7 ms·

Twitter User Replaces Word 'White' with 'Black,' Gets Banned

26 points by kushti 10y ago

SwellJoe 10y ago
Why is so hard to understand that some people are protected classes, and there's a good reason for that? There are people in the US who have been marginalized and oppressed because of the color of their skin, their disability, the gender, their age, or their religion. Being white isn't one of those protected classes, because no one experiences oppression for being white. It's so incredibly simple that it takes a white person to so stubbornly misunderstand it.
- supergirl 10y ago
  What are you trying to say? Racism against white is OK because whites are not a protected class?
  - kapauldo 10y ago
    This was not real racism. It was fake racism to make a point. It is in itself racist because it delegitimizes actual racism with bogus false equivalency. It's like when racists say "all lives matter."
    - supergirl 10y ago
      From Twitter's point of view one post was racist (or abusive, whatever) and one was not. I think here people are more interested if Twitter did the right thing not if the guy doing the experiment did the right thing. But of course you can judge them both.
  - SwellJoe 10y ago
    I'm saying racism against white people holds approximately* no power in the US. Being white will approximately never prevent you from getting a job, getting a promotion, holding public office, feeling safe around police, being treated fairly by teachers, etc. Because it holds no power, it is (rightly) seen as a harmless joke when someone makes a racist comment about white folks. White folks don't feel a twinge of fear when they see something like that on twitter or wherever it is. People of color do, because they know it is genuinely reflected in the sentiments and actions of their white neighbors, their white bosses, etc. * - I use the word approximately, because I'm sure there are some very limited cases where being white could be a disadvantage, but they are vastly outnumbered by the situations where being white is an advantage.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
      I'm white, and the police fucking terrify me.
- mwnivek 10y ago
  You may mean something else by "protected class", but race, which includes being white, is a protected class under federal law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class
  - SwellJoe 10y ago
    Possibly not the best use of the term, but I believe you will find from legal precedent it has been used almost exclusively to address mistreatment of people of color. White folks so rarely experience racism in the US, and it so rarely holds any power when they do experience it, that the law and courts pretty much never have to step in on behalf of white people's rights. The right of white folks to exist is the default. It occasionally takes some legal nudging for people of color to experience the world similarly.
    - WayneBro 10y ago
      > ...I believe you will find from legal precedent it has been used almost exclusively to address mistreatment of people of color. So what? The spirit and the letter of the law are what matters. Not what the system uses it for. That's like saying that because civil forfeiture has been used for a certain purpose, it must be the correct purpose! Is that what you're saying? > White folks so rarely experience racism... Oh, well thank you once again for speaking on behalf of every single person in one racial group! I'm not sure you know what racism means. It's the belief that all members of a given race have certain characteristics or abilities specific to that race (especially where it shows inferiority/superiority relative to other races). Given that (correct) definition, do you really think white folks don't experience racism in any way? Tell me, what characteristics or abilities are ascribed to white people that supposedly makes them superior? Also, have you never heard a black or latin comedian making fun of supposed white characteristics that make them seem "uncool", "nerdy" or "not hip"? Look....it's obvious that you don't know what you're talking about. You're just flinging accusations about.
      - SwellJoe 10y ago
        Also, have you never heard a black or latin comedian making fun of supposed white characteristics that make them seem "uncool", "nerdy" or "not hip"? Sure, and it causes me no harm. I don't lose out on jobs because of it, I don't have a hard time finding housing because of it, I don't feel excluded from civic institutions because of it. Some people of color do feel that way, and racism in our culture and society empowers those differences.
- WayneBro 10y ago
  How long does that have to last for though? 1,000 years? Also, why is it so hard for you to understand that everyone doesn't agree with you on this and there are plenty of good reasons for that? > There are people in the US who have been marginalized and oppressed because of the color of their skin... Oh boohoo. Take a look around you and you'll find plenty of poor white people who have also been marginalized and oppressed because they don't have the money to lobby the government like the rich white people. People of every race are free to point out Twitters double-standard and Twitter is free to ban them. People are also free to leave Twitter in droves. Personally, I never use it.
  - SwellJoe 10y ago
