“Learn to Code”: The Meme Attacking Media

Deleted member 43084 · Jan 29, 2019

The Ringer: https://www.theringer.com/tech/2019/1/29/18201695/learn-to-code-twitter-abuse-buzzfeed-journalists

Many people retweeted requests for work, lauded the talents of the unfairly fired, or criticized BuzzFeed for its poor handling of the situation. But there was one frequently tweeted phrase that stood out from the sympathy: "Learn to code."

There was word Twitter was taking down "learn to code" tweets because they fall under the umbrella of abusive content, but a Twitter spokesperson clarified its position in an email: "It's more nuanced than what was initially reported. Twitter is responding to a targeted harassment campaign against specific individuals—a policy that's long been against the Twitter Rules." Twitter also directed me to its policy on targeted harassment, which prohibits "behavior that encourages others to harass or target specific individuals or groups with abusive behavior." I also asked Twitter whether it was able to identify coordinated efforts directed at the mass of recently laid-off writers, or whether it could tell where those efforts were coming from, but the company did not respond as of publishing.

t's not only the timing of the obnoxious unsolicited advice that takes it to a place of abuse—it's also the targeting. "It's just straight up spamming them," he says, in a way meant to be "cruel and hurtful." Through this lens, tweeting "learn to code" can be viewed as similar to the alt-right use of parentheses to label Jewish people, or how racists turned Pepe the Frog into a hate symbol—a way to covertly harass someone in a manner that is difficult for Twitter to detect. Before writing off "learn to code" as a harmless joke, it might be important to remember that it's being hurled at a profession the president of the United States has at best belittled and at worst supported violence against. "Learn to code" is not a viral phrase that's being spammed to out-of-work journalists; it's a targeted attack disguised as a meme.

This has been going on a few days (and as I work at BuzzFeed, have seen first hand), but it's another co-opting of an innocuous phrase used for bad ends.

Squarehard · Jan 29, 2019

I haven't seen this, but then again, I don't the Twitter or social media, so guess I lucked out.

kadotsu · Jan 29, 2019

They should call their union that.

studyguy · Jan 29, 2019

It's literally just obnoxious trolls throwing salt on people who lost their job for nothing other than shits and giggles. Fucked up, nothing meaningful about it other than to get a rise out of people down on their luck.

Deleted member 11985 · Jan 29, 2019

Maybe those trolls should take some of their own advice so they can finally get out of their mom's basement.

KingFrost92 · Jan 29, 2019

I saw this on a Buzzfeed article yesterday that got trending on Twitter (the one made by someone who was let go from the company then posted on the community quiz section of the site). Hyper frustrating as someone who majored in journalism, and I hate the sentiment of kicking these people while they're down for seemingly no reason aside from trolling. I would be furious if I lost my job then had to read that, it's just insulting.

The Albatross · Jan 29, 2019

The fuck these assholes have to ruin EVERYTHING.

Deleted member 48897 · Jan 29, 2019

While it's obviously true that the people engaging in these campaigns don't have software jobs, I wish they did if only so they would feel the effect of a glut of surplus labor into the market as a result of following that advice

Euron · Jan 29, 2019

I love how these people assume that all it takes to become the next Mark Zuckerberg is just to "learn coding". I've seen so many boomers suggest this as well. I bet none of them can even name a language. Learning programming skills is useful and I wish it was integrated in some of my classes however many see it as a magic bullet that just lets you write the next billion dollar idea yourself.

But yeah this is another attack on journalists, now looking to smear them as "dumb" or "lazy" because if they simply "learned coding" they'd be billionaires!

Thrill_house · Jan 29, 2019

I like how Twitter is worried about this attack campaign when our fucking president directs his followers to attack people all the time with far more direct orders.

I mean its good they cracked down on this but...yeah.

Davidion · Jan 29, 2019

Anyone unironically trotting out "learn to code" as some kind of panacea is just a moron who's stupid enough to think that their cog in the system is irreplaceable.

Deleted member 46493 · Jan 29, 2019

Just more reasons people dislike STEM and software nerds. Kinda sucks because most of us are normal and nice.

