It is called that because King Henry VIII used a literal black book. Not everything is about skin color. Not everything is about American racial dynamics. Stop projecting your issues on everything.
Stop twisting history to suit a narrative you'd like to be true.
You are!
Our language was formed at a time where racism was more endemic.
We now live in a society that endeavours to be less racist; but language hasn't caught up.
.. what's your argument for not doing this?
The fact that there are more negative associations with 'black' in our language than 'white' seems more of a feature than a coincidence.
I guess I still figure small things we can do to help redress the balance in terms of celebrating (rather than disparaging) blackness are worthwhile.
Policing my language is not a way to win friends, it’s a way to force your view on me. I find this offensive. A sibling commenter mentioned that you’re going to cause others to dig in their heels, and I agree with them. Your zealotry in demanding that I change my speech is overbearing and likely damaging to your cause.
I also notice you’ve twice called other posters cowards, asserted that another should “educate themselves”, and said that you don’t have time for people who “aren’t interested in making the world a better place”, defined as such, of course, by you. Not only are you deciding for others how they should be thinking and speaking, you’re also aggressive about it. I’d encourage you to re-assess your authoritarian attitude.
There are better venues to creating a more equal society than to force others to speak in your preferred manner just because you don’t like certain words.
I'm always astounded why people who are grievously offended—by being asked to be more considerate of people who have a harder time than them—are unable to justify their point of view.
Maybe it's because there's little reason other than wanting to be seen as correct?
I'll bite. What's wrong with perpetuating the notion that the color black is evil and ruinous? Would humanity be kinder if we'd mourn our dead wearing colors other than black? (Would it be prosocial to start educating people about this issue at funerals?) Surely that's a much bigger concern than obscure jargon usage like "blacklist". If (accepting the premise for discussion) semantic overloading the word "black" actually harms people, then, I think associating black with people literally-dying should harm far more people, more seriously, than server configuration files.
If we're serious about this—if we mean what we say—we should prioritize the high-emotional-impact stuff, because that's logically where the heaviest sociological damage comes from. Death, disease, devils—all these classic associations. Not some anodyne computer pass/deny lists. Let's start talking White Sabbaths, and Light Satanic Mills.
(I think I agree with the intention behind these kinds of language ideas; I just don't think they can lead anywhere constructive).
Yes some societies celebrate death and wear bright colours to 'mourn'. And yes, there are benefits associated.
As to whether this is more or less of a concern than language usage; I'd argue the biggest problem with society today is absolutism. More than one thing can be—and usually is—true at any one time.
We rarely need to decide one or other .. and using this as a line of argument doesn't amount to much.
I think there's a simple way these language ideas can benefit society. Allowing young people with darker skin to grow up in a society that celebrates, rather than disparages blackness.
The link you're making here is something I don't understand. If I'm black, and I'm at a funeral and everyone is wearing the color black, am I being disparaged? Or if I'm reading some code and the comment's talking about "blacklists"? Is that subjectively disparaging? Is that something I'd even notice at all, consciously or not?
I'm unreasonably confident the answer is a universal "no". For the same reason that as I'm writing this HN comment, at no point has imagery of mothers and fathers crossed my mind—even though the word "parent" is right there in the commenting toolbar*. Is it different for other people?
*( parent | context | edit | delete, etc.)
And as the other commentor said, I won't complain about whatever terminology you use when you write or speak, but I expect the same respect in return.
If you disagree with making the world a better place in small ways that don't actually affect you, I have no time for you.
> First they came for the n-word...