[Luc]

Let's say Google Maps puts up an old map of some major city in your country with certain neighbourhoods marked 'negro'. How would that go down? I agree that information itself cannot be evil (and I would probably disagree with the reasons this Japanese gentleman is against the maps), but there is an editing involved in choosing which information to publish, and which not. This is poor editing on the part of Google.

[anigbrowl]

That's between the people who made or refer to the map and the people who were/are discriminated against. You don't deal with unpleasant history by erasing it and pretending it didn't happen. On the more serious issue of actual genocide, the most bitter political feuds are between the people who were hurt by it and those who want to pretend it never happened and needn't be talked about.

I don't think it's poor editing on the part of Google at all. Poor editing would be altering the historical record in order to assuage the feelings of one group who might be made uncomfortable. To run with your example, if you're going to alter the map why not go the whole way and replace 'negro' with 'happy black people live here'?

It's a sad but seemingly universal fact that when one social group oppresses another and later people ask 'why are the conditions of (oppressed group) so awful?', the self-serving response of oppressing group is 'they choose to live that way', ascribing their negative situation to some inherent defect on the part of the oppressed.

[sho]

"You don't deal with unpleasant history by erasing it and pretending it didn't happen."

Unfortunately, this is exactly how Japanese society (and others) tend to "deal with" unpleasant history.

Here's an apropos anecdote: I have a Japanese friend who came to Australia to study. One day, her and her friends were in the city on Anzac day - a national holiday to commemorate war dead, basically. They were standing at a bus stop, talking, when some youths in a car threw some eggs at them. They were, of course, horrified, and had no idea why anyone would do that.

It was only some time later it was explained to her - while the egg-throwing was just stupid, it was probably because she was loudly speaking Japanese in the city, near the war memorial, on Anzac day, and Japan had attacked Australia numerous times, causing many of the dead the day is supposed to commemorate. Imagine my amazement when I realised she had absolutely no idea Japan had attacked Australia in WWII. Just never been mentioned. There were over 100 attacks, in (from memory) 5 places. These are, of course, famous in our culture - it's the only time the country has ever actually been attacked. She had no idea.

Un-fucking-believable. And btw, please don't take this as racist or anything else - I'm just stating facts, and I fear us whiteys do not hold much higher a moral ground - I doubt your average American college graduate, for example, is as well-informed as she perhaps ought to be about her Government's reprehensible actions in Latin America in the second half of the 20th century either.

[sketerpot]

That would be awesome! The juxtaposition of the modern and the archaic is artistically interesting. It would be a glimpse at how things used to be, accompanied by a reminder of how much things have changed, and it might let people feel the passage of time on an emotional level. I would love to see this hypothetical old 'here there be darkies' map on Google Earth.

[eli]

Or perhaps parts of a city are notated with a different N-word... Even though it would surely be legal to post this in Google Maps without any context, that doesn't mean it's a good idea.