Deleted member 43084 · Jan 29, 2019

KingFrost92 said:
I saw this on a Buzzfeed article yesterday that got trending on Twitter (the one made by someone who was let go from the company then posted on the community quiz section of the site). Hyper frustrating as someone who majored in journalism, and I hate the sentiment of kicking these people while they're down for seemingly no reason aside from trolling. I would be furious if I lost my job then had to read that, it's just insulting.

Yep: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jsweeten/do-you-still-have-a-job-at-buzzfeed-3htxk

Davidion · Jan 29, 2019

sotojuan said:
Just more reasons people dislike STEM and software nerds. Kinda sucks because most of us are normal and nice.

Yup. As a UX guy, the bulk of devs I work with are nice and are self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses. The handful of bad ones fucks it up for everyone.

sooperkool · Jan 29, 2019

sotojuan said:
Just more reasons people dislike STEM and software nerds. Kinda sucks because most of us are normal and nice.

I've been in this business for a long time and no, no we're not. So many assholes in this field that to not be one is a definite salary modifier. And the weird and strange have flocked to this field thinking it was full of people just like them. So many people become Se's and are shocked to find out that the majority are not video game playing RPG and Manga nerds.

Instro · Jan 29, 2019

I heard this was going around, but didn't really understand the full context. Seems to be getting thrown at women in particular, but I could be wrong.

OrdinaryPrime · Jan 29, 2019

sooperkool said:
I've been in this business for a long time and no, no we're not. So many assholes in this field that to not be one is a definite salary modifier. And the weird and strange have flocked to this field thinking it was full of people just like them. So many people become Se's and are shocked to find out that the majority are not video game playing RPG and Manga nerds.

The main issue I have working in the industry is the lack of minority and female representation. It's criminally low. I've really tried to recruit taking this into account. Working with people from differing backgrounds would help alleviate this complete intolerance to ideas that are different from their own. But there also exists a lack of self-reflection in the industry. Tons of programmers think their way is it.

Cat Party · Jan 29, 2019

Instro said:
I heard this was going around, but didn't really understand the full context. Seems to be getting thrown at women in particular, but I could be wrong.

Of course it is being thrown at women in particular. This is the alt right we're talking about.

RailWays · Jan 29, 2019

sotojuan said:
Just more reasons people dislike STEM and software nerds. Kinda sucks because most of us are normal and nice.

Yep. It's a damn shame

Omegasquash · Jan 29, 2019

So these people need to show up, shit in everyone's toilet, clog it up, and then laugh about it?

Jesus Christ.

sooperkool · Jan 29, 2019

OrdinaryPrime said:
The main issue I have working in the industry is the lack of minority and female representation. It's criminally low. I've really tried to recruit taking this into account. Working with people from differing backgrounds would help alleviate this complete intolerance to ideas that are different from their own. But there also exists a lack of self-reflection in the industry. Tons of programmers think their way is it.

This very true. To further touch on your point many employers point to their Asian and South Asian hires and use those to say they are diverse an then exclude Blacks and Latinos. Or use the convenient excuse of cultural fit.

Rayman not Ray · Jan 29, 2019

As a software engineer, I'd bet you money most of the people perpetuating this meme are either children, not actually software engineers, or a bunch of shitty Google manifesto types who are mad that software engineering takes people skills and are lashing out.

Gaf Zombie · Jan 29, 2019

Sometimes I just hate people. Do you really have to be a shithead to people going through a hardship just to make yourself feel slightly less worthless?

Deleted member 2620 · Jan 29, 2019

so if I'm understanding correctly, the ones spamming "learn to code" are driven by getting back at writers that had, in the past, criticized Silicon Valley's "code is the answer to everything" mindset?

Trojita · Jan 29, 2019

It's just a redirection troll based on remarks originally said to workers of dying industries. Learn to code was a frequently used phrase during stories about coal workers losing their jobs and livelihood.

Deleted member 19066 · Jan 29, 2019

Tain said:
so if I'm understanding correctly, the ones spamming "learn to code" are driven by getting back at writers that had, in the past, criticized Silicon Valley's "code is the answer to everything" mindset?

