The rainbow elephant in the room
So how does having a rainbow stuffie actually promote diversity? I’m confused? Not linking to the KS because I will not support it, nor do they need any help. It’s met it’s goal, because of course buying a rainbow elephant stuffie does so much to promote diversity.
Oh wait, they want to raise awareness of it. That’s lovely. If you ever step outside, watch media with people in it, do more than consume content with people unlike yourself if you are white, cis, maybe straight; though there is some LGBTQIA content out there but not for POC. You are probably aware that diversity actually exists in our world.
The PHPDiversity Rainbow Elephpant
Help promote Diversity in the PHP Development Community with Enfys, the Rainbow Elephpant
So money isn’t going to diversity initiatives, or helping marginalized people in tech?
While it can’t go to a charitable cause, it can go towards funding something useful. If I’m wrong on this, feel free to chime in. But it’s just another pin in the board of diversity initiatives that mean absolutely nothing at the end of the day. It’s no more than a feel good tchotchke to keep on your desk at work to show you care.
These same initiatives to raise awareness could do so much more. They could establish funds to help people stay in tech and gaming. They could donate to organizations already doing the hard work out there. But no, they want to have safety pins, rainbow plushes, rubber bracelets and still put conventionally attractive white, cis, maybe LGBTQIA folks at the head of these initiatives.
Or better yet, that same white, cis, maybe LGBTQIA person starts one of these vacuous initiatives and is lauded, showered with praise and told how aware they are. How much good they are doing for the community! But let black folks do the same thing, or non-black POC, POC LGBTQIA folks try and do the same? We’re angry, we’re not doing it right, we’ll never make friends and keep allies if we don’t act right, if we don’t coddle those who would help us if we weren’t just so gosh darned ANGRY.
Well, I’m angry. I’m angry at all the work that goes unnoticed. The work that is done day in and day out by people only to be told there’s no funding, again. To be told that they love your work, but when you fund raise VC’s, others who claim to love what you do are nowhere to be found.
I guess some people love symbols over action. They want to have their ally plumage out and about for all to see and praise them rather than doing the actual work. After all, it’s easy to have an elephant in the room that’s small and brightly coloured, rather than putting word to deed.
(Note, this will be continued in a longer form piece either here or if I pitch it somewhere outside my usual online haunts. I just had to get this out.)
