiting in line somewhere and things were moving slowly. He said 'oh! I see what the problem is. They've got a bunch of coons working here.'

A bunch of old white people and an untested  smartphone app?  What could go wrong?

The rubes who actually decide elections are constantly told that people "of color" are uniquely victimized by racism, but what such voters actually see is that casual racism against white people is ubiquitous and never punished.  So keep it up, Spork and friends.  There are many more Trumps where Trump came from.

I wish they would stop. Then eventually the republicans would have to search their souls and neighborhoods for some values like civility and truth telling.

[writingprof]

The rubes who actually decide elections are constantly told that people "of color" are uniquely victimized by racism, but what such voters actually see is that casual racism against white people is ubiquitous and never punished.  So keep it up, Spork and friends.  There are many more Trumps where Trump came from.

I wish they would stop. Then eventually the republicans would have to search their souls and neighborhoods for some values like civility and truth telling.

My neighborhood has plenty of civility. So do most people's. This is only one of the reasons why the "revolution" will never come.

[Parasaurolophus]

I think you're right, Treehugger.

If the claims I'm seeing that the Buttigieg campaign was involved in financing the app are true, then... that's deeply troubling. In general, I mean.

Also: wtf is Buttigieg doing, declaring victory wheneven his own internal polling shows he was solidly second?

[spork]

I am trying to wrap my brain around the relevance of "white" here. I get the ageist, but at least somewhat relevant "old."

Right. It seems that humans just have this itch to bash entire groups of people. Such a good thing that we can still bash old white men and feel good about ourselves. Otherwise what else would we do?!?!

Ever see a 12-year old, of any racial or ethnic group, use a smartphone? Or how about someone from a non-European/non-North American country where landline telephone networks were never an intermediate technology?

Iowa is predominantly white. Demographically its population is old. People who participate in Democratic caucuses in Iowa are primarily white. And primarily from an older demographic. Building a process with a hard deadline around a technology that most users have little experience with, never were adequately trained on, and for which there is no redundancy or fail-over option is, as I said before, a recipe for disaster.

I'm white. And old. Get over yourselves.

[marshwiggle]

I am trying to wrap my brain around the relevance of "white" here. I get the ageist, but at least somewhat relevant "old."

You mean you didn't know that old, black dudes are tech wizzes?

Nah, it's the fact that tech which was developed by mostly white people was designed to exclude non-white people, so non-white people had to become extra tech-savvy to use it in order to overcome the oppression.

Not sure of the tone here. Hope marshwiggle is joking.

I hoped the "nah" would signal that. Seriously, though, the victim mentality that views everything as suspect is tiresome.

I'm left-handed, and I sometimes get frustrated with technology designed to be used right-handed. Do I think "RIGHT-HANDED ENGINEERS HATE LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE AND WANT TO DESTROY THEM!!!"?

No.

While some decisions may be intentional, e.g. "90% of the population  is right-handed, so that's who I'm designing for", but probably much of it is unintentional and simply automatically according to their own preferences with no intent to make it difficult for anyone else.

Identity politics is bad for society and a threat to democracy, since it divides people explicitly.