Is this just cuckoo? Is this just the radical opposite of what trump is doing?

Like the old days...student activism has come back with a vengence. On the BBC:

Harvard abolishes 'master' in titles in slavery row

Harvard University in the US is going to remove the word "master" from academic titles, after protests from students who claimed the title had echoes of slavery.

House masters, in charge of residential halls at the university, will become known as "faculty deans".

Harvard Law School is also deciding whether to change its official seal, because of links to slavery.

US campuses have faced a series of protests over allegations of racism.

Harvard has not agreed that the use of "master" represented a link to slavery, but it has accepted campaigners' calls for a name change.

It will mean changing the job titles of 24 members of staff - but will not affect other uses of "master", such as a master's level degree.

Harvard academics say that the word "master" derives from the Latin term "magister" - a form of address for scholars or teachers. It is similar to terms such as "school master" or "head master".

[Full article]

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This is an example of the recent discussion here. An example of postmodern militants on university campuses in Candad, US and UK indeed.

I vote: totally cuckoo.

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Comment by matt.clerke on February 25, 2016 at 5:10pm: Harvard academics say that the word "master" derives from the Latin term "magister" - a form of address for scholars or teachers.

I vote we just go back to using magister then... Imagine how cool that would sound, greeting some as Magister such-and-such!

I vote: totally cuckoo.

Agreed. These activists are literally reading too much into things. These are the same people who call "black boards" "chalk boards" because the word black is associated with African-Americans... Actually, we call it a black board because it is black, much the same as why we call a white board a white board... it is white.

Comment by TJ on February 25, 2016 at 6:41pm: A fav move of mine was in Trenton, NJ, when a councilman said they would need to be niggardly with the budget....and they demanded his resignation....

....and when he explained that the word did not have anything to do with race, and was a Scandinavian rooted word meaning frugal ....

...THEY STILL demanded his resignation because he used a word that SOUNDED LIKE it was racist.

He agreed to resign as long as the specifics of the cause were literally spelled out.

Later interviews found that the counsel still felt "He should have known better".

:)

Comment by SteveInCO on February 25, 2016 at 11:32pm: Actually, we call it a black board because it is black, much the same as why we call a white board a white board... it is white.

I remember telling someone I prefered whiteboards. I didn't mention the reason. He jokingly accused me of being racist, white over black. I then said I preferred them because they generally erase more cleanly without huge amounts of dust. I invited him to call me an "erasist" if he wanted to.

Comment by Davis Goodman on February 26, 2016 at 1:15am: @SteveInCO wah wah wah wahhhhhhhhhhhhh! :)

Comment by Unseen on February 26, 2016 at 12:46pm: As long as we aren't required to say "manager and worker" instead of "master and slave," I guess it's harmless.

Comment by Unseen on February 26, 2016 at 12:49pm: As for "niggardly," anyone who can't see a problem with it is probably largely insensitive to both language and race politics. It's not in my own day-to-day vocabulary for just that reason. ALSO, the word is archaic and hardly ever used anymore.

Comment by Davis Goodman on February 26, 2016 at 1:47pm: Very much agreed with unseen on the "niggardly" comment. Imagine the word faggotly existed and it meant collecting random things and grouping them together (faggot originally meant sticks/poles/tubes that were placed together...especially wood as well as the bassoon instruiment in the shape of a faggot) I think any politician would be out of their mind to use the wordt.

I agree it is a total shame that some words will fall out of favour because of its similarity and association with nasty moments in history (and now) but there are millions of words and every term has numerous synonyms and nothings stopping us from inventing a new word. I wouldn't get mega offended if someone were to use faggotly when clearly using the definition I gave above...but then I can imagine boys being bullied and beaten up in school on a daily basis would be horrified

N*g**r and faggot are grossly offensive words. They clearly refer to a pejorative term used disparingly and directly towards minority groups with the intent to directly insult, oppress, bully and even manipulate.

Comment by Unseen on February 26, 2016 at 3:24pm: Actually, the word "fagot" (also a bit archaic) refers but is pronounced the same as "faggot." Just an odd factoid.

Comment by Unseen on February 26, 2016 at 3:27pm: The other reason for not using "niggardly" is that probably fewer than 10% of the general population could define it. Anyone interested in communication should stick with words almost everyone understands, unless they want to stop and define their terms.

Comment by Pope Beanie on February 26, 2016 at 6:39pm: It's cuckoo, but I don't mind letting young, glossy-eyed idealists feel like they're making a difference. This is pretty small in the large scheme of thing. Trump, on the other hand, is a potentially major world-affecting force.