    How long does that have to last for though? 1,000 years? Until it stops being a clear and present danger to people of color. Also, why is it so hard for you to understand that everyone doesn't agree with you on this and there are plenty of good reasons for that? There are reasons, I would argue most are not "good". Most are based on an embarrassing lack of empathy on the part of white folks. Oh boohoo. Oh, the irony of making fun of people of color for feeling marginalized in a thread where white people are freaking out over a tweet. PoC should stop being so sensitive? Let's have white people get to the front of the bus for that trip. People of every race are free to point out Twitters double-standard and Twitter is free to ban them. And, I'm free to make fun of my fellow white people for being so sensitive to any perceived slight while they're loudly telling black folks to shut up already about racism.
    - WayneBro 10y ago
      > Until it stops being a clear and present danger to people of color. Wooo. Yeah it's so dangerous out there for black people. Poor white people are probably safe though, right? Ummmm...no. Let's be clear though: The danger you're talking about is words on a page. That's what Twitter is protecting us from. As if my mind were so weak that I need to be protected from words. That's the real insult here. > Oh, the irony of making fun of people of color for feeling marginalized in a thread where white people are freaking out... Yeah, but I'm black. So, where's your argument now? Also, I wasn't making fun - I seriously want you try cry me a river about words on Twitter. Because it's breaking my heart too. Seriously! I wish nobody would use it. > And, I'm free to make fun of my fellow white people... OK, but again... I'm black. So, thanks for making fun of my opinion?
- Nadya 10y ago
  Twitter is not only used in the U.S of A. White people do and have experienced oppression for being white in other countries where they are the minority. Americans have a nasty habit of pretending the entire world is the USA and that their racial politics translates across the world. One could argue Twitter is US-based or that the tweets were US-centric. The latter doesn't matter, based on Twitter moderation in the past. The former shouldn't matter for a global company. Unless they're OK with being racist and oppressive to white people in countries where they are the oppressed minority race.
- MK999 10y ago
  There's not a good reason to treat people differently under the law or for 'hate crimes' since 'crime' is itself sufficient. You clearly have no knowledge of the Roman or the Arab slave trade which traded in all people including whites. There where white slaves in the United States, so your narrative of all the white people teaming up against the brown people is just a tool used by others to manipulate your opinion. White slaves were actually owned by blacks and Indians in the South to such an extent that the Virginia Assembly passed the following law in 1670: “It is enacted that noe negro or Indian though baptized and enjoyned their owne ffreedome shall be capable of any such purchase of christians...” (Statutes of the Virginia Assembly, Vol. 2, pp. 280-81). Negroes also owned other negroes in America (Charleston County Probate Court Records, 1754- 1758, p. 406). While Whites languished in chains Blacks were free men in Virginia throughout the 17th century (Willie Lee Rose, A Documentary History of Slavery in North America, p. 15; John Henderson Russell, Free Negro in Virginia, 1619-1865, p.23; Bruce Levine, et al., Who Built America?, vol. I, p. 52). In 1717, it was proposed that a qualification for election to the South Carolina Assembly was to be “the ownership of one white man.” (Journals of the Commons House of Assembly of the Province of South Carolina: 1692-1775, volume 5, pp. 294-295). Negroes voted in the Carolina counties of Berkeley and Craven in 1 706 “and their votes were taken.” (Levine, p. 63). I could also talk about anti-Irish prejudice, or anti-Catholic prejudice, or Jewish and Protestant slave ownership rates in the American colonies but these too don't fit your narrative of the white oppressor against the 'minorities'
Kenji 10y ago
It is part of the liberal agenda that the oppressors cannot be discriminated against. So, in this case, racism against white people is impossible, because white people are seen as oppressors. Retarded but that's what they believe.
- Hnrobert42 10y ago
  Yes, people/companies can and do discriminate against whites all the time. Yes, discrimination is bad in all forms. But comparatively, discrimination against whites is limited in scope and impact. In the words of our president-elect, those concerned with discrimination against whites are just being big babies.
  - Kenji 10y ago
    Look, all I said was that modern liberals apply a divisive double-standard to racism (and other forms of bigotry). I am concerned with this thinking in general. I think it is illogical, anti-humanist and divisive. And with you ridiculing people who are against all forms of racism, rather than just a subset, you prove my point.
    - vorotato 10y ago
      No, he didn't prove your point...
supergirl 10y ago
how did this post drop so much? One minute I see it at nr 7, now I can't even find it. Is it hidden or did it drop 1000 places in literally 1 minute.
- detaro 10y ago
  users flagging a post has a massive impact on its ranking, I assume that's what has happened here.
  - supergirl 10y ago
    I thought it would first show as flagged. Now it just disappeared.
- WayneBro 10y ago
  Try using hckrnews.com to view the list of stories. It's so much better than the default list at news.ycombinator.com. They don't remove flagged stuff if you don't want them to.
Overtonwindow 10y ago
He should do it again but use a lot more tweets. One, or even a few tweets, is not enough. Create 50, and see what happens. Prejudice of any kinds by anyone should be punished the same.

