> What is the purpose of removing those words? Is it like pretending these relationships don't exist?

I wonder about this too. Slavery still exists in various forms. Does removing the word from software make us feel like we're making progress towards removing slavery, while there are better ways to use our time/money to fight it?

Last time I was in this discussion, I ended up donating to antislavery.org, so who knows; maybe it brings focus to the cause.

I'm pretty neutral about removing the word from software, though. I don't really think it changes the dial much in any direction.