Re:YouTube blocked chess channel after mistaken detection of...
by goblin89 on Monday February 22, 2021 @07:44AM
(#26223841)
Nice examples. On one hand, once etymology of a word is old enough, it becomes forgotten and not many people are offended; on the other hand, once that etymology is brought to light, continuing to use that word may become an ethically questionable choice. That said, the pushback against “master” and “blacklist” seems related not to etymology (origins of those words don’t involve race or slavery) but to connotations acquired afterwards.
> We should listen to each other more and if these terms are a barrier then there really is no harm to using other terms.
Agreed.
I’m personally torn on this issue. On one hand, the fact that these words rub people wrong is an indicator of a deeper problem—in an ideal world, no one would take a term personally because they’d know it denotes a technical concept and isn’t intended to put anyone down; on the other hand, it’s not really that difficult to stop using some terms in new codebases.
On one hand, we should get input from those directly affected by this; on the other hand, those affected may choose to stay silent despite possible discomfort and treat it as a problem with their insecurities rather than the industry.
Likewise "hysterical" derives from "hyster" (Uterus) and stems from the idea that the female reproductive system made women mad and incapable.
I feel like one of the things that people miss often in discussing these topics is the asymmetry of power. If you're one of the people who has historically been discriminated against you may well have different feelings from people who has historically doing the discriminating.
We should listen to each other more and if these terms are a barrier then there really is no harm to using other terms. I think using friendly language is the least I can do from the point of view of being courteous to others.