26 points by kushti 10y ago

Why is so hard to understand that some people are protected classes, and there's a good reason for that? There are people in the US who have been marginalized and oppressed because of the color of their skin, their disability, the gender, their age, or their religion. Being white isn't one of those protected classes, because no one experiences oppression for being white. It's so incredibly simple that it takes a white person to so stubbornly misunderstand it.

supergirl 10y ago
What are you trying to say? Racism against white is OK because whites are not a protected class?
- kapauldo 10y ago
  This was not real racism. It was fake racism to make a point. It is in itself racist because it delegitimizes actual racism with bogus false equivalency. It's like when racists say "all lives matter."
  - supergirl 10y ago
    From Twitter's point of view one post was racist (or abusive, whatever) and one was not. I think here people are more interested if Twitter did the right thing not if the guy doing the experiment did the right thing. But of course you can judge them both.
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  I'm saying racism against white people holds approximately* no power in the US. Being white will approximately never prevent you from getting a job, getting a promotion, holding public office, feeling safe around police, being treated fairly by teachers, etc. Because it holds no power, it is (rightly) seen as a harmless joke when someone makes a racist comment about white folks. White folks don't feel a twinge of fear when they see something like that on twitter or wherever it is. People of color do, because they know it is genuinely reflected in the sentiments and actions of their white neighbors, their white bosses, etc. * - I use the word approximately, because I'm sure there are some very limited cases where being white could be a disadvantage, but they are vastly outnumbered by the situations where being white is an advantage.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
    I'm white, and the police fucking terrify me.
mwnivek 10y ago
You may mean something else by "protected class", but race, which includes being white, is a protected class under federal law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  Possibly not the best use of the term, but I believe you will find from legal precedent it has been used almost exclusively to address mistreatment of people of color. White folks so rarely experience racism in the US, and it so rarely holds any power when they do experience it, that the law and courts pretty much never have to step in on behalf of white people's rights. The right of white folks to exist is the default. It occasionally takes some legal nudging for people of color to experience the world similarly.
  - WayneBro 10y ago
    > ...I believe you will find from legal precedent it has been used almost exclusively to address mistreatment of people of color. So what? The spirit and the letter of the law are what matters. Not what the system uses it for. That's like saying that because civil forfeiture has been used for a certain purpose, it must be the correct purpose! Is that what you're saying? > White folks so rarely experience racism... Oh, well thank you once again for speaking on behalf of every single person in one racial group! I'm not sure you know what racism means. It's the belief that all members of a given race have certain characteristics or abilities specific to that race (especially where it shows inferiority/superiority relative to other races). Given that (correct) definition, do you really think white folks don't experience racism in any way? Tell me, what characteristics or abilities are ascribed to white people that supposedly makes them superior? Also, have you never heard a black or latin comedian making fun of supposed white characteristics that make them seem "uncool", "nerdy" or "not hip"? Look....it's obvious that you don't know what you're talking about. You're just flinging accusations about.
    - SwellJoe 10y ago
      Also, have you never heard a black or latin comedian making fun of supposed white characteristics that make them seem "uncool", "nerdy" or "not hip"? Sure, and it causes me no harm. I don't lose out on jobs because of it, I don't have a hard time finding housing because of it, I don't feel excluded from civic institutions because of it. Some people of color do feel that way, and racism in our culture and society empowers those differences.
WayneBro 10y ago
How long does that have to last for though? 1,000 years? Also, why is it so hard for you to understand that everyone doesn't agree with you on this and there are plenty of good reasons for that? > There are people in the US who have been marginalized and oppressed because of the color of their skin... Oh boohoo. Take a look around you and you'll find plenty of poor white people who have also been marginalized and oppressed because they don't have the money to lobby the government like the rich white people. People of every race are free to point out Twitters double-standard and Twitter is free to ban them. People are also free to leave Twitter in droves. Personally, I never use it.
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  How long does that have to last for though? 1,000 years? Until it stops being a clear and present danger to people of color. Also, why is it so hard for you to understand that everyone doesn't agree with you on this and there are plenty of good reasons for that? There are reasons, I would argue most are not "good". Most are based on an embarrassing lack of empathy on the part of white folks. Oh boohoo. Oh, the irony of making fun of people of color for feeling marginalized in a thread where white people are freaking out over a tweet. PoC should stop being so sensitive? Let's have white people get to the front of the bus for that trip. People of every race are free to point out Twitters double-standard and Twitter is free to ban them. And, I'm free to make fun of my fellow white people for being so sensitive to any perceived slight while they're loudly telling black folks to shut up already about racism.
  - WayneBro 10y ago
    > Until it stops being a clear and present danger to people of color. Wooo. Yeah it's so dangerous out there for black people. Poor white people are probably safe though, right? Ummmm...no. Let's be clear though: The danger you're talking about is words on a page. That's what Twitter is protecting us from. As if my mind were so weak that I need to be protected from words. That's the real insult here. > Oh, the irony of making fun of people of color for feeling marginalized in a thread where white people are freaking out... Yeah, but I'm black. So, where's your argument now? Also, I wasn't making fun - I seriously want you try cry me a river about words on Twitter. Because it's breaking my heart too. Seriously! I wish nobody would use it. > And, I'm free to make fun of my fellow white people... OK, but again... I'm black. So, thanks for making fun of my opinion?
Nadya 10y ago
Twitter is not only used in the U.S of A. White people do and have experienced oppression for being white in other countries where they are the minority. Americans have a nasty habit of pretending the entire world is the USA and that their racial politics translates across the world. One could argue Twitter is US-based or that the tweets were US-centric. The latter doesn't matter, based on Twitter moderation in the past. The former shouldn't matter for a global company. Unless they're OK with being racist and oppressive to white people in countries where they are the oppressed minority race.
MK999 10y ago
There's not a good reason to treat people differently under the law or for 'hate crimes' since 'crime' is itself sufficient. You clearly have no knowledge of the Roman or the Arab slave trade which traded in all people including whites. There where white slaves in the United States, so your narrative of all the white people teaming up against the brown people is just a tool used by others to manipulate your opinion. White slaves were actually owned by blacks and Indians in the South to such an extent that the Virginia Assembly passed the following law in 1670: “It is enacted that noe negro or Indian though baptized and enjoyned their owne ffreedome shall be capable of any such purchase of christians...” (Statutes of the Virginia Assembly, Vol. 2, pp. 280-81). Negroes also owned other negroes in America (Charleston County Probate Court Records, 1754- 1758, p. 406). While Whites languished in chains Blacks were free men in Virginia throughout the 17th century (Willie Lee Rose, A Documentary History of Slavery in North America, p. 15; John Henderson Russell, Free Negro in Virginia, 1619-1865, p.23; Bruce Levine, et al., Who Built America?, vol. I, p. 52). In 1717, it was proposed that a qualification for election to the South Carolina Assembly was to be “the ownership of one white man.” (Journals of the Commons House of Assembly of the Province of South Carolina: 1692-1775, volume 5, pp. 294-295). Negroes voted in the Carolina counties of Berkeley and Craven in 1 706 “and their votes were taken.” (Levine, p. 63). I could also talk about anti-Irish prejudice, or anti-Catholic prejudice, or Jewish and Protestant slave ownership rates in the American colonies but these too don't fit your narrative of the white oppressor against the 'minorities'

