Brian Hall

Brian Hall was a man who asked a simple question. What if Silicon Valley doesn't have a diversity crisis?

The Rationale

As a Forbes contributing author, Hall submitted the article There Is No Diversity Crisis in Silicon Valley on October 5, 2015. It was removed by October 7.

In Hall's expert opinion, as a professional writer on the subject of the global rise of Silicon Valley, there is no need to inject diversity into major tech companies. How can he possibly mansplain such egregious hatemongering, this veritable Holocaust against the "diversity in tech" movement? Finance. Even with setbacks like the abysmally received Windows 10 and Facebook's excruciating, painful death, their respective companies are still raking in the jewgolds hand over fist, and their stocks are soaring. Presumably, those pushing for diversity in tech will tell us that these and many other companies are dominated by bigoted white men who have concocted some laughable conspiracy to keep Silicon Valley looking like a 1950s golf course, except Jews are allowed in this time. Hall posited that, given the truly Olympian heights tech companies have achieved, maybe... just maybe they shouldn't be forced to hire unqualified women, spics, niggers, and trannies.

For this, he must be crucified.

The Reaction

	“	what a troll	„
	—Not everyone is out to get you personally, just your ignorant agendas.

	“	Been a while since I read a piece so stunningly out of touch	„
	—Refusal to cater to your desires is not being "out of touch."

	“	Every sentence in this piece of garbage is worse than the last.	„
	—Those sentences that said you shouldn't be given special treatment, pray tell?

	“	If you can't make it in tech, then it's your fault.	„
	—A wise few actually understood the meaning of the piece.

	“	And today's award for The Literal Worst goes to...	„
	—As in, Literally Worse than Hitler?

	“	Just saw @brianshall's article get ripped from @forbes for suggesting the "diversity crisis" is not a big deal. The brainwashing is real.	„
	—Submitted without comment.

	“	As @brianshall points out, there is no diversity crisis in Silicon Valley. Go ahead, argue.	„
	—Oh, they will.

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Hall's article was subsequently removed on the grounds of "discrimination," as not catering to people's delusions is deeply triggering, and that concerns Forbes far more than mere money.

The TL;DR

	“	In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.	„
	—George Orwell

Article Text

	“	What you are about to read will shock you. It will shock you because it is so completely, utterly straightforward, reasoned and non-controversial. That you may disagree with my position is understandable, but to publicly label me every name in the book and actually try to make sure I never work again in my field for such a straightforward, honest piece that encourages dialogue is shameful on your part. Again, you are cowards.	„
	—Brian Hall, who is referring to those who would censor this

There Is No Diversity Crisis In Tech

Repeat after me: there is no “diversity crisis” in Silicon Valley. None. In fact, there is no crisis at all in Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is doing absolutely gangbusters. Apple has $200 billion in cash reserves and equivalents — and a market valuation of about $630 billion. Amazing. Facebook now garners a billion daily users. This is a nearly unfathomable number. Google is worth nearly $450 billion and has $70 billion in cash on hand.

This is not a crisis. Silicon Valley is swimming in money and in success. Uber is valued at around $50 billion. Companies like Airbnb are remaking travel and lodging. Intel is moving forward into the global Internet of Things market. South Korea’s Samsung just opened a giant R&D facility in the heart of Silicon Valley. Google and Facebook are working to connect the entire world. Netflix is re-making how we consume entertainment.

Silicon Valley is home to the next phase of the global auto industry. Fintech and biotech are transforming banking and medicine. The success of Silicon Valley is not due to diversity — or to any bias. Rather, to brilliance, hard work, risk taking, big ideas and money.

Want to be part of this? Great! Follow the example of the millions who came before you. Their parents made school a priority. They took math and science classes, and did their homework every night. They practiced ACT tests over and over. They enrolled in good schools and focused on English, Political Science and Humanities.

Okay, that last bit is not true. They took computer programming, engineering, chemistry — hard subjects that demand hard work. They then left their home, their family, their community, and moved to Silicon Valley. They worked hard, staying late night after night. They didn’t blog, they didn’t let their skills go stale, they didn’t blame others when not everything worked out exactly as hoped.

Are you doing all of these? Are you doing any of these? Do them!

From all over the world, from Brazil and Canada, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Norway, Egypt, fellow humans come to Silicon Valley to work, create, succeed. And they do. Silicon Valley is extremely diverse.

Of course, the iPhone wasn’t created because of diversity. Nor was Google. Nor Facebook, nor the computer chip, nor the touchscreen. They were created because a small band of super-smart people who worked very hard to create something better than existed before.

Wait. It gets better.

Silicon Valley doesn’t just create greatness, it’s probably the most open, welcoming, meritocratic-based region on the planet. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that disproportionately more Chinese, Indians, and LGBQT succeed in Silicon Valley than just about any place in America. Guess what? Everyone earned their job because of their big brains and ability to contribute.

Is that you?

Then come here! It’s an amazingly inclusive place.

But be sure to bring your computer science degree, your engineering degree, your proven set of accomplishments. Be sure you are prepared to sacrifice “fun” for long hours and hard work. Offer proof of how well you did in school, in math, in physics. These matter dearly as they are fundamental to what makes Silicon Valley succeed.

Silicon Valley is not perfect. It’s certainly no utopia. But if you aren’t able to make it here, it’s almost certainly not because of any bias. Rather, on your refusal to put in the hard work in the hard classes, and to accept all the failures that happen before you achieve any amazing success.

Stop demanding Silicon Valley adhere to your desires, or your limitations. Remember, there’s a reason you’re not using a flip phone. There’s a reason you’re not cursing that taxi that never showed up. Silicon Valley is about moving forward. It’s not biased but it is demanding. That’s what makes it so great.