Josh Parsons
@walktothesun.bsky.social
walktothesun from Twitter | hachyderm.io/@walktothesun
Sr Software Eng II/Platform Engineer @ Honeycomb | Enabling and empowering engineering teams to do their best work | I do not succeed unless you succeed | Opinions are my own | he/him
Sr Software Eng II/Platform Engineer @ Honeycomb | Enabling and empowering engineering teams to do their best work | I do not succeed unless you succeed | Opinions are my own | he/him
Pinned
Josh Parsons
@walktothesun.bsky.social
· Jul 23
The roads of the second half of my career: A practice of community – Josh Parsons
jlpjoshparsons.com
This week, I've been spending time reflecting on the priorities I want to focus on in the second half of my career. Specifically, what it means for me to build things of enduring value, and the duty I feel to share my knowledge with those who will come after me. jlpjoshparsons.com/2025/07/22/t...
Reposted by Josh Parsons
I recently came across the term “the politics of care” while watching the YouTube video From Prince to Commoner: What Andrew’s Downfall Tells Us About Power. The concept is explored beautifully in an academic article by Berenice Malka Fisher and Maurice Hamington, which asks:
November 3, 2025 at 12:55 PM
I recently came across the term “the politics of care” while watching the YouTube video From Prince to Commoner: What Andrew’s Downfall Tells Us About Power. The concept is explored beautifully in an academic article by Berenice Malka Fisher and Maurice Hamington, which asks:
Reposted by Josh Parsons
Since your government hates you and doesn’t care if you starve despite you paying taxes into a system that should help you like SNAP…
This is where you can get food if you need it.
This is where you can get food if you need it.
October 29, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Since your government hates you and doesn’t care if you starve despite you paying taxes into a system that should help you like SNAP…
This is where you can get food if you need it.
This is where you can get food if you need it.
A couple of months ago, I joined @kimcrayton1.bsky.social's Profit Without Oppression community and also started participating in a 14-week series of facilitated conversations with Kim, as I and a group of white men work through Ijeoma Oluo's book Mediocre.
October 29, 2025 at 4:06 AM
A couple of months ago, I joined @kimcrayton1.bsky.social's Profit Without Oppression community and also started participating in a 14-week series of facilitated conversations with Kim, as I and a group of white men work through Ijeoma Oluo's book Mediocre.
Reposted by Josh Parsons
I am grateful to the way that @anildash.com continually names and makes space for the existence of "the reasonable majority" in tech, and the ways this industry deals out chilling effects on those working toward shared social good (which spoiler alert also = real innovation!)
Okay, for the folks who asked: here's the majority AI view, writing up the reasonable, thoughtful view on AI that the vast majority of people in tech hold, that gets overshadowed by the bluster and hype of the tycoons trying to shill their nonsense. anildash.com/2025/10/17/t... Please share!
The Majority AI View - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
anildash.com
October 18, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I am grateful to the way that @anildash.com continually names and makes space for the existence of "the reasonable majority" in tech, and the ways this industry deals out chilling effects on those working toward shared social good (which spoiler alert also = real innovation!)
Reposted by Josh Parsons
People sit there and wonder why the shit I build works so well and how the fuck I did it for a fraction of the price that they thought possible. It’s not hard, honestly: design for the marginalized
The power law cuts both ways. Use it to your advantage!
The power law cuts both ways. Use it to your advantage!
October 15, 2025 at 11:23 AM
People sit there and wonder why the shit I build works so well and how the fuck I did it for a fraction of the price that they thought possible. It’s not hard, honestly: design for the marginalized
The power law cuts both ways. Use it to your advantage!
The power law cuts both ways. Use it to your advantage!
Reposted by Josh Parsons
Jordan Peterson and others like him push a narrative that white men must choose between meaning or happiness. That meaning is the higher pursuit, and happiness is shallow or weak. But let’s be clear:
October 3, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Jordan Peterson and others like him push a narrative that white men must choose between meaning or happiness. That meaning is the higher pursuit, and happiness is shallow or weak. But let’s be clear:
Reposted by Josh Parsons
I know some folx are surprised to see David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) publicly sharing statements that mirror the rhetoric of white nationalism. I am not. The writing has been on the wall for years.
October 2, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I know some folx are surprised to see David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) publicly sharing statements that mirror the rhetoric of white nationalism. I am not. The writing has been on the wall for years.
Reposted by Josh Parsons
show this to anyone else you know who also assumed DHH was just a normal conservative dude rather than a raging white supremacist lunatic
DHH Is Way Worse Than I Thought | jakelazaroff.com
DHH's politics are not normal. Maybe they used to be, I don't know, but as of right now the dude is_way outside of what most people would consider moral or acceptable.
jakelazaroff.com
October 2, 2025 at 12:57 PM
show this to anyone else you know who also assumed DHH was just a normal conservative dude rather than a raging white supremacist lunatic
Reposted by Josh Parsons
No one has ever said that signing up for an email list is going to get you sent to the gulag.
