This Is The End

And so another year ends.

Let's be honest - at a macro, philosophical, human level 2014 kind of sucked. Yeah... a lot of tech folks made a lot of money. Yeah... all sorts of cool new tools and toys were released. But between the governmental oppression and criminal behavior; the high level of douchebaggery amongst the humans on this planet in general (and within the tech industry in particular); the rampant sexism and the insane racism... just the ridiculously high levels of public bigotry -- it's hard to see a lot to be positive about.

But there are two things that are probably worth celebrating.

One - women stopped taking shit. From the US to Nigeria to India and from the Game industry to Politics to tech and Open Source Software - this was the year women said "fucking enough already." Female leaders stepped up and made their voices heard. To be fair - most were then abused, threatened and had their lives made hellish. But they didn't give up. And they're not letting anyone forget. As a result, things could well change for the better.

Second - some white people started understanding their privilege. Note.... "some" and "started." Yeah... baby steps. But we're not that far removed from the highest court in this land declaring we are in a "post racial society" so even baby steps are huge. This wasn't something that these white folks did, to be honest, so we / they get no fucking credit for this. White folks have had their heads in the sand for a long ass time, and the only reason anyone woke up at all was because it was forced on us. Black leaders, particularly young black leaders, are not shutting up. They're not letting us go back to pretending it's all just fine and dandy. And that is a really good thing.

Now.... the above makes it sound like things are getting better.
And in some specific and particular ways they are - and in the future I think there is a good chance things over all could be better.

But in the near future?

Not so fucking much.

My thoughts on 2015 are exactly the same as they were 12 months ago.
It's gonna be a rough ride folks. Better buckle in and hold on tight.

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