I believe that, as a hacker, there are certain values you should have. I could go on a rant about this alone, but a non-negotiable trait is tolerance for people who are different.
After All, We’re All Alike
I decided to be a hacker after almost a lifetime of wanting to become a pilot just like my dad. What drove my decision was the realisation that I actually really liked computers, and I loved breaking things to learn how they worked. Not too long from there, I dove straight in…alone.
Turned my laptop into an unusable metallic slab in an effort to install Linux Mint, burnt through light-years of mobile data as I consumed more knowledge. Put simply, I f##ked around and found out because there was no one I could rely on as a mentor.
But I found it. Something better than a mentor. It was multiple mentors. A community of knowledge hungry, curious minded people, who all followed the path of f##king around and finding out. Some were like me: Teenager, black, sleep deprived. But more importantly, they were not me. Some were different: Adult, white, sleep deprived. They were queer, trans. They were somebodies, nobodies. Their names kept secret, and so was mine. They were inexperienced, experienced. The inexperienced who thought they were experienced and the experienced who battled with impostor syndrome. Yet, they accepted me and each other. They were different, but all had beautifully curious minds. After all, we’re all alike.
Until…
Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. — The Mentor, 1986
As I grew my skills in these communities, I accepted this as a core part of the hacker culture. We stood up for what’s right and opposed ideologies that fuel hate and limit freedom. It was all play and no work because we found joy in what we did, lending a hand because we could. Not caring who you were, where you were from, or what you looked like. As long as you loved to hack, you were welcome. Untill…
I witnessed what can only be described as bullying in the community. Up until that point, I’ve never imagined shaming someone who asked questions within a community were asking questions is its foundation were possible. Countless times, I watched as hackers berated hackers for their curiosity. They despised another for being gay, black, curious, and beautifully made. Whichever differed from them, they hated. I commend the Cybersecurity community; however, there have been efforts of inclusion in almost every Cybersecurity space and that has helped curbing hate.
“This is it… this is where I belong…”
I’ll admit something. I was becoming an increasingly angry person. In pursuit of fairness and justice, I developed a fierce passion that, although I sometimes was commended for, were chaotic. That passion still exists, but I have to take a different approach.
I got blindsided by my unwavering respect for people in the community, which I consequently failed to notice the hate harboured against me. Not for being just or fierce, but for what I believed in and for my tact. Apparently, people don’t like that I stand up for people different from me. They also do not like that I am well spoken. I am mocked for “using big words”, go figure.
But none of that can stop me. The very fact that bullying people who are just trying to learn angers me is exactly why I won’t leave. We all have a moral obligation to discourage bullies as hackers, as people. I talked about calling out a particular person here who is notorious for bullying newbies in the Nigerian Cybersec community, and I haven’t forgotten; I’m just exercising patience. It is my attempt to lead by example.
I believe we can come together as a collective and make the Cybersecurity space one where newbies are not afraid to ask questions out of fear of being shunned.
We’re different, but this we can agree on.
After all, we’re all alike.