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Discussion on renaming master branch gets heated, then shut down

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Re: Discussion on renaming master branch gets heated, then shut down

#51
post #41

Let me state first of all that I am fully aware of the fact that I do not know what it is like to be the target of (classic) racism. Nor will I deny that there are some things that are just not right. However, where things go wrong in this discussion is the people who make complaining their profession. Surely you can think of some textbook examples of this. If you as a society conform to these people, the stock is no…

I was inclined to agree until the choice to use the term "colored person". That's an obvious and well known racist trope with very recent historical ties to segregation. I'm not sure if it was a deliberate statement on political correctness but I really think it undermines your argument and makes it seem like a disingenuous crock of horse manure.

Re: Discussion on renaming master branch gets heated, then shut down

#52
post #41

Let me state first of all that I am fully aware of the fact that I do not know what it is like to be the target of (classic) racism. Nor will I deny that there are some things that are just not right. However, where things go wrong in this discussion is the people who make complaining their profession. Surely you can think of some textbook examples of this. If you as a society conform to these people, the stock is no…

Whenever a white person claims reverse racism or discrimination and then brings to light what that instance entailed I have yet to find that it comes close to what a black person experiences as racism. (Maybe you are different) It may feel unfair to you but you just aren't going to get far on the white people experience racism too argument. It's a loser except among other white people with hurt feelings.

Re: Discussion on renaming master branch gets heated, then shut down

#54
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. And the fact that you don't find those terms offensive is part of your privilege. You're being invited to step outside of yourself and consider that for some people, it's not as clear-cut / apolitical as it is for you.

Maybe it is offending people, maybe it isn't. I hold no doubt that the concept or slavery is offensive, but I haven't actually seen an argument from a PoC saying that it offends them. Nobody alive today was a slave during the time that it was legal in USA/UK, etc. I'd hold a very different view if we were having this discussion in the 1800s. As I said, I haven't actually seen any significant outcry about this from th…

I am no expert, but to me the debate is the same as switching from gendered pronouns to saying "they". I try not to use "he" or "she" in my documentation now. I say "they" or "the user". I don't do this because I have dyed hair and a nose ring. I do it because it is an incredibly easy to do and removes gender from the docs. That's it. Gender adds no information in technical docs most of the time and has the potential to bias information. I don't even care that much about this issue but it is just easy to do. No one is confused by this or even mentions it.

So, say we start using main and secondary. Someone smart enough to be reading a datasheet will probably figure this out. Right? I work in several different programming languages in any given week (SQL, C#, JavaScript, various data formats, and so on). I don't get confused when the name of a data type is a little different between these.

I am not trying to be rude or mean, I am just saying we can change terms. I mean, my god, we changed from Imperial to Metric while I was in elementary school. We changed an entire system of weights and measures for an entire country (Canada). That was a big deal.

Going from master/slave to main/secondary (or whatever) is not a big deal.

It's like "rule of thumb". I no longer use this phrase. Most people have no idea that this is based on how a stick a man may beat his wife with must be no thicker than the size of his thumb. But some people do. I do. And, yeah, I am sure this will be a "turns out" where a cabal of feminists spread this rumour to make white men feel bad, but I don't care. I don't say it any more. I figured out a new way to talk about a general guideline that is widely applicable and simple.

It's not a big deal.

Re: Discussion on renaming master branch gets heated, then shut down

#55
post #41

Let me state first of all that I am fully aware of the fact that I do not know what it is like to be the target of (classic) racism. Nor will I deny that there are some things that are just not right. However, where things go wrong in this discussion is the people who make complaining their profession. Surely you can think of some textbook examples of this. If you as a society conform to these people, the stock is no…

I was inclined to agree until the choice to use the term "colored person". That's an obvious and well known racist trope with very recent historical ties to segregation. I'm not sure if it was a deliberate statement on political correctness but I really think it undermines your argument and makes it seem like a disingenuous crock of horse manure.

I'm sorry you feel offended by the term coloured person. I meant to say "everyone who is not white". In my country the words don't come over as hard but I see that this not the case in English language and foreign culture.

Re: Discussion on renaming master branch gets heated, then shut down

#56
post #8
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don’t use those terms anymore as I discovered when talking to a great friend who is very decorated by the establishment for being a “Head Teacher”.

Master of Ceremony, Master Switch, Gramdmaster

Grandmaster Flash is ok i guess :p

Re: Discussion on renaming master branch gets heated, then shut down

#57
post #41

Let me state first of all that I am fully aware of the fact that I do not know what it is like to be the target of (classic) racism. Nor will I deny that there are some things that are just not right. However, where things go wrong in this discussion is the people who make complaining their profession. Surely you can think of some textbook examples of this. If you as a society conform to these people, the stock is no…

I was inclined to agree until the choice to use the term "colored person". That's an obvious and well known racist trope with very recent historical ties to segregation. I'm not sure if it was a deliberate statement on political correctness but I really think it undermines your argument and makes it seem like a disingenuous crock of horse manure.

for me as a non-american, I have to say it's really a mine-field what word is offensive or not in this decade. Black was wrong in the nineties iirc, but's okay now. Colored, seems to have a connotation as well, which to a lot of foreigners is just arbitrariness.

The intolerance for non-american cultures who use other words, which might be controversial in america, is just baffling.

> I was inclined to agree until the choice to use the term "colored person".

You are disqualifying a person from discussion while his intent and tone were pretty neutral (imo). If you don't see the irony of that, then god help us all (idomatic, bc I'm an atheist.)

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