I'm certainly not disagreeing with what you're saying or the core of what the parent meant to say regarding images of blacks in the media.
What I'm reacting to is an "Othering" of blacks on HN implied by the comment. A phrase like "these gifted people" implies that the audience he's speaking to is assumed to not include "African [sic] people". It's a default whiteness (and maleness, but that's a story for another day) that's rife in the tech industry that reinforces the image that it's a white boy's club. Yes, the industry is certainly predominantly white male, but when rhetoric and attitudes assume white maleness, the environment becomes unfriendly to everyone else.
-Gay Asian-American woman tired of explaining things that should be taught in schools
What I'm reacting to is an "Othering" of blacks on HN implied by the comment. A phrase like "these gifted people" implies that the audience he's speaking to is assumed to not include "African [sic] people". It's a default whiteness (and maleness, but that's a story for another day) that's rife in the tech industry that reinforces the image that it's a white boy's club. Yes, the industry is certainly predominantly white male, but when rhetoric and attitudes assume white maleness, the environment becomes unfriendly to everyone else.
-Gay Asian-American woman tired of explaining things that should be taught in schools