I see is as "lol your career is trash and you have no real skills."

KingFrost92 · Jan 29, 2019

I will also say, as someone who has a degree in journalism, a full year of training in HTML5 and a language of your choice (Python was mine) were part of mandatory classes. Not exactly enough training to get a job in a tech field, but it's enough that I can understand programming concepts and write basic programs to assist with my job. I'd go as far as to say that most writing requires some knowledge like that to make things work properly, so saying they have no skills in it is just disingenuous. The modern reporter has to do about 80 more things than just "write" to get a job.

Froyo Love · Jan 29, 2019

Euron said:
I love how these people assume that all it takes to become the next Mark Zuckerberg is just to "learn coding". I've seen so many boomers suggest this as well. I bet none of them can even name a language. Learning programming skills is useful and I wish it was integrated in some of my classes however many see it as a magic bullet that just lets you write the next billion dollar idea yourself.

But yeah this is another attack on journalists, now looking to smear them as "dumb" or "lazy" because if they simply "learned coding" they'd be billionaires!

Davidion said:
Anyone unironically trotting out "learn to code" as some kind of panacea is just a moron who's stupid enough to think that their cog in the system is irreplaceable.

sotojuan said:
Just more reasons people dislike STEM and software nerds. Kinda sucks because most of us are normal and nice.

This has absolute nothing to do with coding.

Someone on 4chan initially thought "Learn to code" was a clever reversal because some journalists, somewhere, suggested that new tech job training was going to be necessary for people in jobs like coal mining and truck driving that were trending towards obsoletion. Then it was bandwagoned into a harassment campaign.

No one harassing people with this shit cares what they say. It's just a more superficially acceptable thing to spam at someone than "Fuck you, liberal".

Deleted member 46493 · Jan 29, 2019

sooperkool said:
I've been in this business for a long time and no, no we're not. So many assholes in this field that to not be one is a definite salary modifier. And the weird and strange have flocked to this field thinking it was full of people just like them. So many people become Se's and are shocked to find out that the majority are not video game playing RPG and Manga nerds.

Eh, maybe it's because our team is small but so far we haven't had anyone bad. Maybe we're just lucky? There's definitely a lot of jerks though.

chaostrophy · Jan 29, 2019

sotojuan said:
Just more reasons people dislike STEM and software nerds. Kinda sucks because most of us are normal and nice.

It's not the rank and file tech workers who started spreading this "learn to code" stuff, it's the Silicon Valley business leaders, VC people, basically the financial elite. Telling everyone to learn this skill that they can use, so it becomes more common and they don't need to pay people who possess it as well, and they can make more profit. Apparently some journalists helped them spread their message, as mentioned on the Know Your Meme page: "Hey laid off journalists who are upset that people are telling you to "learn how to code": Go mine some coal and then go fuck yourselves." But Buzzfeed actually criticized that talking point in an article linked from the OP.
.

Euron · Jan 29, 2019

Froyo Love said:
This has absolute nothing to do with coding.

Someone on 4chan initially thought "Learn to code" was a clever reversal because some journalists, somewhere, suggested that new tech job training was going to be necessary for people in jobs like coal mining and truck driving that were trending towards obsoletion. Then it was bandwagoned into a harassment campaign.

No one harassing people with this shit cares what they say. It's just a more superficially acceptable thing to spam at someone than "Fuck you, liberal".

I just looked into it more and yeah that reversal seems to be the meaning behind it. Seems to be an attack on "liberal journalists" by levying the same criticism that was used against outdated conservative jobs and industries.

I just have a different personal history with the comment because I have plenty of extended family members who think people with student loans are lazy because they haven't made the next facebook by learning to code and I've been criticized for not just starting my own business through coding to solve all my problems.

But yeah this is much different and just an alt right trolling effort by trying to repurpose an old phrase to attack people suffering disappointing layoffs and equate that to dying industries.

Sinfamy · Jan 29, 2019

Pretty sure it's a response to articles like these:

https://www.npr.org/sections/alltec...de-a-new-path-for-laid-off-miners-in-kentucky

Trying to tell blue collar workers to code.

