THe issue is the content security protocol, or CSP, of webkit and moz — they do not allow assets to import images or scripts. So, the browser, while capable of rendering the images within the SVG, is blocking the SVG from showing. Because of these security issues, <object> may have to be the solution. still working on it.

Thx in advance, Simon

We chatted on Twitter, but for the sake of poor souls who don’t use Twitter 24/7:

“For the sake of the post, “She was offended” IS what mattered.” – point taken.

“The first issue is that I find the Venturbeat article “offensive”. – “most of the female folks in tech don’t know how to code (yet)” Yup; I meant that I wish the fictional conversation in that article had actually taken place.

“Under UK law, causing offense such as swearing in the vicinity of a police officer, minor or a shopping precinct is an Offense. Section 5 of the Public order act!” – yes, and it’s entirely stupid.

There are 2 issues with the Venturbeat article as it relates to this post: 1) being offended, and 2) the 1000 cuts. I’ll also take a quick look at offense under UK law.

1) The first issue is that I find the Venturbeat article “offensive”.

“most of the female folks in tech don’t know how to code (yet)”

But most of the women AND men in tech attending a PyCon conference do know how to code. If it is true that most of the women AND men in tech don’t know how to code yet if you include sales, management, marketing, board members and the cleaning crew.

Do I have the right to be offended? Yes. While I find it offensive, I am not actually “offended”. Personally, I can only be offended by people I care about or who hold a power position, and even then I am not that easily offended. The statement itself is STILL offensive.

2) The second issue is the 1,000 cuts.

I think you’ve missed the point of my post. “It’s tiresome when you’ve heard inappropriate sexual jokes in a professional setting 1,000 times. It’s ‘Death By A Thousand Cuts’. At some point the micro-aggression kills your spirit.”

Reading the venturebeat article, ask yourself, “how tiresome would it be to have to have that conversation every single day, several times a day.” When does it stop being Alice’s job to correct every dumb comment.

Many will argue it isn’t her job. If that is your argument, anyone can say anything, and those who are easily offended shouldn’t attend.

In #DongleGate, the bar for offense was low. But, it is not up to me to determine where someone else’s bar is. Sexual innuendo at a professional meeting is inappropriate whether or not anyone thinks it is offensive. At what point do we react? How many times do we react until we give up?

3) “What is an offense.”

Under UK law, causing offense such as swearing in the vicinity of a police officer, minor or a shopping precinct is an Offense. Section 5 of the Public order act!

You may or may not know this because you may be privileged enough for this never to happen to you. However, it is widely used in poor neighbourhoods. Enforcing this law is left to the ‘sensitivites’ of the officers.

Officers are in less affluent areas arresting people for mumbling a swear word in public. Officers stop a person for looking ‘suspicious’ or under stop-and-search laws. The person mumbles ‘oh fuck’.

In this scenario, the police are in the power position. They aren’t offended. They do react. The inverse is what happened in our story: The person with no power who was offended grabbed an inkling of power and reacted, perhaps not in the best way, and the internet has destroyed her for it.

I agree with Stephen Fry: “It’s now very common to hear people say, ‘I’m rather offended by that.’ As if that gives them certain rights. It’s actually nothing more… than a whine. ‘I find that offensive.’ It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. ‘I am offended by that.’ Well, so fucking what.”

He was talking about people being offended by another’s religious beliefs. But I think it has wider application; no-one has the right not to be offended. Anything, anyone says can potentially offend *someone*.

That said, of course, social norms and acting like grown-ups also matter. This is how I wish it had gone: http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/22/pycon-2013/

And, of course, the comments and tweets that Ms Richards received after all this went down were despicable.