patrick.net

Open letter to Kenny Gryp of mysql, for removing all use of the words "master" and "slave" when referring to inanimate physical objects.

Re: http://mysqlhighavailability.com/mysql-terminology-updates/

You must mean well, but it was morally wrong of you to let the most intolerant people dictate which words we can and cannot use to talk about databases, of all things.

The words "master" and "slave" in themselves are in no way offensive. In this case, they describe a relationship between databases. They do not advocate for that relationship between people.

All cultures have had masters and slaves at one time or another. All of them. There is nothing unique about America in this regard. The censorship of these common words would not let us even talk about history.

And by effectively banning common words in a completely different context, you put us all at the mercy of the most easily offended. You do us all an injustice. We are no longer able to speak as freely as we could before you took this action. You personally have chilled freedom of speech. You have not done anything to reduce injustice, but only created a new one.

We can no longer have open discussions with good will because of misguided decisions like yours. Lately we have to watch every word we say, and you have made yourself part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Please do not let the most intolerant win. Please go back and tell them the truth: it is their own fanatical and frankly evil intolerance which is the problem.

It takes courage to stand up against the intolerant minority when everyone else is bowing to them in fear. Please find that courage, the same courage it took to stand up to McCarthy:

"You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dictatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15

Please share this post as widely as possible. Copy the text, email it, post it on all forums. Improve it. I don't care about authorship or the copyright or a link back. I'm just trying to slow down our descent into the dictatorship of the intolerant small minority. We are already very far gone. If we don't speak up now, we may not get another chance to speak at all.