Are all girl FIRST team counterproductive to the philosophy of FIRST?

[Molten]

Originally Posted by Katie_UPS

I get that you dislike the "oh, I'm a girl, people don't listen". I do too. I want to rise above it, not complain about it. But you're coming off as if to say that it is us (girls) overreacting... but lets be honest. It DOES happen. In actually strategy meetings, team's aren't THAT absorbed in themselves. In the lab, she didn't just happen to be ignored. Sure, we shouldn't assume... but we are just as capable as you are to drawing logical conclusions.

I don't believe you(or anyone) are overreacting when you are being unfairly discriminated against. It shouldn't happen at all, but it does. My main point is that nobody can really tell right away what a persons motives are. It takes a little bit of time to really know the person before you can tell exactly what their motives are. Afterall, what happened to innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? I'm not saying there aren't signs that it might have been discrimination. But I definitely believe there's plenty of room for reasonable doubt. I'm sure I've done many things with respect to a minority that would seem racist if you didn't wait to see that I do it with people of my same race. Perfect example, when I get into a group that requires presenting I look each member of my team in the eye and ask how they are at public speaking. I've had some minorities react as if I'm asking because they are a minority, but I assure you I ask the same thing to anyone that I haven't seen do a presentation. I know my example isn't as bad as ignoring a lab partner but it was honestly the most illustrative example I could come up with at the moment.

Jason