On 24/2/21 14:47, Vittorio Bertola wrote:
[...]
Now, while we are at it, I also note that sometimes there are extremely
offensive terms in my culture that are being commonly used in this
discussion. The main example is "race"; in Italy, in Germany(*) and in
other European cultures, using the term "race" to refer to a subset of
mankind, implying that more than one "human race" exists, or suggesting
that there are "race issues" and "race diversities" to be considered, is
considered outright racism. I was shocked the first time I saw the term
used as a category, but then I realized that there was no intention to
offend - just a different linguistic background - and I moved on.
But if the principle is that nobody's sensitivity has to be offended, I
think that we should definitely stop using the term "race" in this
conversation or anywhere at the IETF.
As noted, it seems to me that a lot of the discussion around language is
how a specific group feels about a specific set of words, because of
their own historical background...where the rest needs to learn about
those cultural issues and adapt accordingly (probably without the same
policy necessarily applying the other way around).
I should also note that, if people are also concerned about historical
background of words, I'm sure they should also be concerned about
anything that contains a national symbol/flag or religious symbol (*).
And in that light, there should also be a recommendation in that respect.
(*) e.g., a simple rosary would be deemed as completely harmless in my
place (I do wear one, although it's not visible), but it may certainly
come across quite differently to e.g. people in some parts of Bosnia or
Belfast (for obvious reasons... which I do understand... and which you
don't need to go back a long time in history to understand).
Inclusiveness and diversity seem to be way more complex than what some
seem to imply, and it implies a lot more than cherry-picking on specific
items that would make a group look "nice and following the trend".
Thanks,
--
Fernando Gont
SI6 Networks
e-mail: fgont@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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