General > General Technical Chat
'Master' and 'slave': Tech terms face scrutiny amid anti-racism efforts
pepelevamp:
The master/slave description for devices on a bus is a correct one.
People are not machines. The problems facing people are real. People are concerned about getting shot. They're concerned about being treated like they're less than human. Being OCD about the names of technical components is not high on anybody's list of priorities.
Human cultures have had masters & slaves throughout most of history. It is not a skin colour issue in some areas of the world. In other areas it is. Racism always lives in a surrounding context. You can look almost identical and still have culture & race wars. China and Japan come to mind. Or North & South Korea.
If your culture & surroundings is far away from slavery, then the master/slave terminology doesn't occur to you as significant to you & your surroundings.
The solution is to deal with slavery & the social problems, not try to avoid beacons which pop up & remind you of the actual problems out there in the world. Don't silence the beacons on the side of the road warning you about dangers on the road. Fix the dangers on the road. Then master/slave jumpers on a hard drive will no longer be a beaconing reminder of problems you must fix. They will be nothing of consequence.
If a topic like this can generate 3 pages of dialogue, then we have 3 pages of dialogue to spend on things of significance. Hiding away things that remind you of problems ya gotta fix is not helpful. Tearing down statues that celebrate colonial racist pricks - that though is a good move. So don't pull that shit as some kind of counter example.
coppice:
--- Quote from: pepelevamp on June 12, 2020, 12:23:49 pm ---Human cultures have had masters & slaves throughout most of history. It is not a skin colour issue in some areas of the world. In other areas it is. Racism always lives in a surrounding context. You can look almost identical and still have culture & race wars. China and Japan come to mind. Or North & South Korea.
--- End quote ---
Its not really a skin colour issue anywhere. Through most of history people couldn't travel far enough to enslave people who looked significantly different, and were content to enslave people who looked just like themselves. The Slavic people got the raw end of the deal to surrounding people so often, they've ended up named after their sad past.
wraper:
pepelevamp:
--- Quote from: coppice on June 12, 2020, 12:34:13 pm ---Its not really a skin colour issue anywhere. Through most of history people couldn't travel far enough to enslave people who looked significantly different, and were content to enslave people who looked just like themselves. The Slavic people got the raw end of the deal to surrounding people so often, they've ended up named after their sad past.
--- End quote ---
wow that is so intense. i cant believe i didnt notice that.
engrguy42:
Does anyone else see the insanity in people taking it upon themselves to decide what OTHERS might find offensive?
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