Bonum Certa Men Certa

To Combat Racism and Achieve World Peace We Must Remove a Lot More Than Just Words and Monuments (Statues)

Related: Let's Ban Bombings, Not Words (Corporations Taking Away People's Freedom of Speech So They Can Bomb 'in Peace')

Spock Sarek Star Trek Peace Sign: Peace be upon you. 72 Virgins in Heaven.



Summary: When freedom of religion and the gender issues collide we realise that establishing a perfectly tolerant workplace may not be possible; striving towards that, however, is commendable

THE concept of "mainstream feminism" was recently explained by an intellectual and black revolutionary, Angela Davis. In this short talk she does not belittle feminism but explains the degree to which those in power (corporate power) exploit 'feminism' while conveniently ignoring the biggest victims of vulgar/violent sexism -- something which those privileged millionaires never encountered themselves.

I've spent my entire life fighting against injustices, including racial and gender-related injustices (there are now more aspects to the latter -- more than a binary sex criteria). What's really frustrating to me is seeing how corporate media and its corporate masters exploit if not hijack social liberation movements to pursue their own goals which are inherently racist (like bombing countries whose citizens are presumed 'barbaric', collectively, and that includes bombing women). Look up the number of times Microsoft was sued for sexism -- an issue that goes all the way up to their tactless CEO (maybe he doesn't even know what sexism is because the standards in his country of birth are appallingly low for women).

Nadella comments on women
Hiring for diversity does not ensure not getting some idiot like Nadella speaking for a company



Recently we've witnessed a (perhaps perfectly) well-meaning wave of racist (even by standards of their own time, maybe not in their home state) statues being 'de-platformed' (physically, not digitally, albeit the latter is being done simultaneously as well). These are seen as symbolic impediment to progress, a sort of 'cementation' of institutional racism which seeks to glorify coercive cults. Normalising gore and subjugation, or even child rape in the case of Columbus, isn't worth is; it's just not worth defending anymore.

"Normalising gore and subjugation, or even child rape in the case of Columbus, isn't worth is; it's just not worth defending anymore."Removal of metal figures may seem pointless and misguided. But I am not opposing that; I think some of these statues can be relocated to somewhere indoors (not necessarily destroyed; there may be some historical value). Their pedestals and monuments can have erected upon them characters more suitable for our times and our fabric of society (which is more racially diverse and more 'woke' regarding human rights aspects). That's OK.

Over a year ago Python came under shake-down (or shake-up) because people opposed the use of "slave" as a metaphor in technology. The attempt to remove the word was probably more controversial than the metaphor itself. Guido van Rossum, who started the whole language, stepped down and shortly later retired (somewhat early) from his job. One GNU developer told me he had shown signs of racism in the past (in effect blacklisting her because she spoke about discrimination against black people). We really don't know why Guido left, with a vacuum Google and Microsoft were happy to fill. One can only make guesses; it might be a combination of factors, but certainly the atmosphere in Python was beginning to change. PyCon is being 'bought' by Microsoft each year.

"So, in conclusion, I don't oppose making society and language more civilised; but it's starting to look to me like, at least for some people, the real goal isn't manners; the goal it to 'cancel' generally acceptable people based on a moving goalpost of speech standards."When people began opposing the term "master" in isolation (in unrelated contexts this word is extremely common, e.g. "master track", "Masters degree", masterpiece") I thought this initially well-meaning campaign had gone a little too far. Then I found out about "whitelist" and "blacklist" and all sorts of other things. Black and white are more than skin colours; one represents absence of light and the latter complete saturation thereof. Nothing inherently racist about photon science, right?

So, in conclusion, I don't oppose making society and language more civilised; but it's starting to look to me like, at least for some people, the real goal isn't manners; the goal it to 'cancel' generally acceptable people based on a moving goalpost of speech standards. If some developer you dislike doesn't accept gay people, s/he is gone. If s/he accepts gay people but not gay marriage (matrimony), same fate? Then you get into the whole dimension of cross-gender and other things. And it doesn't seem to matter if these people's religion actually says those things are forbidden; suddenly we don't even honour people's freedom of religion (or faith). What does that mean to free speech and tolerance and inclusion etc. if we cannot tolerate and include some people's religion (in its original form)? There's of course a correlation between religions and races, so the same can usually be said in the context of racism. For instance, if you dislike women because your religion (tied to a race) says so, is it racist to make you an outcast? These disputes can never end or can never please everyone. Meanwhile they serve to distract from social movements like the antiwar movement, financial justice and so on (which affect all races and genders and outlast activists for millennia). Those issues transcend some of the superficialities that divide us (while media pours in the gasoline).

"We ought to think bigger and strive higher. Let's put an end to racism and chauvinism in all its form, including the corporate form."If all seemingly racist (and dead) people were removal from pedestals and our language was 'sanitised' to comply with some Code of Conduct, racism would likely remain, albeit closeted, and women would still be bombed (whilst expressing opposition to that would be construed as "rude" and "unprofessional"... because "you're being paid" so "be nice!").

We ought to think bigger and strive higher. Let's put an end to racism and chauvinism in all its form, including the corporate form.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
 
People Don't Just Kill Themselves (Same for Other Animals)
And recent reports about Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day