It's like these people cannot argue in good faith so they're shadowboxing with people they've invented in their head.
Also, worth reading this entire thread.
It's like these people cannot argue in good faith so they're shadowboxing with people they've invented in their head.
Also, worth reading this entire thread.
It’s very interesting how upset white moderate men are getting about being told it’s dangerous to sign up for counter regime actions under fascism. It’s Even more interesting how some of them have decided that they need to discount all of it as fake news and hysteria in their minds.
September 19, 2025 at 2:31 PM
No one has ever said that signing up for an email list is going to get you sent to the gulag.
It's like these people cannot argue in good faith so they're shadowboxing with people they've invented in their head.
Also, worth reading this entire thread.
It's like these people cannot argue in good faith so they're shadowboxing with people they've invented in their head.
Also, worth reading this entire thread.
Reposted by Josh Parsons
From Urgency to Action: An Emergency Call to Community
This Saturday, September 20th, I’m hosting an emergency Profit Without Oppression Co-Conspirator Network meeting (11am–12:30pm EST).
This Saturday, September 20th, I’m hosting an emergency Profit Without Oppression Co-Conspirator Network meeting (11am–12:30pm EST).
September 18, 2025 at 7:58 PM
From Urgency to Action: An Emergency Call to Community
This Saturday, September 20th, I’m hosting an emergency Profit Without Oppression Co-Conspirator Network meeting (11am–12:30pm EST).
This Saturday, September 20th, I’m hosting an emergency Profit Without Oppression Co-Conspirator Network meeting (11am–12:30pm EST).
Reposted by Josh Parsons
People legit yelled at me for 24 hours when I said it's extremely dumb to RSVP to a protest. Why hand your name over to a group organizing a protest/rally? Do you *want* to have to talk to the FBI?
Treat anyone encouraging you to RSVP to a protest as a fed. End of.
Treat anyone encouraging you to RSVP to a protest as a fed. End of.
Deputy AG Todd Blanche says ‘organized’ Trump protesters could be investigated
Blanche spoke as DOJ sought to walk back Attorney General Pam Bondi’s comments about "hate speech," which landed her in hot water with conservatives.
www.politico.com
September 18, 2025 at 1:08 PM
People legit yelled at me for 24 hours when I said it's extremely dumb to RSVP to a protest. Why hand your name over to a group organizing a protest/rally? Do you *want* to have to talk to the FBI?
Treat anyone encouraging you to RSVP to a protest as a fed. End of.
Treat anyone encouraging you to RSVP to a protest as a fed. End of.
Reposted by Josh Parsons
back on my “words mean things” bullshit to say
“empathy,“ “sympathy,” and “compassion“ are NOT synonyms
“empathy,“ “sympathy,” and “compassion“ are NOT synonyms
September 14, 2025 at 2:15 AM
back on my “words mean things” bullshit to say
“empathy,“ “sympathy,” and “compassion“ are NOT synonyms
“empathy,“ “sympathy,” and “compassion“ are NOT synonyms
Reposted by Josh Parsons
if youd like to get a bit more background on how young men get radicalized online but don't want to dive into hell facefirst alone i have a book about it
(it's five years old, but speaks to methods & human motivations that are still current, i think)
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/talia...
(it's five years old, but speaks to methods & human motivations that are still current, i think)
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/talia...
Culture Warlords
One reporter takes an immersive dive into white supremacy's explosive online presence, exploring the undercurrents of propaganda, racism, misogyny, and ...
www.hachettebookgroup.com
September 13, 2025 at 3:34 PM
if youd like to get a bit more background on how young men get radicalized online but don't want to dive into hell facefirst alone i have a book about it
(it's five years old, but speaks to methods & human motivations that are still current, i think)
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/talia...
(it's five years old, but speaks to methods & human motivations that are still current, i think)
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/talia...
Reposted by Josh Parsons
It’s moments like this that remind me why I created the Profit Without Oppression (PWO) Community.
For too long, “good white folx” have had nowhere to process the ways the myth of white supremacy benefits you at the expense of everyone else.
For too long, “good white folx” have had nowhere to process the ways the myth of white supremacy benefits you at the expense of everyone else.
September 11, 2025 at 4:35 PM
It’s moments like this that remind me why I created the Profit Without Oppression (PWO) Community.
For too long, “good white folx” have had nowhere to process the ways the myth of white supremacy benefits you at the expense of everyone else.
For too long, “good white folx” have had nowhere to process the ways the myth of white supremacy benefits you at the expense of everyone else.
