It's a tactic that's been around for a long time. Redefine words. Then pretend everyone's using your new, made-up definitions, and claim you've won the argument.
Maybe I'm just starting to notice it, but the level of doublespeak is really astounding these days.
Racism for example means BOTH the individual belief in superiority/inferiority of a particular race AND the societal/systematic belief.
This is why there are debates about whether Racism still exists in America, or whether discrimination against White people is racist. It depends on the context.
No one's talking past anyone. It's obvious what's going on. They don't want to admit that non-Xs can be terribly racist. So they flip words around so they can, at worst, say "well they may have prejudice". They invent stuff like "reverse racism".
And in fact, that's what Github's code of conduct enshrines.
It's intellectually dishonest.
It is the only place I have lived where, as a white person, you are discriminated against on a daily basis.
It really really sucks. It also opens your eyes to what it feels like to be on the receiving end of racism.
Sure, whites have messed up. Still do. But does that mean they can't be discriminated against?