Given all the talk on "don't talk about the negativity in tech!", and with React Conf around the corner, let's talk about my experience as a speaker at React Rally a few months back, as a queer person of color, at the heart of what would be now known as ReactGate.
I'd heard a lot of good things about React Rally from friends. "It's so open and inclusive!" they'd say.
So I was excited. I was talking about something very React-specific (localization of the React documentation) and I was happy for the opportunity to meet up with friends!
So I was excited. I was talking about something very React-specific (localization of the React documentation) and I was happy for the opportunity to meet up with friends!
I landed in the Salt Lake City airport and walked past the crowds of cheering Mormons welcoming back missionaries. There was supposed to be a shuttle to take us to the hotel. After waiting for a few minutes, it arrived.
I got in the back and others got in as well. And, I kid you not, it looked like this:
As far as I could tell, I was the *only* non-man, non-white person in that shuttle. A bunch of white tech guys talkin' about how much they love React and how excited they are for Suspense or blockchain or whatever.
Great start.
Great start.
Two of them recognized me from my talks and started talking to me. They were nice.
"Where do you work?" I ask.
"Oh, we work for a service that helps do scheduling for churches 🙂."
Oh... including those churches that think I'm an abomination for being queer?
"Where do you work?" I ask.
"Oh, we work for a service that helps do scheduling for churches 🙂."
Oh... including those churches that think I'm an abomination for being queer?
After a bit they started talking to each other again and I stared outside until we got to the hotel.
Rest of the day was fine: I went to the speaker dinner, finished up my talk.
Rest of the day was fine: I went to the speaker dinner, finished up my talk.
The first day was fine. I gave my talk, hung out with people, got a job from it (!).
The attendance was mostly cis, white, and male. There were more women represented among the speakers, but it was still mostly cis and white:
reactrally.com/speakers
But everyone was Nice(tm).
The attendance was mostly cis, white, and male. There were more women represented among the speakers, but it was still mostly cis and white:
reactrally.com/speakers
But everyone was Nice(tm).
And then ReactGate Happened:
Throughout the second day, there were whispers about what was going on in the online sphere. It was referenced, dismissed, and ridiculed by audience members, speakers, and MCs.
"Instead of focusing on the *drama* on Twitter, let's spread the word about our speakers!"
"There's so much negativity in the world today... let's be positive here today at this awesome conference!"
"Oh god, there's more Twitter drama. I just don't look at that stuff anymore."
"There's so much negativity in the world today... let's be positive here today at this awesome conference!"
"Oh god, there's more Twitter drama. I just don't look at that stuff anymore."
The "drama" was a queer woman of color highlighting the issue of white supremacy in the React community, questioning the behavior of a very prominent member of the community, and highlighting a possible white supremacist symbol being used *at* React Rally last year.
To be fair -- it was a *lot* of stuff to take in, mostly in the form of disjointed Twitter threads and subtweets. But the way those concerns were immediately brushed off as "drama", and the way the conf focused on "positivity", felt like everyone was just covering their ears.
It was clear that the "Niceness" is just an illusion. Pretending that very real problems in the community are just drama, a room of white men telling themselves that everything is great and inclusive and we should all just be nice to each other and to ignore the haters.
The absolute worst was the final talk, which claimed to be about "Human React" and empathy. The speaker used walk up music made by Ken and included a slide with Ken in it. Ken, the person who's behavior was currently under scrutiny.
And then he had the *nerve* to quote .@TatianaTMac, the person Ken's fans have been harassing and gaslighting, and claim she was "someone I respect".
He had the nerve to misconstrue her words to support his message while ignoring the real issues she was bringing up.
He had the nerve to misconstrue her words to support his message while ignoring the real issues she was bringing up.
I lost respect for a lot of people in the React community that day.
I spent the rest of the conference ignoring people, or sticking with people I knew beforehand. I even tried to learn Vue, lol.
I spent the rest of the conference ignoring people, or sticking with people I knew beforehand. I even tried to learn Vue, lol.
I was already on edge. I was a queer woman alone in Utah, a conservative, religious state. Many of the con organizers proudly declare their faith in their bio. The first words in the MC's bio at the time was "Jesus lover."
This isn't to say religious folks can't support LGBTQ+ folks... but I didn't see anything from the conf organizers to support it. No pronouns on badges, no gender neutral bathrooms. Coming from @bangbangcon and @jsconfeu it was a huge whiplash, and it made me feel alienated.
Would I be comfortable telling these people I had a girlfriend? Would I end up overhearing homophobic/transphobic jokes? And if I reported that behavior to the conference organizers, would my concerns be heard?
I didn't know.
I didn't know.
Like I said, being religious does not make you inherently homophobic/transphobic. But if you're a member of a faith that has historically hurt the LGBTQ+ community, and you loudly proclaim it, you have to do work to let us know that we can trust you.
Make your conference *actually* inclusive. Make trans and nonbinary people be more comfortable with pronoun tags and gender-neutral bathrooms. Make actual queer people part of your organizing team. Put out scholarships for marginalized folx.
It's not enough to just be "nice". I grew up with plenty of "nice" religious folks who told me straight up to my face that "marriage should be between a man and a woman" and "I think homosexuality is a sin."
Anyway, between this and the ReactGate stuff... I was pretty pissed off and ended up writing a Spicy Twitter Thread:
It was a thread made in the heat of the moment, I jumped to some conclusions I shouldn't have, and I could have phrased a lot of it better. But I still stand with what I said.
I got the usual trolls, people calling me an idiot, people saying "I'm a minority but *I* don't think this".
It was only a *fraction* of the abuse that Tatiana and others have received. But I was already scared and it made me worry about speaking out more.
It was only a *fraction* of the abuse that Tatiana and others have received. But I was already scared and it made me worry about speaking out more.
People did come to me in DMs to thank me for saying what I said, so... that was nice.
Anyway, the conference ended and I went back home. Articles were written, accounts were deactivated, and everyone moved on.
Anyway, the conference ended and I went back home. Articles were written, accounts were deactivated, and everyone moved on.
I meant to write this retrospective soon after the conf, but I could never find the time to do so, and I really just wanted to put it behind me.
But since we're talking about marginalized folks being "loud and angry" in tech again, might as well bring it up.
But since we're talking about marginalized folks being "loud and angry" in tech again, might as well bring it up.
So... yeah.
React Rally. It was okay. Won't go again. 5/7 stars.
React Rally. It was okay. Won't go again. 5/7 stars.
