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0 pointscharonn02mo ago0 comments

No, I'm not proposing to change nothing, continue as is, nor do I use coded language to express my secret inner racism.

I'm saying that changing words like "blacklist" or "master" is purely performative and actually quite selfish. People do it to feel good about themselves for "helping" without actually having to do anything helpful. It's the moral equivalent of sending "thoughts and prayers".

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filldorns2mo ago

I'm not saying that those who use these terms are racist. I'm saying that language evolves. If there are equivalent technical alternatives that don't carry a history of oppression, why not use them? It costs nothing and can make the environment more inclusive. This doesn't replace concrete actions, but it also doesn't prevent them from happening.

If changing a word is "purely performative," then keeping it is also purely performative. The difference is that one choice preserves a metaphor of domination and the other does not. Technology is made of choices. This is one too.

ragall2mo ago

> I'm saying that language evolves.

That means I won't bother fighting changes that became established before I was born. I most definitely doesn't mean I have to go along with every change I see proposed now.

> If there are equivalent technical alternatives that don't carry a history of oppression

Words are not oppression.

filldorns2mo ago

No one chose to be born in a certain context. But everyone participates in the context that they continue to feed or transform.

Do you recognize that you live in a system that produces racial inequality today?

If the answer is yes, then there is some level of participation, albeit minimal. Because living in a structure is already being inside it.

If you are white, your ancestors did this. They created separation and made simple words dehumanize people. So yes, you and everyone else has a chance to make amends. The choice is yours.

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mjmas2mo ago

> It costs nothing

It cost time and coding work to make the change.

filldorns2mo ago

Whatever the cost! You spend money on trivial things, why not on important things?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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filldorns2mo ago

ragall2mo ago

> I'm saying that language evolves.

That means I won't bother fighting changes that became established before I was born. I most definitely doesn't mean I have to go along with every change I see proposed now.

> If there are equivalent technical alternatives that don't carry a history of oppression

Words are not oppression.

filldorns2mo ago

No one chose to be born in a certain context. But everyone participates in the context that they continue to feed or transform.

Do you recognize that you live in a system that produces racial inequality today?

If the answer is yes, then there is some level of participation, albeit minimal. Because living in a structure is already being inside it.

If you are white, your ancestors did this. They created separation and made simple words dehumanize people. So yes, you and everyone else has a chance to make amends. The choice is yours.

1 more reply

mjmas2mo ago

> It costs nothing

It cost time and coding work to make the change.

filldorns2mo ago

Whatever the cost! You spend money on trivial things, why not on important things?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse