Hello, so a few days ago now, a lot of Racism happened in FOSS and we were wondering what happened to those that were racist by defending the cultural appropriation which was pointed out, either directly or by ridicule.
Sadly the original post (and thus the comments) is gone, though we saved screenshots of all the offending people and posts.
We would like to know if anything was done about these people as we can see nothing in the modlog.
Thanks.
Since I just got out of a discussion that went similar to this off-platform, I guess I’ll just share what I wanted to share there:
Discussions go better when there isn’t an assumption of hostility from the other side, and where both sides work to understand the emotions and reactions that the other side is having. Think why the other party might be upset. When something upsets you, assume best intentions (unless you have good reason not to), and try to understand both why it upset you and why the other party might think that way.
There is no reason to make enemies of potential allies.
Speaking personally:
Since I grew up around a lot of people speaking AAE in particular, I want to call out that I noticed it mostly tied to income class where I lived, not specifically race or color. For a lot of people who live there, it’s the only language they know. The origins are one thing, but it’s understandable both why someone would be upset about an appropriated part of their culture, and why somebody would be upset that they’re being told they can’t use something they’ve known and which has been a core part of them all their life.
The problem with this I have found is for me at least it only goes one way in that it is usually me that is expected to show good faith and understanding and not the other way around. In the face of such hostility, ridicule and scorn this can be difficult to maintain when ‘the other side’ is not showing the same kindness.
As can be seen, I did go out of my way to explain and answer questions but was met by increasing levels of disbelief etc and all of their answers were usually nothing I hadn’t heard or seen before in similar situations.
Sure. Your point is well made and I get that, however no one in that thread seemed to be making that argument, just that they should be able to use it regardless because they genuinely believed that langauge is free to be used regardless of what the originators of a language have to say, especially if they have been and still are oppressed.
And one or two egregious examples said that it was ‘just’ slang that was part of Gen Z/Internet culture despite it genuinely having been stolen from black folks, the meanings changed and then gatekept from black people, especially through ridicule.
The other thing is that folks often get confused between AAE and Southern English because in a lot of ways they do sound similar and have had genuine cultural exchange. However, they are not exactly the same.
It also made me very uncomfortable that the one actual black person in the thread was ignored when they said that it was a problem and that they have to live it. Food for thought.
I do appreciate you taking the time to talk to me in an actually decent way and would love to continue this if you would also like to.
I don’t have anything to add to the specific arguments made in the screenshots since I don’t personally use AAE (though my wife’s family does). I just wanted to clarify that if you have reason not to assume best intentions, then I don’t think you should.
I’m just used to a lot of discussions beginning with hostilities these days, and I see it and have to deal with it everywhere. I really just wish that would all stop (not you specifically since I feel there were other instigators in the thread in question), and feel like more reminders can’t hurt.