When I was an engineering major at Georgia Tech, I learned how to program with if then statements. If then statements are the basic programming to execute a code.  In real life, there is no simple “if then”. Most of people’s responses in life are more nuanced and based on an individual’s perspective, experience and identity. Unfortunately, some developers, hackers, and the like have translated if then statements as a code of conduct when dealing with people.

If a woman works in the tech startup community and attends a conference, then all jokes should be shrugged off?

If a person is offended, then should the offender be immediately fired?

If a man who has three kids loses a job, then wouldn’t the response be against the company who fired and not the company where the woman works?

If people online conclude that a woman is responsible for a man losing his job, then should rape and death threats and hate speech be launched immediately all over the internet?

If some people got their emails, then can a DDoS be faked?

If some tech blogs don’t include the rape and death threats in their reporting, then are they being irresponsible?

If tech startups lack essential human resources and public relations, then can they effectively handle situations like this?

If humans can’t treat humans with respect, then can we just program ethical robots to take over?