On Thursday last week, a Twitter account that goes by the name @heydonworks posted a tweet stating that “Vue developers like cooking/quiet activities and React developers like trump, guns, weightlifting and being “bros”. He also talked about the rising number of super conservative React dev accounts.
This trolling was disapproved by people of both React and the Vue communities.
Later heydonworks tweeted that his post was supposed to highlight thousands of people who are sometimes eclipsed by an aggressive and vocal toxic minority. He further asked Dan Abramov, React co-founder, “Perhaps a public disowning of the neocon / supremacist contingent on your part would land better than my crappy joke?”
He also clarified how he wanted to paint a picture of what React would be like if it was taken over by hypermasculine conservatives. “I admit it’s not obvious”, he tweeted, “but I am on your side. I don’t want that to happen and the joke was meant as a warning.”
heydonworks also accused Ken Wheeler, well known React Developer, of playing “the circle game” at a React conference. The Circle Game is an activity where one person makes a “circle” with their fingers and holds it below their waist, convincing a second person to look at it. If the second person looks, they receive a punch to the shoulder. The circle game gesture is similar to the “Okay Hand Gesture” that has become a symbol amongst white supremacists. Later heydonworks deleted this tweet and followed with an apology admitting that he was wrong to accuse Ken of sporting the said symbol.
He later urged people to retweet it, saying he made a big mistake.
This conversation has divided people into two groups. Those who support heydonworks and are fighting how the symbol, no matter what its intention was, is scary to minority groups and certain people were harmed over it. The other group brushed it off saying that the ‘circle game’ is only a game and was not intended to be shown off as a white supremacy symbolism.
Ken Wheeler’s behavior is toxic towards marginalized groups
In support of the React community dealing with toxic culture, a subtweet was later tweeted which was directed at Ken Wheeler describing how his behavior is viewed as toxic by marginalized people.
The thread said, “Remember that fascists and abusers can often seem like normal people to everyone but the people that they’re harming.”
Others also shared a similar opinion, “I’m tired of saying “so-and-so’s a good guy”, when so-and-so’s not given me any reason to believe they actually are, because they refuse to confront and denounce toxic behavior within their own spheres.”
Web designer Tatiana Mac quits the tech industry following the React controversy
Well-respected web designer Tatiana Mac lashed out on people who are more interested in protecting the reputation of a framework than listening to multiply marginalized people.
She adds, “I don’t perceive this problem in the other JS framework communities as intensively. Do White Supremacists exist in other frameworks? Likely. But there is a multiplier/feeder here that is systemically baked. That’s what I want analysed by the most ardent supporters of the community.”
She says that even after bringing this issue multiple times, she has been ignored always. Her tweet reads, “I’m disappointed by repeatedly bringing this shit up and getting ignored/gaslit, then having a white woman bring it up and her getting praised for it? White supremacy might as well be an opiate—some people take it without ever knowing, others microdose it to get ahead.”
“Why is no one like, “Tatiana had good intentions in bringing up the rampant racism problem in our community?” Instead, it’s all, “Look at all the impact it had on two white guys!” Is cuz y’all finally realise intent doesn’t erase impact?”, she adds.
She has since decided to quit the tech industry following these developments. In a tweet, she wrote, “Incredibly sad, disappointed, and not at all surprised by *so* many people. Your actions/inactions have spoken. Enjoy an industry without me.” She further said that she is depleted of emotional energy to write an account of what happened and has asked a trusted (white) colleague to research and write a factual recount.
She also clarifies that she will continue to keep her speaking commitments through 2020. “I want to clarify: I’ve booked design and speaking contracts through 2020 and will honour those contracts, not because I am legally forced, but because I really love designing & speaking. And, because I am *supremely* broke and will need time and resources to transition out,” she tweeted.
She also talks about her difficult financial situation and her decision to sell off stuff.
In a tweet, she wrote, “I am going to sell some things that I no longer need. What I would love:
People who have an abundance of money can pay for it for someone else;
People who can’t afford it get it, then pass the knowledge/resource forward once they’re done.”
She adds, “If you want to help me, I would appreciate it as I’m deeply in debt. My hope is to get back on my feet financially, move from PDX, and repay this nest egg forward to someone else who needs to escape the debt vacuum, which is dang near impossible to escape alone.”
People were deeply saddened by the news of Tatiana quitting. A Twitter user wrote, “Tech bro temporarily deactivated on social media to avoid being forced to weigh in on the shitty behavior of his friends?! We’ve got to do something about this.” vs. “She’s leaving the industry due rampant harassment and complete lack of support. Hope she can find happiness!”
Dan Abramov and Ken Wheeler quit Twitter
In opposition to heydonworks, a number of (since deleted) tweets were also posted by Dan Abramov (co-author of Redux and Create React App) defending the React community. He later deleted his Twitter account, so did Ken Wheeler.
Dan later appeared on Reddit to talk about his disappearance. “Hey all. I’m fine, and I plan to be back soon. This isn’t a “shut a door in your face” kind of situation. The real answer is that I’ve bit off more social media than I can chew. I’ve been feeling anxious for the past few days and I need a clean break from checking it every ten minutes. Deactivating is a barrier to logging in that I needed. I plan to be back soon.”
Ken has posted no such message.
On Reddit, Mark Erikson, Redux maintainer tried to calm the situation by posting, “For those reading along, please remember not to brigade people on either side, it does not help them nor our reputation as a community. The best thing we can do for Dan is to give him some space, and not to feed the trolls.”
He later turned off commenting for the thread quoting, “Given the way this discussion has gone on Twitter the last few days, I don’t see any point in letting it go further here.
I personally am deeply saddened by the entire situation and have to admit I’m debating whether it’s worth actually staying active on Twitter at the moment. I’ll leave the post up as an FYI, since it’s a piece of news, but I’m locking the thread at this point.”
A Redditor commented, “To be fair, some of the best content we get for react news and discussion is driven by reposting of Dan’s tweets. Losing that is highly relevant to React and the sub. That said, I’d agree that the discussion should not extend beyond this post, and hopefully, we’ll find another medium for our regular dose of Dan.”
What can the React community do?
This news has shaken the React community to the core. At such distressing times, the React community needs to come together as a whole and offer constructive criticism to tackle the issue of unhealthy tribalism, while making minority groups feel safe and heard.
Tatiana puts forward a few points to tackle the toxic culture.
“Pay attention to your biggest proponents and how they reject all discussion of the injustices of tech. It’s subtle like that, and, it’s as overt as throwing white supremacist hand gestures at conferences on stage. Neither is necessarily more dangerous than the other, but instead shows the journey and spectrum of radicalization—it’s a process.”
She urges, “If you want to clean up the community, you’ve got to see what systemic forces allow these hateful dingdongs to sit so comfortably in your space. I’m here to help and hope I have today already, as a member of tech, but I need you to do the work there.”
Early last week, Tatiana gave the Systems of Systems talk at the Clarity conf, which touched on white supremacy and tech’s role there. To summarize, her talk touched upon how to assess where design systems live in broader ecosystems, the challenges inherent, and how to lean into the good, and resist the bad, to ensure serving all humans in an equitable and ethical way, maintaining safety and trust. The talk was well received by the audience; some even saying it changed their entire outlook. Even Tatiana agreed, that Systems of Systems was her best talk yet. You can find the slides here.
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