Aside from those Asian people descended from families that immigrated in late 19th century-WWII era, Asian immigrants in California have also generally never faced the same kinds of official discrimination that black and Latino people did and do. Though certainly they face the same kinds of day-to-day racism that Safari is describing (find me an Indian programmer who has not heard jokes about curry or being a terrorist…) Which is why I think saying “Oh but there are lots of Asians!” is at best a red herring.

There are many differences between and among the Asian, Latino, and black populations in CA and in the whole country, but I tend to believe — and the evidence suggests — that the relative success of one “minority” over others is due far more to extrinsic than intrinsic factors.

I also think Jamelle’s analysis of why Asians gravitate toward tech is bafflingly oversimplified and I disagree with his explanation. California is not all one place where everyone knows each other! I’m from an area in southern California, over 350 miles from Silicon Valley, that is about one-half Asian and the other half Hispanic (very few whites, blacks, and others), mostly lower to lower middle class immigrant families. I think asking the question of why so many Asians end up in tech, and being open to the answer instead of championing one of a million plausible explanations, can reveal intriguing insights into the question of tech and race.

And let’s be clear, those “open arms” would be holding tons of racist jokes, admonitions to not be “uptight,” pointed observations about THIS kind of [nonwhite person] vs. THAT kind of [nonwhite person], defenses that it’s okay because [comedian] says it, and one hand would be exaggeratedly aping a “hip-hop” high five while the other one was grasping for someone’s “exotic” hair unbidden. And if any black or latino workers decided life was too short for that bullshit, those arms would immediately be shrugging about how some people “just can’t hack it” and patting themselves on the back about what a big throbbing meritocracy they are.

In other words, what you say in the third paragraph of your last comment directly contradicts what the tech industry “defenders” are saying in the Twitter conversation.

(ETA: Let me be clear that I don’t 100% agree with Safari here, since you do actually mention structural barriers.)

I am trying to make the point that Latinos and African Americans (“specifically”, as you say), most likely do not face race-based barriers to hiring AT THE POINT OF HIRE. This is different from claiming that there are no structural barriers that prevent people from certain backgrounds (or women!) from starting down that long path which eventually differentiates us all into different careers.

Can the factors which siphon people off into different areas of the workforce be slow, subtle, and result in racially discriminatory outcomes? Absolutely. I am not claiming that they are not. Nor am I claiming that everyone has an equal opportunity to acquire the skills that are sought after in the industry.

Frankly, I think this “implication” that you are pointing to doesn’t originate from me, but rather from others who are interested in making a point that I myself am not making.

That’s certainly a good explanation of why, as I mentioned above, the tech CEOs people love to write about are mostly white and come from Ivy League backgrounds. I disagree with your characterization since most of the big-name tech CEOs were heavily involved in building the products they’re now famous for, but it’s a fair enough argument industry-wide, I guess. There are certainly a lot more brown faces at the middle levels (many of whom are on H1B visas and were middle class in their home countries, but I digress), but few of those belong to techies from groups that have faced major discrimination in this country’s recent history.

That’s all fine. But the implication of what you are saying, in the context of this discussion, is that minorities, specifically Latinos and African Americans, are not present in tech fields either because they can’t perform (which is what you say really matters) or they are simply not interested in creating cool technology. And this is precisely the attitude that many on this thread find cringe-worthy.