VentureBeat - Latest Comments in Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

Re: Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

RickM70 — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 22:09:11 -0000

"Chink" in this sense is not referring to those people of Chinese descent. Instead, the author is referring to a small crack, fissure, hole, or unprotected spot. I believe a better word could have been found, however, the use of the word "chink" in this instance, is not wrong.

From Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream":
"And such a wall, as I would have you think,
That had in it a crannied hole or chink,
Through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisby,
Did whisper often very secretly.

Re: Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

a_little_common_sense — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 14:26:44 -0000

When I read the title of this piece, the first thoughts in my mind: (1). How come such offensive slurs shows up in this website? (2). The word "chink" must have some other less commonly used meanings, -- it is confirmed that when I check wikipedia.

So what does it tell us? For me, the author of the article knows both (1) and (2) of my thoughts, and he still wants to use such term to stir up attentions, if not emotions.

Given the diversified environment in Silicon Valley, my comments are:
(1). It's in bad taste, and probably with a little bit cowardice.
(2). It won't do any good to the readers, and will likely to paint this web site a piece of racisms.
(3). Letâ€™s hope that Matt Mashall can help us to do some sanity check in the future to avoid this kind of unpleasant reading experience.

Re: Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

Marcus — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 12:59:29 -0000

Got my attention.. I thought maybe he meant Kink.. Hah.

Re: Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

la — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 18:13:18 -0000

definitely stood out in my rss reader :)

Re: Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

Vishal — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:20:42 -0000

According to Merriam-Webster
Etymology: probably alteration of Middle English chine crack, fissure
1 : a small cleft, slit, or fissure
2 : a weak spot that may leave one vulnerable

Re: Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

Alaska Miller — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:19:57 -0000

chink means crack: ie. chink in the armor.

If you think a word is racist, maybe you're the racist?

Re: Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

David Hamilton — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:08:03 -0000

Wikipedia, unfortunately, is a much better encyclopedia than it is a dictionary. I certainly didn't intend the word "chink" in any offensive sense, just in its common usage as a crack or a narrow opening. See here: http://dictionary.reference...

Re: Chinks in the stem-cell monopoly

Richard — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 14:41:06 -0000

Maybe Im failing to see the alternative definition here but you might want to consider changing the title of this article...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...