Latpri · Jan 29, 2019

Sinfamy said:
Pretty sure it's a response to articles like these:

https://www.npr.org/sections/alltec...de-a-new-path-for-laid-off-miners-in-kentucky

Trying to tell blue collar workers to code.

Yea, a lot of this feels like just desserts and the only annoying thing about it is that the people slinging the mud are our idological enemies. So, to rectify that, lets all start posting Learn To Code memes ourselves.

Crushed · Jan 29, 2019

Sinfamy said:
Pretty sure it's a response to articles like these:

https://www.npr.org/sections/alltec...de-a-new-path-for-laid-off-miners-in-kentucky

Trying to tell blue collar workers to code.

This doesn't appear to be telling blue collar workers to code, it appears to be reporting on something that blue collar workers were already doing. Also, did the person writing this article get laid off?

Swab · Jan 29, 2019

Disgusting.. Tired of these alt-right incel FUCKS constantly dog whistling and spewing their shit across the internet is so ridiculously out of hand. The media is there to tell us the truth, and these fascists literally are trying to tear the truth down so that they can hope to influence ignorant people to their cause. The constant attacks on the media are disgusting and people who aren't as hip to the world as us on Resetera end up falling for the anti-media propaganda. This is NOT okay.

Latpri · Jan 29, 2019

Swab said:
Disgusting.. Tired of these alt-right incel FUCKS constantly dog whistling and spewing their shit across the internet is so ridiculously out of hand. The media is there to tell us the truth, and these fascists literally are trying to tear the truth down so that they can hope to influence ignorant people to their cause. The constant attacks on the media are disgusting and people who aren't as hip to the world as us on Resetera end up falling for the anti-media propaganda. This is NOT okay.

Most of the media is out to make life comfortable for the wealthy. Just because the right is attacking them all the time doesnt mean that theyre perfect little angels who can do no wrong. Youre absolutely blind if you don't see the classism being pushed by pretty much every major news network day in and day out.

Spork4000 · Jan 29, 2019

Well this is fucked up, especially sense I recommend learning some basic programming all the time. I love my profession, but the amount of asshole that use it as some kind of signal that their better than everyone else never stops pissing me off.

Deleted member 6230 · Jan 29, 2019

I know this is a troll but telling people to "learn to code" is no guarantee that they'll end up with a high paying software job. Not to mention it'll lead to a surplus of labor in that industry which will drive down wages. It's short-sighted for sure. Ultimately the problem is Facebook and Google developing a monopoly on news and media and completely changing how the game is played.

Stranger Things · Jan 29, 2019

well, this is new ...

is this like the counter meme equivalent of "underwater basket weaving degree" that ppl make when college and debt statistics get thrown around? seems like it to me.

i think it's sad, taken into this particular account, of people losing their jobs and being made fun of... very sad.

Brawly Likes to Brawl · Jan 29, 2019

Sinfamy said:
Pretty sure it's a response to articles like these:

https://www.npr.org/sections/alltec...de-a-new-path-for-laid-off-miners-in-kentucky

Trying to tell blue collar workers to code.

So they're bitter assholes inspired to harass others by a misinterpretation of an article. Where have I heard this one before?

MagicDoogies · Jan 29, 2019

'Learn 2 Code' and STEM shitters have been a blight to any real discussion about wages, job prospects and the state of the economy for a long damn time now. Currently their next big target are journalists insulated from that crap because they have full time jobs.

I remember a thread a while back about min wage where they shat on teachers and people in the 'wrong' majors or STEM fields by waving around their 6 figure lifestyle with 2.5 kids, 401k, etc and saying "should of just leaned code bruh!!!" Now at the heels of a 70% tax bill proposal that is gelling well with a decent amount of the populace these same clowns are griefing in the median income thread trying to convince people making it on sub 40k salaries that 100k is 'barely scrapping by.'

Oh well. I wish all the journalists good luck and it's best if they ignore the heartless code trolls who have so much free time they would rather dunk on unemployed people as opposed to making an app that solves world hunger or some shit.

StarBot · Jan 30, 2019

So this is just the damn NPC meme 2.0

“Learn to Code”: The Meme Attacking Media

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