They Still Haven't Got It Right

Calpundit quotes a story in the Los Angeles Daily News about the Affirmative Action Office of the County of Los Angeles requesting that computer and video equipment be relabeled from "Master/Slave" to "Primary/Secondary". Alas, this doesn't put a stop to the use of offensive language, but merely shifts the offensive burden from one minority group to another.

Dennis A. Tafoya
Affirmative Action Office
County of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Calif.

Dear Mr. Tafoya:

As a practitioner of polyamory, I find the usage your office recommends for Los Angeles County facilities of the expressions "primary" and "secondary" (e.g. for IDE disk drives in desktop computer systems) to be demeaning and disrespectful to my lifechoices and relationships.

It's hard enough to be polyamorous in a predominantly monogamous workplace, and especially so if one is "out" to one's co-workers and management. This unfortunate terminology merely provides an opportunity for unwelcome jokes and other forms of harrassment – which in fact constitute sexual harrassment – for polyamorous employees of Los Angeles County by the less tolerant among their peers.

Since you have already taken the lead in showing sensitivity to issues of this sort, I am confident that you will immediately take action to put a stop to this practice. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Alan L. Bostick