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Finding racial slurs unacceptable, when he isn't attacking a specific person on HN, is political correctness.

harry8 11y ago
No it is not. My taking exception to constant use of the word "nigger" as a deliberate form of abuse and noting it is what it is. There will be some who won't know it and will dig into it and wonder why it escaped without so much as a mention. They might actually be hurt by it. I've said why I take exception, making people feel unwelcome who I think should be made to feel welcome. I've said maybe he doesn't mean it because he's in need of psychological help, perhaps help of a kind that it wholly unavailable at this point in history. This is a tragedy but it doesn't make it acceptable. Political correctness is something else entirely. Political correctness is it being unacceptable to have dissenting views from the powerful. The phrase comes from, I believe, the China of the 1970s. People who were deemed politically incorrect were treated very badly indeed by a pretty hideous and oppressive regime. It's something quite different from the right to claim my kind are superior to yours while being free of criticism for saying so. It's something different to saying the phrase 'political correctness' as an excuse to be abusive. I do not object to this man's dissenting political views. He is unwell. He is abusive of people I would wish to make welcome. Look around at the demographic again at any conference, any place of work in this industry. I don't buy arguments that skin melanin or estrogen make for poor engineers, I know some do. Given I'm not buying that, pointing out abusive behaviour and noting that is pretty awful doesn't seem unreasonable or oppressive of legitimate alternate points of view to me. Does it really to you? I doubt strongly there is any abuse I could direct at you that would make you doubt yourself. Would it were so for those smarter but less confident that you or me. I am not saying suppress the story, that this story should not be here, just that we shouldn't pretend that awfulness isn't there. If on the other hand you find racism, of the most gross kind, acceptable as long as it's not directed at a specific person on HN you and I diverge views quite strongly at that point.
- classicsnoot 11y ago
  >might actually be hurt >I think should be made to feel welcome >He is unwell >he is abusive >look at the demographics [presumably of the tech industry] >abusive behavior >doesn't seem unreasonable or oppressive to me >I am not saying suppress the story, that this story should not be here, just that we shouldn't pretend that awfulness isn't there. How i wish the immediately above statement were applied liberally to the US culture, as opposed to just EuroAmericans and just Males. All the other quotes are the big markers of a highly subjective point of view being flogged as the only objective point of view. But that's just, like, my opinion man.
- MichaelGG 11y ago
  I don't recall Terry ever being racist. He uses nigger a lot, but it doesn't seem directed at black people. It's used as a generalized insult. Just as someone describing poor tech as "lame" isn't against cripples. So while I hear that people find the very syllables upsetting, there seems to be no racism actually here. I'd hope people on HN (and people we want on HN) would be capable of understanding this. (And anyways, Terry's accounts all get hellbanned here, so it's just links and discussion of his cool work. Except for these low-signal threads that will hopefully be detached as off topic.)

No it is not. My taking exception to constant use of the word "nigger" as a deliberate form of abuse and noting it is what it is. There will be some who won't know it and will dig into it and wonder why it escaped without so much as a mention. They might actually be hurt by it. I've said why I take exception, making people feel unwelcome who I think should be made to feel welcome. I've said maybe he doesn't mean it because he's in need of psychological help, perhaps help of a kind that it wholly unavailable at this point in history. This is a tragedy but it doesn't make it acceptable. Political correctness is something else entirely. Political correctness is it being unacceptable to have dissenting views from the powerful. The phrase comes from, I believe, the China of the 1970s. People who were deemed politically incorrect were treated very badly indeed by a pretty hideous and oppressive regime. It's something quite different from the right to claim my kind are superior to yours while being free of criticism for saying so. It's something different to saying the phrase 'political correctness' as an excuse to be abusive. I do not object to this man's dissenting political views. He is unwell. He is abusive of people I would wish to make welcome. Look around at the demographic again at any conference, any place of work in this industry. I don't buy arguments that skin melanin or estrogen make for poor engineers, I know some do. Given I'm not buying that, pointing out abusive behaviour and noting that is pretty awful doesn't seem unreasonable or oppressive of legitimate alternate points of view to me. Does it really to you? I doubt strongly there is any abuse I could direct at you that would make you doubt yourself. Would it were so for those smarter but less confident that you or me. I am not saying suppress the story, that this story should not be here, just that we shouldn't pretend that awfulness isn't there. If on the other hand you find racism, of the most gross kind, acceptable as long as it's not directed at a specific person on HN you and I diverge views quite strongly at that point.

classicsnoot 11y ago
>might actually be hurt >I think should be made to feel welcome >He is unwell >he is abusive >look at the demographics [presumably of the tech industry] >abusive behavior >doesn't seem unreasonable or oppressive to me >I am not saying suppress the story, that this story should not be here, just that we shouldn't pretend that awfulness isn't there. How i wish the immediately above statement were applied liberally to the US culture, as opposed to just EuroAmericans and just Males. All the other quotes are the big markers of a highly subjective point of view being flogged as the only objective point of view. But that's just, like, my opinion man.
MichaelGG 11y ago
I don't recall Terry ever being racist. He uses nigger a lot, but it doesn't seem directed at black people. It's used as a generalized insult. Just as someone describing poor tech as "lame" isn't against cripples. So while I hear that people find the very syllables upsetting, there seems to be no racism actually here. I'd hope people on HN (and people we want on HN) would be capable of understanding this. (And anyways, Terry's accounts all get hellbanned here, so it's just links and discussion of his cool work. Except for these low-signal threads that will hopefully be detached as off topic.)