I think like many American writers, she's taken a reductionist US centred approach to this word. The etymology of slave is through slav and refers to the slavic people. I wonder what the slavic countries as a minority group feel about the word.

Though in fairness, I don't really care what the slavic people think about it - nor do I care all that much about what any individual writer might think about it. I believe words of all kinds belong to all people and there should be no linguistic restrictions. You simply face a choice of whether you want to ride the consequences of using any given word. That is societally dependent.

As you demonstrated at the end of this piece, this becomes a necessary exercise in reductive stupidity, where you cannot even quote an author directly for fear of being taken out of context, misquoted and run out of your job. That's a stupid place for a society to go - and I'm entirely on team QJ with this one. Words only have the power you imbue them with - and the word slave has no particular power.

I don't mind writing enslaved person rather than slave - but to be entirely honest, I don't really see the point, it feels like unnecessary pandering. What invariably happens to words is that they slide from acceptable to unacceptable and everyone is forced to keep up.

it was a good discussion. I have found Laura to be an excellent writer and more than capable of defending herself. I think she's wrong about a lot - but there is at least a chance of dialogue and discourse, something that is very much lacking from some of the other race writers on Medium.

Great article. Great conversation. Medium needs more of this :o)