My own guess as to why this is that, as one of the groups discriminated against the least in modern society compared to historically marginalized groups, its easiest for us to overlook the needs of other groups.
Or maybe it's because our industry "white guys" are the largest group by far (at least in North America and Europe), so it's unsurprising that they give most of the feedback. In that regard, your statement is technically true but it adds nothing to the story and it's actually distracting from the main point.
I could reply that I've heard the same remarks from women, proportionally to their presence in IT, but it'd be a throwaway comment as well, because I'd need numbers to support my thesis. You will need too, if you plan to clarify your statement (I'd welcome your effort).
It takes more effort for groups near the top to remember things are different others, and it takes further effort to remember this and create long-lasting change.
Sure. We can all agree on that. But how does the information that remarks against accessibility usually come from white men help us in that regard? Do we need to prepare to debate with them in special ways? Can we ignore such arguments if they come from, say, an Asian woman? What about countries where white men are a minority?
I personally don't think it's politicizing the topic, but on the other hand if you say that "it adds something", I reply that it's not clear how, and the risk is that it could flame the discussion with off topic remarks and without any deliberate goal.
Or maybe it's because our industry "white guys" are the largest group by far (at least in North America and Europe), so it's unsurprising that they give most of the feedback. In that regard, your statement is technically true but it adds nothing to the story and it's actually distracting from the main point.
I could reply that I've heard the same remarks from women, proportionally to their presence in IT, but it'd be a throwaway comment as well, because I'd need numbers to support my thesis. You will need too, if you plan to clarify your statement (I'd welcome your effort).
Sure. We can all agree on that. But how does the information that remarks against accessibility usually come from white men help us in that regard? Do we need to prepare to debate with them in special ways? Can we ignore such arguments if they come from, say, an Asian woman? What about countries where white men are a minority?
I personally don't think it's politicizing the topic, but on the other hand if you say that "it adds something", I reply that it's not clear how, and the risk is that it could flame the discussion with off topic remarks and without any deliberate goal.
It doesn't politicize the topic. It politicizes the article about the topic.