Thoughts about the LearnToCode Hashtag

Hashtag "LearnToCode" has been trending on Twitter since the beginning of this month. I don't use Twitter at all, but somehow this came to my attention via news feeds and YouTube videos.

Apparently, this came in response to a number of staff being offloaded by the US media such as Huffington Post and BuzzFeed. Some of these journalists tweeted their newly unemployed statuses, and this was replied by several variations of "Learn to code", with the hashtag and very snarky undertones. Some of those tweets are pretty damn funny, though I'm detecting a certain amount of hostility mixed with the snark.

What's the reason for all this?

Back as far as 2014, President Barack Obama started shutting down coal mining operations. When the now-jobless coal miners, who had been doing this for decades, protested, they were told (rather condescendingly as it turns out) by these reporters to "learn to code", echoing Obama's campaign.

Coal mine.

It's now 2019, and the shoe's on the other foot. Media jobs are being cut, and many of these reporters are freshly unemployed and being told, just as smugly, to "learn to code". Payback's a bitch, ain't it?

Advising others to "learn to code"

I'm of the opinion that people outside of the tech industry, i.e, people who have never coded for a living, have no business giving career advice of this sort. The reporters might have been well-intentioned, but they came off, at best clueless and tone-deaf; at worst, smug and narcissistic.

It's just a very douchebaggy thing to say to someone who has just lost a job he's been doing the past few decades and doesn't know anything else. Yes, theoretically he or she could learn to code. What, then? Simply learning to code is not an end in itself. Software development is not only about coding (though a sizeable part is) and anyone who thoughtlessly simplifies it to merely "coding" does us all a disservice. Even more so, when the people giving this advice, aren't even part of the industry. Yes, Mr Obama, this includes you.

Just shut up already.

So, before you tell others to "learn to code", you'd be well-advised to have done it yourself first, and actually done it professionally. Otherwise, do us actual devs a favor and just shut the hell up.

That said...

I've been laid off before. Twice. And it's never pleasant. (OK, I wasn't being entirely truthful there. The first time I was laid off, it came as a huge relief because the company had become a gigantic pain in the arse. But still... not pleasant.)

Kicking these recently unemployed journalists while they're down, is just needlessly cruel. They've got families to feed, bills to pay and mortgages to service. I've been there. It sucks.

Am I saying I'm sorry that BuzzFeed, HuffPost, et al, had to restructure due to poor revenue? Hell, no. After all the stunts they pulled during the tumultuous 2016 US Presidential Elections, publishing heavily biased news and trying to force the narrative to fit their opinions, I have an exceedingly low opinion of these publications. If this translates to them taking a hit, great! Maybe this will inspire them to raise the level of their so-called journalism.

Trash publication.

Is it a good thing that these journalists (and I'm using the term loosely) no longer get paid to publish their crap? Oh absolutely, yes. The profession deserves better.

On the other hand, is it sad that suddenly a lot of people are jobless? Of course it is. Even if said people are a bunch of feckless assclowns who dabble in the politics of outrage.

So no, I wouldn't shit on them while they're down. Firstly, I'm not a Twitter user and have better use for my time, And secondly, it's just... petty. These ex-journalists may be dicks, but that doesn't mean we need to adhere to their abysmal standards. I'm not saying they don't deserve it, because they damn well do. I'm saying that we should be better than this. And, let's face it, being an ex-employee of a rag like BuzzFeed is already punishment enough.

Reactions

Apparently, Twitter received a lot of complaints about the #LearnToCode hashtag, because Twitter then announced that it would be considered "harrassment" to Tweet "learn to code" (or any variation thereof) to an ex-journalist from BuzzFeed, HuffPost, et al.

Seriously, this boggles the mind. If I were laid off, my topmost priority would be to land another job, pronto. The last thing on my mind would be Twitter trolls and my own hurt feelings. Then again, these are the infamous shit-stirring rabble-rousers from BuzzFeed we're talking about, so this could be some kind of occupational hazard, or something.

Really, take a look in the mirror. Of course it sucks that people are kicking you while you're down. But whose fault is it that people hate you that much?

So what if all this is really, as claimed by Talia Lavin, a harassment campaign by 4Chan users? Lady, you're out of a friggin' job. That should be your first and primary concern. Here's some advice for people who obviously can't handle Social Media: Get. Off. The. Internet.

Editor's Note: After an online search, it appears that this Talia Lavin was the same bright spark who caused a disabled US Marine to be falsely accused of being a Nazi. Who would've thought?

Conclusion

I think people need to lay off that hashtag for a while. It's getting tedious.

As for the newly unemployed, you may want to re-evaluate some of your life choices. I'm not saying you should learn to code, but... perhaps journalism just isn't your thing, if your work in BuzzFeed or HuffPost is anything to go by.

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