I was just in the t/lounge, where we were speaking about what our ideal Snapzu looked like. One user, I think it was spaceghoti, has a great quote: "My ideal Snapzu is an open market of ideas and open discussion. We're not always going to agree, but we're not going to punish each other for it."

I really resonate with that! So, in the spirit of building that community, I'm going to post an opinion that I know a few people will probably disagree with and I welcome any disagreement and comments from you all.

This was a racially motivated killing. I don't think there's any way we can deny that. The shooter had a jacket with the symbols for South African and Zimbabwe apartheid on them - not something you see often in the Southern USA. He went to a historically black church - one that has a history of experiencing racially motivated violence - sat with members of the church for nearly an hour hour and then stood up and murdered six women and three men, all black. He announced to the eyewitnesses left standing that he "had to do it, you rape our women and you're taking over our country. You have to go."

And I can understand why the black community in America is so angry - they have a right to be. There's a complicated backdrop unfolding behind this crime, in a thousand subtle details. A confederate flag at the South Carolina state capitol was lowered to half mast to honor the killings. Media outlets are already describing the killer as "quiet, soft-spoken" and "mentally ill," descriptions which many doubt a black or brown killer would have received. Dylann Storm was taken in alive, despite possessing a gun on his person at the time of his arrest - again, something that anecdotal evidence would have listed as much less likely if the suspect was black.

I'm a younger white woman, and I feel a little odd being the one to speak on a racial issue. But I can understand why black community leaders would be so angry, and I do think this will increase racial tension. And that...

Enh, I disagree. I do agree that the tech industry is being specifically scapegoated - I actually find the tech environment much more welcoming to women because people are willing to speak openly about inequality - but I don't think we're quite at the stage where we can say we have total equality of opportunity.

Unconscious biases are very real, and they do affect the career choices for both men and women at an early age. Google's Director of HR, Brian Welle, did a really excellent presentation on unconscious biases and how we can respond and adjust to them. If you have a lazy afternoon, I really recommend a good watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLjFTHTgEVU

I think it would be great to have more lady plumbers and even better to have more house husbands! There's been a rise of house husbands among the Millennial generation who are incredibly fulfilled by the fact that they get to bound with their children, and I think that's great! But those house husbands - and the working women that support them - are unfortunately still often being shamed for their choices. Hopefully, by having open and constructive conversations like this one about it, we can slowly change that.

I would like to see a little more conversation and research and a bit less hand-wringing on stage, I will give you that. :)

Okay, running tribe-rs, you can call me out on this - in fact, please do! - but I get extremely skeptical of articles like this one that trash distance running without going into detail about what the study was actually measuring. It reminds me of this article: http://www.thinkingnutrition.com.au/broccoli-is-bad-for-you/ I've got no doubt that there are certain health and injury risks associated with being an endurance athlete, but equating a hardcore adventure race to a couch potato seems like a bit much.

Having said that, I obviously have a strong bias toward running hard and long distances, so I'm hardly an expert. Does anybody have an anecdotal stories or other studies that support this?