First things first: I'm speaking from the heart here, and trying my best - and I'll admit that I will most certainly fail - to avoid offending somebody.

Here's the deal, folks. I'm a white guy. An American, and proud of my history, and that of my country (up until modern times, post WW2, and the way Native Americans were treated, that is). I'm the stereotypical guy that people picture when they think of a software engineer. And definitely the guy that folks picture when they think of the "bad guy" when it comes to women in technology. I live in Austin, Texas, and I fucking love guns. I was raised as a Christian conservative, and I say this purely because I want you to understand where I'm coming from, and for no other reason.

I'm absolutely, to the "N'th degree", fucking sick and tired of hearing about the "problem" of women in tech. Is it a problem that we don't have a representative number of females of the homosapien species in the technology world? You bet your ass it is. I'm straight as a god damn, motherfucking arrow. I'm goddamn tired of this industry being such a fucking sausage fest. If you look at studies, a great number of relationships - friendships, marriages, etc. - are due to people working together. When you spend a regimented 1/3rd (or far more, in our industry) of your day with the same people, you're bound form relationships - friendships, dating, etc. -  with them. That's also an academically verified fact; look it up if you don't believe me.

So here's the thing. Everybody I know talks continuously about the "problem" of women in tech. What problem? Beyond the obvious lack, I don't see a problem. I have NEVER - not once, not ever - seen ANYONE say to a woman, "sorry, but because your reproductive organs are on the inside of your body, we believe that you're better suited to a sales/marketing/social-media role, not as a programmer or systems administrator."

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I lead a somewhat sheltered life. I flat-out refuse to associate with assholes who'd say something like that. I'm sure there are women out there who've been told this (probably in a somewhat disguised vocabulary), but me personally - have I ever seen this? Fuck no. Never seen this happen. The few women I've worked with in the Ruby community (I'm a Ruby Dev Ops engineer) have been absolutely fucking brilliant. They've put me to shame, no question.

I'm a stereotypical white, conservative American capitalist male. I believe in the power of capitalism as a system of wealth generation and fair distribution. I believe in the power of education, of study and science. I believe firmly in meritocracy as a system of society. Yet every day, I hear that "so and so" said "such and such" that pissed off "somebody" because "well that's just not fair". And I have to ask myself: WHAT THE FUCK?

When did the United States of America - a nation, and more importantly, a CONCEPT in which I firmly believe, become a bastion for neurotic and bigoted points of view that harm others? Because personally, as a man who fully embraces human liberty, I completely reject the idea that women can't be effective software engineers. I furthermore reject ALL such notions of inequality as a basis for the rejection, hand-holding, and de-humanizing of any sub-sector of human society for any possible reason.

If I was standing here, right now, face-to-face with a guy who told a woman that she wasn't qualified to be a software engineer because she's a woman, I'd punch the son-of-a-bitch in the god damn face. This nation - the United States of America - was built on the following concept, that I personally hold to be sacred, even above my own faith (Christianity):

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [and women] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

I added "[and women]" there, because it should have been there in the first place. When I hear the term "mankind", I automatically think two things: (1) It should be "humankind" because (2) that damn-well includes women. You can't have the homosapien species without women. It takes both genders to reproduce and continue this great human tragedy.

Every day I see yet another account of how a woman was mistreated by a white guy in the "computer science" industry. And every time I see this, I feel inadvertently guilty. So because I'm a white guy, who's NEVER mistreated a woman in my entire life and would probably commit myself if I did, I should feel guilty about this shit? Seriously? That's the message being communicated (inadvertently) every single day to thousands - maybe even millions - of us fellas worldwide.

Ladies, please realize that, as far as I know, these situations are the exception, and DAMN WELL NOT the norm! If you get into this industry, realize that a lot of people - men and the brave women who came before you - are going to support you, myself included.

Furthermore, please realize that you DO NOT NEED ANYONE TO HOLD YOUR HAND. You don't need "special" recognition - you need FAIR recognition. You don't need scholarships, you need a FAIR CHANCE at the same economic opportunities. You don't need some one to coax you into the industry, you need a person - of either gender - to INSPIRE YOU. You don't need anyone to hold your hand and help you through it because YOU ARE NOT WEAK.

There's a real simple solution to this issue of "women in tech": don't give a shit. You're a guy? Fine. Prove you have the skills. You're a woman? Fine. Prove you have the skills.

That's really all there is to it. And anybody who says otherwise is a god damn bigot.

Ladies, please give us fellas - worldwide - some slack while we all come to grips with the reality that you're every bit our equal. Realize that 50% of our thinking happens below our waist and that none of us are nearly as confident as we make ourselves appear to be.

Guys, realize that whether you like it or not, these ladies getting into software engineering are just as good as you are, if not better in some cases. You need to MAN THE FUCK UP and evaluate a person based on their individual capabilities, not the size of her tits or whether or not she's DTF. Your personal inferiority complex of whether or not she'd "do you" isn't relevant here, and damn well not a valid premise to dehumanize her. Get over yourself.

Ever hear of a lady by the name of Ada Lovelace? You'd better fucking look her up. What about Grace Hopper? Look these two legends of computer science up and prepare to be humbled.

Ladies, please aspire to be as shining a beacon to others as Ada and Grace were.

Gentlemen, please gather the courage necessary to overcome your own inadequacies and acknowledge women in technology as your equals. Anything less is cowardice, and cowards, by definition, are not real Men.

To all my allies of both genders in this pseudo-conflict, I say, quite simply: please refuse to tolerate bigotry, educate others, and support those who embrace equality.

The litmus test for this is real simple:

Do you have the skills? Great, get your ass to work.
No? Get the fuck out until you do.

We need women to stand up and embrace their own courage, and men to get the hell out of their way.

ALL human beings are entitled to REAL freedom and the right to self determination free of discrimination and fear. Anything less than that is, at the very least, a seed of evil, and its roots should be pulled up and discarded, lest we all burn in the fires of ignorance and fear.

Let freedom of all kinds - including economic, gender, and professional - ring.