If challenged directly in person (while lacking the context), I would suggest something like the following.
Everyone has moments, where they are lost, confused, and needs help learning something new. And for some of us, it is now.
The key thing is to avoid "you" or "me" and to generalize it, to normalize the feeling of being lost.
As this feeling is universal for all individuals. (Personally, a non-programming example would be kicking a football in soccer).
Naturally, this takes incredible courage. And personally as an introvert, before I built my skills and experience, it can be terrifying to make a stand. And I would consider myself lucky. As such I understand such action is not for everyone.
Which is why I feel it is more on those within the community or the workplace. Those in between "senior" and "junior", the majority in most workplace, and have gone through the hurdles. To step in, and make the stand above, when they see it applied to others.
A situation that I understand not everyone would be lucky enough to be in.
Alternative: Find a safe space to ask such questions
And if all else fail - reach out to the nearest JuniorDev from your location, and ask them if they know anyone in your area who is willing to provide mentorship. And finally the internet itself
However, as is often the case, the people who need to read this sort of thing will likely not do so.
I really wish I have a simple answer to this. Especially on those within the extremes.
The way I feel about it personally is there is a spectrum of those who are being inclusive and supportive of others, to outright hostility. And everyone else in between, who is the majority.
And as naive as it sounds, it is my wish that through highlighting this to those around me, through articles like these as it gets shared to them. That it can help make those in-between slightly more inclusive and supportive of others.
Just as how "bro-grammer" culture is normalized in several places. The same is possible to normalize a supportive and inclusive culture. One workplace, one community at a time.
Web developer at Greggs, UK with a proficiency in VueJS, Tailwind, and Storyblok, as well as other frameworks. I'm also passionate about web design, and mobile app development.
If challenged directly in person (while lacking the context), I would suggest something like the following.
The key thing is to avoid "you" or "me" and to generalize it, to normalize the feeling of being lost.
As this feeling is universal for all individuals. (Personally, a non-programming example would be kicking a football in soccer).
Naturally, this takes incredible courage. And personally as an introvert, before I built my skills and experience, it can be terrifying to make a stand. And I would consider myself lucky. As such I understand such action is not for everyone.
Which is why I feel it is more on those within the community or the workplace. Those in between "senior" and "junior", the majority in most workplace, and have gone through the hurdles. To step in, and make the stand above, when they see it applied to others.
A situation that I understand not everyone would be lucky enough to be in.
Alternative: Find a safe space to ask such questions
Look outside your current workplace.
A huge shout out (in Singapore) is for junior dev community.
For those in other areas, try searching meetup.com for the keyword JuniorDev to find fellow peers who are struggling, and mentors willing to help.
And if all else fail - reach out to the nearest JuniorDev from your location, and ask them if they know anyone in your area who is willing to provide mentorship. And finally the internet itself
Mentorship Resources
Jess Lee ・ Jul 19 '18 ・ 1 min read
I really wish I have a simple answer to this. Especially on those within the extremes.
The way I feel about it personally is there is a spectrum of those who are being inclusive and supportive of others, to outright hostility. And everyone else in between, who is the majority.
And as naive as it sounds, it is my wish that through highlighting this to those around me, through articles like these as it gets shared to them. That it can help make those in-between slightly more inclusive and supportive of others.
Just as how "bro-grammer" culture is normalized in several places. The same is possible to normalize a supportive and inclusive culture. One workplace, one community at a time.
I hope the above helps!
Fab response. Really helpful, thank you. I love the idea of normalising the language used to express the problem - so thoughtful!