Kenji 10y ago

It is part of the liberal agenda that the oppressors cannot be discriminated against. So, in this case, racism against white people is impossible, because white people are seen as oppressors. Retarded but that's what they believe.

Hnrobert42 10y ago
Yes, people/companies can and do discriminate against whites all the time. Yes, discrimination is bad in all forms. But comparatively, discrimination against whites is limited in scope and impact. In the words of our president-elect, those concerned with discrimination against whites are just being big babies.
- Kenji 10y ago
  Look, all I said was that modern liberals apply a divisive double-standard to racism (and other forms of bigotry). I am concerned with this thinking in general. I think it is illogical, anti-humanist and divisive. And with you ridiculing people who are against all forms of racism, rather than just a subset, you prove my point.
  - vorotato 10y ago
    No, he didn't prove your point...

supergirl 10y ago

how did this post drop so much? One minute I see it at nr 7, now I can't even find it. Is it hidden or did it drop 1000 places in literally 1 minute.

detaro 10y ago
users flagging a post has a massive impact on its ranking, I assume that's what has happened here.
- supergirl 10y ago
  I thought it would first show as flagged. Now it just disappeared.
WayneBro 10y ago
Try using hckrnews.com to view the list of stories. It's so much better than the default list at news.ycombinator.com. They don't remove flagged stuff if you don't want them to.

Overtonwindow 10y ago

He should do it again but use a lot more tweets. One, or even a few tweets, is not enough. Create 50, and see what happens. Prejudice of any kinds by anyone should be punished the same.