So this last month or so has been a strange one, between elections, readings, and code, things could go better, things could go worse. One of the major things I’m learning now is project managment with Free Code Camp. I’m VERY lucky that I responded to a tweet by Quincy Larson and he gave me a project to work on for FCC regarding ethics and code. The thing that I’m learning is that my ideal timeline didn’t work out, so I’m having to re-adjust. This seems to be a typical thing though from most interviews I’ve listened to about project managment in general though.

I’m REALLY happy though, and am taking it as seriously as I can since 1. Quincy is awesome and I wouldn’t want to let him down and 2. This has been a great way to connect with people regarding code and ask them questions.

Also, CodeNewbie was EXTREMELY good this week talking about diversity in tech (YAY!), and ways to go about potentially addressing the lack of diversity that exists CodeNewbie

I’ve been reading a TON about the election as well, between demographics, data, regions, maps, registrations, etc… there’s still a lot to figure out, analyze and understand. For my money I still think Mark Blyth has some of the most complete analysis out there. I appreciate the global aspect of his analysis, but would also really love to see a more sociological aspect/investigation of what happened with the election.

I can understand in a personal way why the democrats lost in terms of messaging, marketing, and outreach, but they need a stronger narrative to build on, because clearly the narrative/message of “status quo” is not cutting it. Identity politics is still a force as it should be, but depending on the political winds/overarching message of this campaign (fear/jobs/security) it is not enough to overcome institutional norms. What’s even more frustrating is that those in charge of the institutions do not want to change as the status quo continues with leaders such as Pelosi and Schumer. Such a signal makes no sense as the election was a referendum that a vast majority of people wanted change. An argument can be made that since Sanders was placed in charge of outreach, that it signals change, but I would argue that such a change is a token gesture at best, and does not substantively change the neccessary workings of power/potential policy options.