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Comment by p49k | Hacker News Reader

> The decision is based on the sex and race of the founder.

What you just described is the definition of discrimination, not racism or sexism. These words have meanings and you can look them up. Saying it's racist and sexist is just a disingenuous way to shore up drama when a more accurate (but less provocative) term is available.

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From the Merriam-Webster English dictionary:

> sexism > noun sex·ism \ ˈsek-ˌsi-zəm \ > 1 : prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially : discrimination against women

> racism > noun rac·ism \ ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm also -ˌshi- \ > 3 : racial prejudice or discrimination

Yes, it is discrimination based on sex and race. I think you are arguing that what matters is the feelings of the person when they discriminate. The intent is the same - choose one over the other because of their sex and race. But if they feel they are righting a past wrong then it is not sexism/racism, whereas if they are doing it because they dislike one group then it is sexism/racism. And that is where the fundamental disagreement lies. I don't subscribe to the feelings argument.

It's not about feelings; it's about intent. The intent is not at all the same, and you know it. There's a huge difference between discrimination designed to suppress a group of people, and discrimination designed to give disadvantaged people a chance that they should have been given in the first place. The former describes 200+ years of American history, and the latter describes a handful of efforts in recent history.

Racism is defined as discrimination based on race or ethnicity.

Sexism is defined as discrimination based on gender or biological sex.

Both are well defined terms in English both in dictionaries and general usage. Stop trying to play games with words and start explaining why you think racism and sexism are ok.

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