Policing the vocabulary: Textbook sensitivity goes fanatic

The Sacramento Bee ^ | 2/27/2003

[Utah Girl]

See if you can guess what these 12 seemingly disparate words and phrases have in common: Lumberjack, one-man band, junk bonds, heroine, hut, extremist, fraternize, dialect, busybody, senile, fanatic, minority group.

Stumped? Believe it or not, they are among a growing group of words that test and textbook publishers, and the state agencies that approve their offerings, don't want students in the K-12 public schools to see.

[Revolting cat!]

Whitewashing the language! How niggardly of them! Oops, can you say "whitewashing" anymore? Or, as Steve Martin might have said: "Let's get bland!"

[gitmo]

Here's my list: Democrat Global Warming ethnicity Diversity People of Color -American Tax Increases Clinton Socialism (pardon the redundancy) Hillary Redistribution of wealth victim

[Calpernia]

GITMO! You left out Congressional Black Caucus! Now off to the corner with you!

[okie01]

"Let's get bland!"

As we all know, the most riveting literature -- whether factual or fictional -- is penned by bureaucrats.

What better way to make children want to read?

[Calpernia]

These are the SAME type of people that ruined Looney Tunes, The Three Stooges, and all my other sources of laughter.

[Rocky]

Someone help me out here. What's wrong with saying "junk bonds"? Who gave stewardship - no, stewardess-ship - no, who put them in charge of the English language?

Expletive deleted. (Can I say that?)

[k2blader]

Good grief!

[Bob J]

ON NOW! UNSPUN with AnnaZ and Mercuria!
6pm pdt/9pm edt

TRIBUTE TO BONE-HEADED LIE-BERALS featuring
Wake Up and Smell the Hypocrisy!
Killer SUVs Gone Wild!
Snow Job
(Be advised...this segment is RATED PG-13!)

PLUS!!
FR's own "Angelwood"
will be discussing the Patriots Rally for America IV

and:

Los Angeles City Councilman DENNIS ZINE will discuss the unusual phenomenon of American city-nations and their declarations of "antiwar".

AND ALSO... Newspeak of the Week
Propaganda Survivors

All this, plus your calls (and possibly more) on the next Unspun with AnnaZ

Click HERE to LISTEN LIVE while you FReep!

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[Bob J]

ON NOW! UNSPUN with AnnaZ and Mercuria!
6pm pdt/9pm edt

TRIBUTE TO BONE-HEADED LIE-BERALS featuring
Wake Up and Smell the Hypocrisy!
Killer SUVs Gone Wild!
Snow Job
(Be advised...this segment is RATED PG-13!)

PLUS!!
FR's own "Angelwood"
will be discussing the Patriots Rally for America IV

and:

Los Angeles City Councilman DENNIS ZINE will discuss the unusual phenomenon of American city-nations and their declarations of "antiwar".

AND ALSO... Newspeak of the Week
Propaganda Survivors

All this, plus your calls (and possibly more) on the next Unspun with AnnaZ

Click HERE to LISTEN LIVE while you FReep!

RFR Chat Room!

Miss a show? Click HERE for the RadioFR Archives!

[visualops]

When you change what words mean, you destroy the truth.

A jungle is not a "rainforest". You cannot take a specific and use it to connotate the general.
A 'straw man' is not an "unreal issue" (what the heck is an unreal issue?)
"Older people" are not the elderly. Older means exactly that, older than whatever you are comparing or contrasting.

At home, we spend a great deal of time insisting our kids mean what they say and say what they mean. That includes having a good vocabulary and using it.
If the PC police have their way- one day a person will be looking at a pebble, a piece of gravel, and a boulder. Will they have a name for each, or will they just stand there and think "rocks"?

[Utah Girl]

Well said! Words do mean something and I can't believe that these people are getting away with changing language and making it PC.

[mlmr]

Recently, the hospital I work in told us that we cannot state in the notes that "the Patient refused meds or treatment". Instead we must say that "the patient declined meds or treatment." Declined was seen as being much less aversive. I asked what does one do when the patient aversivly declined his meds or treatments, was I able to use the word refuse.....there was no answer.........

[LiteKeeper]

"I am offended by [fill in the blank]" and "You are intolerant"

[ladylib]

The English Regent's Exam in NY changed "The Old Man and the Sea" to "The Elderly Man and the Sea."

[Just Another Lurker]

Last year I was called to my son’s, school to meet with his teachers, guidance counselors, the principal and my son. At the meeting, I was told my son had used inappropriate language. I was given a formal letter of complaint stating that during a disagreement with a teacher he had said “That’s gay”. The complaint went on to say that the word “gay” was unacceptable and that he should use the term “homosexual”.

I asked them if he had used the term to describe a person or an object. They said he had said “This school is gay”.

I then explained to them that he was using the term as being synonymous with the word queer as in odd and did they really want me to tell him that he should say, “This school is homosexual”. At that point, my son fell in the floor laughing. They withdrew the complaint and apologized for the misunderstanding.

[visualops]

LOL!

[Calpernia]

Ok. I absolutely see the humor of this. But, now onto a frustrating note...Who are these people and how did they get put in charge of the English language? How do we stop them?

[Charles Henrickson]

There were three feet of snow on the ground, the air was growing colder, and her mother said she was insane, but Jessie wanted to go outside. Even if the neighbor children wouldn't let her help build their snowman, she wanted to admire their craftsmanship up close. She had grown bored with her bookworm afternoon.

An "appropriate" version:
There was a meter of winter precipitation on the earth, the air was growing warmer, due to global warming, and Jessie's parent said Jessie was a victim of mental illness, but Jessie wanted to go out into the environment. Even if the neighbor junior citizens wouldn't let Jessie help build their winter-precipitation person, Jessie wanted to affirm their craftspersonship up close. Jessie had grown unchallenged with Jessie's academically-oriented afternoon, which was evening in most of the two-thirds world.

My preference, an "offensive" version:
There were two cubits of the white stuff on the ground, the air was colder than a witch's t*t, and her old lady said she was as loony as Mariah Carey when she's off her meds, but Jessie had cabin fever and wanted to get out of the stinkin' house. Even if the neighborhood street urchins wouldn't let her help build their white, heterosexual, pipe-smoking snow male, she wanted to admire their superior work--which rivalled that of the finest craftsmen of Europe--up close. She was bored out of her mind with her nerdy afternoon--even though she usually enjoyed reading the classics, the great books written by dead white men.

[Charles Henrickson]

I said "academically-oriented afternoon." Correction: Make that, "academically-asianed afternoon."