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Consider this thought experiment: if you were a P.O.C., say black for example -- how would you feel growing up seeing that all things bad or ill are associated

Consider this thought experiment: if you were a P.O.C., say black for example -- how would you feel growing up seeing that all things bad or ill are associated with the term that your people have been called. Blacklist, blackball, black magic, blackmail, and the list goes on. You might have never thought of these things, simply because it may not a part of your daily life. If we can fix this in even a small way: then why not?

ARandomerDude 6y ago
I hope I would have the clarity of mind to realize that just because I have taken offense doesn't mean anyone has given offense.
wayneftw 6y ago
I don’t think I’ve seen very many people that are purely black. Most of them look like they are shades of brown to me.
donmcronald 6y ago
It’s fucked up how many people will be here arguing that everything black being negative and everything white being positive predates racism. Prepare yourself. I’ve read a lot of these threads lately and it’s really disappointing. The conversation instantly devolves into bullshit like that person in the GitHub issue claiming to be an orphan that’s offended by the term parent. I think changing contribution guidelines and being more cognizant of offensive terms going forward is an obvious win. I’m not really sure what to think about API breaking changes though. Maybe a comment in the code linking to updated guidelines would be a pragmatic solution that doesn’t require breaking changes. It’s probably got to be assessed case by case. What do you think of breaking changes?
- lrpublic 6y ago
  - What do you think of breaking changes? I think it is better to apologise and acknowledge for terms that are offensive rather than erase them. While removing offensive 70’s TV comedy shows is probably a good thing to avoid perpetuating unhealthy stereotypes, preventing the use of 19th century literature is less helpful because we should not forget history.
dingaling 6y ago
> If we can fix this in even a small way: then why not? Wouldn't a more straightforward and sensible solution be to stop referring to people with darker skin as 'black' since, actually, they're not that colour? And conversely 'white' skin isn't white. So let's get rid of that reference too. I'd argue that continuing to use black / white as racial descriptions is highly offensive because it originates in the era of institutional racism and slavery. Why perpetuate that attitude?

ARandomerDude 6y ago

I hope I would have the clarity of mind to realize that just because I have taken offense doesn't mean anyone has given offense.

wayneftw 6y ago

I don’t think I’ve seen very many people that are purely black. Most of them look like they are shades of brown to me.

donmcronald 6y ago

It’s fucked up how many people will be here arguing that everything black being negative and everything white being positive predates racism. Prepare yourself. I’ve read a lot of these threads lately and it’s really disappointing. The conversation instantly devolves into bullshit like that person in the GitHub issue claiming to be an orphan that’s offended by the term parent. I think changing contribution guidelines and being more cognizant of offensive terms going forward is an obvious win. I’m not really sure what to think about API breaking changes though. Maybe a comment in the code linking to updated guidelines would be a pragmatic solution that doesn’t require breaking changes. It’s probably got to be assessed case by case. What do you think of breaking changes?

lrpublic 6y ago
- What do you think of breaking changes? I think it is better to apologise and acknowledge for terms that are offensive rather than erase them. While removing offensive 70’s TV comedy shows is probably a good thing to avoid perpetuating unhealthy stereotypes, preventing the use of 19th century literature is less helpful because we should not forget history.

dingaling 6y ago

> If we can fix this in even a small way: then why not? Wouldn't a more straightforward and sensible solution be to stop referring to people with darker skin as 'black' since, actually, they're not that colour? And conversely 'white' skin isn't white. So let's get rid of that reference too. I'd argue that continuing to use black / white as racial descriptions is highly offensive because it originates in the era of institutional racism and slavery. Why perpetuate that attitude?