5 ms·

whitelist = good allowed things blacklist = bad, forbidden things => white = good black = bad Associating something being black with it being bad/lesser/ev

whitelist = good allowed things blacklist = bad, forbidden things => white = good black = bad Associating something being black with it being bad/lesser/evil is problematic if you're trying to get rid of racism toward black people.

ogogmad 5y ago
White is good because it's the colour of natural light. Black is bad because it's the colour of darkness, which is dangerous because you can't see. Children are afraid of the dark. The fact that people's skin colour is sometimes described as white or black is a coincidence that doesn't relate to the origin of the word blacklist. If people are offended by coincidences like this, it means that we won't be able to speak Spanish, Russian or Chinese. The Russian word for black (as in a black person) is negr; but note that this is not considered offensive in Russian.
- rbanffy 5y ago
  > White is good because it's the colour of natural light. In a post about a world flag someone mentioned that, for the Chinese, white is associated with death.
  - ogogmad 5y ago
    You've fixated on a minor detail. The origin of the word "blacklist" is described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklisting#Origins_of_the_term https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklisting#Origins_of_the_te... It has never had anything to do with race. If we can't say certain words because of linguistic coincidences, then we won't be able to speak Spanish. In all your responses to me, you have been arguing for the sake of arguing.
    - rbanffy 5y ago
      The origin is irrelevant if it's found offensive. If you tell me what I'm doing offends you, I'll try to change my behavior.
      - refurb 5y ago
        Please stop talking entirely because it offends me. You game?
      - zo1 5y ago
        Not OP. How about we look at the word mansplaining? I think it's unfairly promoting sexism and gender stereotypes about my gender. I also find mention of "cis" very offensive. Likewise the term cis white male too.
tomp 5y ago
white lies whitewashing white collar crime (why not “black suit crime”?) You’re hallucinating an issue that doesn’t actually exist.
- refurb 5y ago
  Blacksmith Black and Tan Plenty of “black” compound words that are neutral to positive. It’s not about the words, it’s about power. They want to force you to do what they say.. Even for something trivial like this, if they can force you to do use their language, they make a small win. A few hundred wins later and they dictate what is acceptable language.
- Ma8ee 5y ago
  Your examples are actually supporting the argument. White lies are innocent, not so bad lies, much better than black lies. White washing is making something look better than it actually is, that is: make it look white = make it look better. And the only one that doesn't automatically use "white" as good is "white collar", but that is because here the distinction is between "white collar" and "blue collar".
  - tomp 5y ago
    Haha you’re right. I never thought about it this way, I just took words as whole, and these words are all negative (in my mind). Although technically you could say the same about “blacklist”, people want the same concept (blocking, which isn’t necessarily negative) but don’t want to associate it with race.

ogogmad 5y ago

White is good because it's the colour of natural light. Black is bad because it's the colour of darkness, which is dangerous because you can't see. Children are afraid of the dark. The fact that people's skin colour is sometimes described as white or black is a coincidence that doesn't relate to the origin of the word blacklist. If people are offended by coincidences like this, it means that we won't be able to speak Spanish, Russian or Chinese. The Russian word for black (as in a black person) is negr; but note that this is not considered offensive in Russian.

rbanffy 5y ago
> White is good because it's the colour of natural light. In a post about a world flag someone mentioned that, for the Chinese, white is associated with death.
- ogogmad 5y ago
  You've fixated on a minor detail. The origin of the word "blacklist" is described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklisting#Origins_of_the_term https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklisting#Origins_of_the_te... It has never had anything to do with race. If we can't say certain words because of linguistic coincidences, then we won't be able to speak Spanish. In all your responses to me, you have been arguing for the sake of arguing.
  - rbanffy 5y ago
    The origin is irrelevant if it's found offensive. If you tell me what I'm doing offends you, I'll try to change my behavior.
    - refurb 5y ago
      Please stop talking entirely because it offends me. You game?
    - zo1 5y ago
      Not OP. How about we look at the word mansplaining? I think it's unfairly promoting sexism and gender stereotypes about my gender. I also find mention of "cis" very offensive. Likewise the term cis white male too.

tomp 5y ago

white lies whitewashing white collar crime (why not “black suit crime”?) You’re hallucinating an issue that doesn’t actually exist.

refurb 5y ago
Blacksmith Black and Tan Plenty of “black” compound words that are neutral to positive. It’s not about the words, it’s about power. They want to force you to do what they say.. Even for something trivial like this, if they can force you to do use their language, they make a small win. A few hundred wins later and they dictate what is acceptable language.
Ma8ee 5y ago
Your examples are actually supporting the argument. White lies are innocent, not so bad lies, much better than black lies. White washing is making something look better than it actually is, that is: make it look white = make it look better. And the only one that doesn't automatically use "white" as good is "white collar", but that is because here the distinction is between "white collar" and "blue collar".
- tomp 5y ago
  Haha you’re right. I never thought about it this way, I just took words as whole, and these words are all negative (in my mind). Although technically you could say the same about “blacklist”, people want the same concept (blocking, which isn’t necessarily negative) but don’t want to associate it with race.