Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Police department bans word 'blacklist' in case it is deemed racist

Police IT staff have been banned from using the word 'blacklist' because it could be considered racist.

The Police Federation has condemned the move as a 'waste of time' and 'an irrelevance'. The term whitelist - a list of acceptable contacts - has also been banned.



Security services chief Brian Douglas wrote in an email: "Information Board are uncomfortable with the use of the term Whitelist (and I presume Blacklist).

"I am sure we can appreciate the sensitivity around the use of such terminology today so please ensure it is no longer used." A spokesman for Scotland Yard said that the change was not one of policy but simply a move to more 'appropriate' phrasing.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In this case, it's one idiot in particular. This is what happens when low-intelligence bureaucrats are put into positions of authority. By their nature, they are incapable of any level of differentiation, and the rest of us have to suffer their inanity.

Jonas said...

The world looks at UK and shakes its head - we appear to the world as immature and overly sensitive! Really is this what the hard pressed tax payer expects from his political representative!
In fact, the person(s) or moron(s) in our government who started this issue MUST be named and shamed for wasting government time.
How about a short history lesson - the word "blacklist" originated with a list England's King Charles II made of the 58 judges and court officers who sentenced his father, Charles I, to death in 1649. When Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, 13 of these regicides were executed and 25 sentenced to life imprisonment.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, because obviously every single instance of the words "white" and "black" are instantly referring to race.
Quick message to the world - the British public themselves don't think like this! As above anonymous said, it's down to a few low-intelligence bureaucrats in positions of power who imagine the possibility of offence being taken at every turn.