The problem is that one of the incentives to do hard things under capitalism is wealth, and if things get too scammy you can get wealthy without actually building the thing. So while it is remarkably easy to raise capital right now, you also need a set of people who have clear positive intentions and want to build things raising that money.
But forever? We gotta give people the opportunity to change. The book is gross, but SV is gross and sexist a lot of the time - and much more so in the past. So IDK maybe some human sacrifice is worth it to change the culture - but I'm always confused because a lot of the folks clamoring for heads on stuff like this are also pro things like restorative justice (which I am super pro). So no d bags, but maybe if you were a d bag at some point it should be possible to redeem yourself?
It's not satire, but it is a schtick. If you listen to an interview w/ the guy, he's not at all what I expected from the book (and I had the same response as your wife, though I've heard worse in SV many many times and sort of just appreciated the honesty even if it doesn't reflect my worldview). So does it still reflect a culture that's been problematic in SV that we want to get rid of? For sure, yes. But also, maybe people should be allowed to make mistakes - this kind of sexism was widely tolerated in SV even five years ago. That doesn't excuse it, but I sort of think we have to allow people to grow and change.
People should be allowed to make mistakes. If they change. It is clear that he is still proud of this writing. This isn't "wow, in my younger years I was really awful and I feel bad and have changed".
It will just continue to bifurcate more. Highly skilled people will still kill. People that mostly benefitted from being in the Bay are fucked. High-end positions outside the Bay pay Bay salaries.
