The Backlash starts here!
DHH's two latest blog posts (here and here) reekof smugness and elitism. Fair enough, if anyone deserves to be smug and feel like they are part of the elite then it's DHH, Jason Fried and the 37Signals people. But that attitude stinks and I'll never like it.
Who is this mainstream that you despise so much? It's the vast majority of normal people who may be as smart as you but haven't had the breaks. Or who may not be as smart as you but are still pretty smart. Or who may not be that smart at all but have a job programming computers. But they have bills to pay and their mortgages and loans and divorce payments and screaming children mean that they can't afford the risk of chucking away their "shitty" J2EE/.NET/COBOL jobs with its £30000 salary. Remember £30000 is half again higher than the average household income in the UK. Swap J2EE/.NET/COBOL for McDonalds/petrol station/supermarket checkout. Those people are real scum, right?
Just because you're a superstar doesn't mean you should shit on those who aren't. It's plain rude and shows a lack of basic respect for other people.
2 comments:
I think you may be reading a little too much into DHH's post. I think DHH was trying to say that he is happy that Rails is not mainstream because of all the bottlenecks and the related issues that go with it. I dont think he meant it at a personal level. I do agree that his posts do sound like a smug 25 year old elitist.
I probably am reading too much into it. But it's one of those subjects that pushes my buttons!
But respect for those you have made different choices to you or, more importantly, aren't necessarily as smart as you, is vital.
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