Timeline for Alternative terms to "Blacklist" and "Whitelist"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 2020 at 15:58 | comment | added | David W | Greybeard states that the first reference to “black” as negative (and faithless, i.e. non-Christian) was in 1000 AD/CE. That assertion is demonstrably false (search Greek black Indian) They also say my comment was abhorrent. In retrospect, I wished I used a softer word then “credible” but I look forward to the day when we all recognize racial bias as abhorrent rather than well intentioned attempts to diminish it. | |
| Mar 28, 2020 at 10:36 | comment | added | Greybeard | @David W I don't think its [sic] credible to say they are not derived from a racial context. This is wrong, divisive and abhorrent: more than that, it adds to the sum of ignorance in the world. The first reference for “black” in a negative sense is in c. 1000CE: OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion Hig [sc. the faithless] ne þicgeað þæs lambes flæsc þe soð Crist ys, ac þæs dracan þe wæs geseald þam blacan folce to mete, þæt ys þam synfullum. This was a time when almost nobody in England has heard of a black person. Black is negative as it indicates "a lack of [God's] light." | |
| Aug 6, 2018 at 15:13 | comment | added | Mike Samuel | @DavidW, +1. Whether racially derived or not, if they reinforce such associations then its worth looking for terms with less baggage. IIUC, the derivation is analogous to "white-box" vs "black-box" in circuit analysis, which goes back to the relationship between words meaning dark/obscure/unknown and light/transparent/known in European languages. In circuit analysis a "black-box" is something you can't see inside, so "black-box analysis" is limited to looking at inputs and outputs while "white-box analysis" can include the internals of the circuit element. | |
| Nov 17, 2012 at 19:02 | comment | added | David W | I don't think its credible to say they are not derived from a racial context because "black-white dualism" is descendant from western (i.e. European) culture. The Chinese Yin-Yang use black-white to represent complementary forces. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-and-white_dualism and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_or_Yang (although the first is not well cited). | |
| Dec 8, 2011 at 17:06 | history | answered | RLH | CC BY-SA 3.0 |