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'Master' and 'slave': Tech terms face scrutiny amid anti-racism efforts
SiliconWizard:
Almost all countries in the world with enough power did enslave some people at some point in history, african countries themselves being no exception.
Whereas slavery and races have fundamentally little to do with one another, the "race" argument has been used for justifying it - among many other arguments. Reality is much simpler than this. People have been enslaving other people not because the latter deserved it, or that it would have been their "purpose", in any way. They just did it because they could. As simple as that. And you can do that at some point because you have more "power" than them one way or another. That's really all there is to it IMHO.
To make it look morally acceptable, some societies (particularly western societies) have used the backwards idea that if they were *able* to enslave some people, then those people were thus "weaker", and in a twisted line of reasoning, thus less of humans than them. This of course is all bullshit reasoning: the end of the line is that they were just looking for free workers that they just had to feed to keep going, just like animals. A corollary is that since slaves were treated as animals, then they were SEEN as ones, also a backwards idea.
Ed.Kloonk:
Have a gander at Dubai and the perceived treatment of workers from the sub-continent. Compare that to situation in America. I find the whole 'master' eradication thing offensive. A master is someone you can learn a lot from.
Nominal Animal:
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on July 11, 2020, 05:36:06 pm ---To make it look morally acceptable, some societies (particularly western societies) have used the backwards idea that if they were *able* to enslave some people, then those people were thus "weaker", and in a twisted line of reasoning, thus less of humans than them.
--- End quote ---
And, it has never been a completely unanimous decision in any society, either, so demanding repentance from members of a society that at some point in history did allow slavery, is just fallacious.
My favourite poet, William Blake, was a vocal proponent of equality, and deeply opposed to slavery, for example. Some of his contemporaries considered him odd ("idiosyncratic" is the word used), some progressive; some agreed, some disagreed with him.
In regions where slavery still exists, there are many locals who are trying to end the practice. The reason their commendable efforts don't get much support from social justice enthusiasts and Western countries in general, is that because the oppressors are also non-white, it would be "racist" and "<culture>-phobic" for whites to try and intervene.
It is obvious that the people demanding "master" and "slave" not be used are not offended by slavery per se, and are only interested in trying to score Twatter points by pointing out how ashamed of and offended they are by past white slavery. Dummies. Regrettable placeholders for humans, those people are.
Zero999:
--- Quote from: coppice on July 11, 2020, 04:43:22 pm ---
--- Quote from: Zero999 on July 11, 2020, 03:33:13 pm ---Europeans didn't really start to attempt to classify different races, until they were already enslaving Africans.
--- End quote ---
When did Europeans actually enslave Africans? We know Europeans have a history of enslaving each other. We know people from the Barbary Coast enslaved a lot of Europeans. Europeans generally bought pre-enslaved Africans and traded and used them. The actual enslavers are still in business enslaving and selling their neighbours today. North America is a real odd man out historically, where the slave owners and slaves were generally easy to tell apart. Even the steady flow of black slaves into North Africa didn't create such a clear skin colour divide. It also didn't leave much of a black population, as it appears they castrated all their male slaves. Nobody cares about race when there's money to be made.
--- End quote ---
Sorry, I don't see any moral difference between Europeans enslaving others or buying slaves.
--- Quote from: Nominal Animal on July 11, 2020, 06:52:51 pm ---
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on July 11, 2020, 05:36:06 pm ---To make it look morally acceptable, some societies (particularly western societies) have used the backwards idea that if they were *able* to enslave some people, then those people were thus "weaker", and in a twisted line of reasoning, thus less of humans than them.
--- End quote ---
And, it has never been a completely unanimous decision in any society, either, so demanding repentance from members of a society that at some point in history did allow slavery, is just fallacious.
My favourite poet, William Blake, was a vocal proponent of equality, and deeply opposed to slavery, for example. Some of his contemporaries considered him odd ("idiosyncratic" is the word used), some progressive; some agreed, some disagreed with him.
In regions where slavery still exists, there are many locals who are trying to end the practice. The reason their commendable efforts don't get much support from social justice enthusiasts and Western countries in general, is that because the oppressors are also non-white, it would be "racist" and "<culture>-phobic" for whites to try and intervene.
--- End quote ---
Yes, slavery still goes on today, but not so much as in the past. Probably because nowadays machines can do many jobs, previously done by slaves, so it's less profitable/risky: machines can't mount a rebellion.
My guess as to why no one in the west cares is because it goes on overseas, where they don't see it.
--- Quote ---It is obvious that the people demanding "master" and "slave" not be used are not offended by slavery per se, and are only interested in trying to score Twatter points by pointing out how ashamed of and offended they are by past white slavery. Dummies. Regrettable placeholders for humans, those people are.
--- End quote ---
As a white person, I'm offended by blacks enslaving whites in the past, just as much as the other way round.
madires:
Another one: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/74127 (Rust)
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