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> The term originated in late nineteenth-century legislation and constitutional amendments passed by a number of U.S. Southern states, which created new require
by empath75 6y ago
> The term originated in late nineteenth-century legislation and constitutional amendments passed by a number of U.S. Southern states, which created new requirements for literacy tests, payment of poll taxes, and/or residency and property restrictions to register to vote. States in some cases exempted those whose ancestors (grandfathers) had the right to vote before the Civil War, or as of a particular date, from such requirements. The intent and effect of such rules was to prevent poor and illiterate African-American former slaves and their descendants from voting, but without denying poor and illiterate whites the right to vote.[1] Although these original grandfather clauses were eventually ruled unconstitutional, the terms grandfather clause and grandfather have been adapted to other uses.
- throwawaysea 6y agoThe thing is no one actually associates the modern use of the term with this history. The same intent and effect are not present. Except that those associations are now being made or brought to the forefront and amplified into some kind of outrage. It comes off a bit like people digging into someone’s comment history to try and assassinate their character on Twitter or Reddit.
- empath75 6y ago> The thing is no one actually associates the modern use of the term with this history. This is plainly false.
- u801e 6y agoThe term gay has changed in meaning over the last 50 years. The Flintstones opening sequence uses the phrase "we'll have a gay old time" which obviously doesn't fit the modern definition. Do people still commonly consider the phrase "a gay old time" as equivalent to an enjoyable time? Even wiktionary[1] considers it a dated phrase. [1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gay_old_time https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gay_old_time
- lostapathy 6y agoPerhaps not “no one” but it’s a very, very small group. If you’re willing to cater to a small enough pool of potential offended people, well, you can find someone offended by just about anything. Maybe we need to ban language?
- empath75 6y agoIt’s amazing how much people will argue about precise programming terminology here and then anything about race is suddenly “it’s just words who cares?”
- loopz 6y agoBecause it's the wrong solution. No words should be banned. Speech and behaviour need moderation, and there are no perfect hard rules. Offensive people need to be disciplined. Stop trying the easy way out that accomplishes only to limit freedom of speech.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- smt88 6y agoI am neither white nor black, but I live in the US. Every time I hear someone say "Grandfathered", I think about the origin of the word. I'm just one data point, but you said "no one actually associates the modern use" and that's untrue.
- SilasX 6y agoWhen I first heard about someone being "grandfathered in", I (incorrectly) assumed the analogy was "old people are senile and can't be expected to adapt to new laws, they get a free pass". That is, it's modeled on an exemption for (those old enough to be) grandfathers, not based on who you have as a grandfather. And thus, if anything, is a smear against the old rather than black people (or grandmothers). With that said, as others are noting, it does, for some people, evoke the Reconstruction-era practice, so is a bit more complex than it might seem.