RFC: Conscious language in the Binutils

[Alan Modra]

Hi Cary,
Most of my comments below aren't aimed at you, your email just happens
to be a convenient one to reply to in this thread, explaining my
viewpoint to anyone who can't see why I object.
  
On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 01:27:32PM -0800, Cary Coutant via Binutils wrote:
> >   Before making any alterations however I wanted to see if there were
> >   any comments, concerns or issues regarding this proposal.  Does anyone
> >   have anything that they wish to say ?
> 
> A bit late to the party, but I also support this.
> 
> To those who don't see the value, one need only look to current events
> to see the power that words can have in fueling hatred and division.

Oh yes, an easy way to see just how that happens is to look at
https://ground.news, pick practically any political news item and then
compare the spin put on news by right vs. left media outlets.

It is not at all surprising that people leaning right don't like
reading articles by authors who make no secret of their belief that
anyone right of Lenin is a sexist, racist, bigoted, intolerant,
homophobic, fascist hater.  Or that people leaning left don't
appreciate the view of writers who seemingly believe that anyone left
of Pinochet is a degenerate, immoral, lying, thieving, deranged,
screaming snowflake.  And so we are divided by the media, and quite
likely not even aware of how much we are influenced.

> If the language we use in our code makes even one potential
> contributor feel excluded or even uncomfortable, we lose.

Excluding and making contributors uncomfortable is exactly why I spoke
up, objecting to the change.  If that sounds strange to you, be aware
that "inclusive language" or whatever they call it now is an extreme
left ideological position.  I know we have contributors who do not
like extreme left politics.  Also, the world is wider than the USA.

I grew up knowing people who had lived under communism in eastern
European countries.  Through them, I'm aware of what it is like to
live under repressive governments where you need to be very careful
what you say.  That's why I have an allergic reaction to the language
police.  So much so that I'm ignoring my common sense warning me that
it is dangerous to poke at extreme left political sacred cows!

-- 
Alan Modra