Reposted by Josh Parsons
Linguistics lesson for the day: Accountability is crucial to interpreting language. We make sense of something based on who we believe said it. Synthetic text extruded by LLMs was not said by anyone -- so a crucial step in the chain is broken.
>>
>>
LLMs are not a suitable technology for information access. Here is a quick summary of why not:
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
But to take the SIFT framework, LLMs cannot be a source. They are synthetic text extruding machines, that's all. Text without accountability.
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
But to take the SIFT framework, LLMs cannot be a source. They are synthetic text extruding machines, that's all. Text without accountability.
Information literacy and chatbots as search
By Emily This post started off as a thread I wrote and posted across social media on Sunday evening. I'm reproducing the thread (lightly edited) first and...
buttondown.com
September 7, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Linguistics lesson for the day: Accountability is crucial to interpreting language. We make sense of something based on who we believe said it. Synthetic text extruded by LLMs was not said by anyone -- so a crucial step in the chain is broken.
>>
>>
Reposted by Josh Parsons
A good question to ask oneself politically is 'what do I need to ignore in order to maintain my commitment to x, y, and z?' Because if you, for example, need to ignore a whole group of people's humanity in order to vote for a horrible politician, then it may be too costly to your soul.
August 31, 2025 at 6:00 PM
A good question to ask oneself politically is 'what do I need to ignore in order to maintain my commitment to x, y, and z?' Because if you, for example, need to ignore a whole group of people's humanity in order to vote for a horrible politician, then it may be too costly to your soul.
I'd like to spend a moment reflecting on the participation side of this, because I am participating in this cohort led by Kim.
I just wrapped up the first live session of Mediocre with the participants in Facilitated Conversations with Kim Crayton, and I have to admit something: I didn’t expect to leave this session feeling hopeful.
This work is hard.
This work is hard.
August 23, 2025 at 6:12 PM
I'd like to spend a moment reflecting on the participation side of this, because I am participating in this cohort led by Kim.
Reposted by Josh Parsons
This…. we have commodified lovebombing and abuse
August 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
This…. we have commodified lovebombing and abuse
About as meaningful and effective as bringing Tom Cruise Heidecker Jr. back from the dead. Fuck this. cc @timheidecker.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVQ...
August 5, 2025 at 2:59 PM
About as meaningful and effective as bringing Tom Cruise Heidecker Jr. back from the dead. Fuck this. cc @timheidecker.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVQ...
Reposted by Josh Parsons
This thread is such an accurate representation of the 90’s. Highly recommend that folks read. The 90’s had a lot of men in cultural and decision making power. This moment can be seen as a rebellion of those men losing a chunk of both.
Anyone talking about the 90s like it was a feminist haven free of a manosphere has clearly forgotten about what the 90s was actually like or never bothered to study it
August 2, 2025 at 8:27 PM
This thread is such an accurate representation of the 90’s. Highly recommend that folks read. The 90’s had a lot of men in cultural and decision making power. This moment can be seen as a rebellion of those men losing a chunk of both.
Reposted by Josh Parsons
An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed
July 24, 2025 at 5:46 PM
An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed
Reposted by Josh Parsons
Donate.
I dislike NPR National and the testimony from the CEO was abominable
But we need civic media based in communities
Do donate to LOCAL stations but
- earmark for your local or programs you like
- tell National why you are doing that
I dislike NPR National and the testimony from the CEO was abominable
But we need civic media based in communities
Do donate to LOCAL stations but
- earmark for your local or programs you like
- tell National why you are doing that
Today, President Trump signed a bill into law that will eliminate $1.1B of federal funding for public media. This devastating act tipped the threat against journalism in America into a crisis.
Millions depend on the NPR Network. Now, we’re counting on you.
Donate here: n.pr/458sOhq
Millions depend on the NPR Network. Now, we’re counting on you.
Donate here: n.pr/458sOhq
July 24, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Donate.
I dislike NPR National and the testimony from the CEO was abominable
But we need civic media based in communities
Do donate to LOCAL stations but
- earmark for your local or programs you like
- tell National why you are doing that
I dislike NPR National and the testimony from the CEO was abominable
But we need civic media based in communities
Do donate to LOCAL stations but
- earmark for your local or programs you like
- tell National why you are doing that
Reposted by Josh Parsons
This is a nicely succinct statement of something that has been coming up for me a lot in another domain as I write about software teams! Our conceptions of what technical work could be are made so fragile by fixation on limited and rigid identities
I would have liked to add this citation in my book since I cite a few similar articles to make this broader point: we are less susceptible to misinformation when we are not relying so heavily on a single set of identity meanings.
July 23, 2025 at 2:22 PM
This is a nicely succinct statement of something that has been coming up for me a lot in another domain as I write about software teams! Our conceptions of what technical work could be are made so fragile by fixation on limited and rigid identities