The University of Michigan has spent $16,000 on a campaign to get students to use “inclusive language” and stop using certain words and phrases. Around campus, posters give examples of the now verboten words like “crazy,” “insane,” “retarded,” “gay,” “tranny,” “gypped,” “illegal alien,” “fag,” “ghetto” and “raghead.” In fairness to the school and students, there program is broader than just the listing of offensive terms and phrases. The campaign is also featured on Facebook.
What is interesting is that some of these words are quite offensive like “rag head,” “jewel” and “fag” among others. However, the list also reinforces that concern that, once schools begin to list approved and disapproved words, there is a slippery slope toward the inclusion of any word that could possibly insult any person or group. For example, most of my friends who are homosexual refer to themselves as “gay.” Likewise, “ghetto” is a long standing word that was used in Europe and other places to refer to impoverished areas. However, the posters ask “If you knew that I grew up in poverty, would you still call things ‘ghetto’ and ‘ratchet’?”
“I wanted to die” is listed as offense to “people who have attempted or committed suicide.” Putting aside the question of how you offend someone who did not simply attempt but actually committed suicide, some would contest the view that the phrase implies that “self-harm is laughable or not a real problem with which many people deal with.”
The University of Maryland has spent $15,000 on a similar campaign three years ago.
Once again, there is much to support in this program. It is an educational campaign without any threat of punishment over the use of these words. It is primarily asking for people to think about the impact of their words — a commendable goal. However, the list itself shows how easily such campaigns can become over-inclusive in words deemed offensive by some one and raise concerns over de facto speech codes. For example, if these words are now deemed offensive, then presumably they could be used against speakers for violating the university’s stated rules and responsibilities. These include such violations as:
“Stalking, harassing, or bullying another person–physically, verbally, or through other means”
Two of those terms are defined as:
Harassing: (1)to annoy persistently (2) to create an unpleasant or hostile situation for, especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct
Bullying: (1) to frighten, hurt, or threaten (a smaller weaker person), (2) to act like a bully toward (someone), (3) to cause (someone) to do something by making threats or insults or by using force, (4) to treat abusively, (5) to affect by means of force or coercion
It is not clear when words publicly listed as being offensive can be used as the basis for charges under such rules. Likewise, it is not clear where free speech rights trump popular sensibilities. The term “illegal alien” is used in legal opinions and many still view the term as accurate and contest the removal of the reference to illegal status in describing this group. It is a matter of intense public debate but the question is whether the university should take a position on such a question. The handbook for Michigan states “The University has a long tradition of student activism and values freedom of expression, which includes voicing unpopular views and dissent. As members of the University community, students have the right to express their own views, but must also take responsibility for according the same right to others.” That can be an uncertain line to draw in the midst of a campaign over offensive terms and phrases.
Below is the poster from the campaign:
Anarchist 2.0
Ref: Nick- “Words have power ”
The only power words have is the power you give them.\
First those are my words, not Nick’s unless I missed something. If you use pejoratives especially when unnecessary, then be prepared to back them up, intellectually or physically. You do NOT control what others may interpret your words as meaning. And, no, I do not mean by being “armed to the teeth.”
As much as you’d like me to infer that. Part of being in combat is learning when to act and when not to act. Ask almost any veteran. We tend to take our responses seriously. A last resort is precisely that. I have yet to meet a “last resort” in the civilian world….being “prepared” is not the same as acting out.
Normally it is not necessary to curse or cuss those around you. If you do and get your butt thumped, you asked for it. Man up or shut up. That said the U of M’s effort is imbecilic for an institution of higher learning. At least they are not demanding PC, but merely suggesting it. So there’s that…..
And that would be blonde if not for a stupid stupid autocorrect.
Bailers – we need to ban ‘autocorrect.’
Karen S
Let’s include on that list:
Blond Jokes
any remark about any woman’s or man’s anatomy
All pickup lines ever invented in the history of the spoken language
———————————–
This is where I draw the line and say ” You shall not pass” (this speech code).
Nick-
“Words have power ”
the only power words have is the power you give them.
“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”
Thomas Paine
Nick Spinelli said …
Kids called my Colombian son, “spic.”
Yeah, and several did call my daughter “chink” or worse when she was in school. Most got a fat lip out of it, she was and is a tough girl, now a woman of 42…who is amused by the name “crazy Asian lady” in her pricey loft building in the core city…generated when some drunks in the building went door to door trying to stir up stuff…and her friends suggested they’d might not want to mess with her. She really is a very nice person otherwise. I once had to appear before her principle in high school to explain why I’d taught how to fight?! Hey, basic Taekwondo, not exactly vicious. I suggested if they controlled their school, my kid would not have been in trouble.
She’d nearly knocked out a guy in the hallway (floored him and he got up slowly) who had stolen something from her….and called her “Chink” when challenged. Yeah, she was suspended and I was told I was a bad parent for teaching her to be proud of who she was and to not take crud from anyone when she had no choice….like the guy who gave up what he’d stolen. Same school officials never seemed to notice the drug sales going on daily in the areas around the school.
Words have power and I don’t want any “banned” but I do want those who use them pejoratively to be held accountable one way or another. Like, in my neighborhood, it’s probably a poor idea to throw the term “rag head” or “towel head” around much, or a bit east of me, the “N” word…just saying. Be prepared to back up your language or better yet, if offensive, don’t use it.
davidm2575 …. I certainly agree on the waste in colleges today. Were tuitions in my day the same as today I could never gone to college, even working full time days and schooling at night…as I did for 6 years.
Solo Uno …. I agree that officially curtailed speech is pointless, but I do think those who use offensive terms should be prepared to back it up…or shut up. Way back in the 40’s words like “Jew” or N**ger” or “Spic” were not allowed in our home…I grew up with that mindset.
The problem with even trying to institute this policy of restricting words that might offend people is that it lulls the students into believing in a false reality.
In a cloistered environment, where you are surrounded by like minded people, and by those who don’t feel like “rocking the boat” you might get away with this type of muzzling of expression. The students might think that they have some control over how others express themselves.
However, once out in the real world, where people don’t give a rip about your gentle feelings or susceptibility to fainting when you hear trigger words……these coddled students are going to be in for a very rude awakening (no pun intended). In fact, they will find that many people resent being told what to say, what to think and will take great delight in pushing their buttons. It will come as a shock to them that no one cares what they think because everyone else is too busy trying to make a living and get on with their own business.
Oxa, I would posit that restricting peoples speech makes the bad thoughts and feelings fester. “Better out than in” was a phrase my wise mother would use when one of her kids would blurt out anger. The repression of “bad” words adds resentment to the already negative feelings. I live in a blue collar, multi ethnic, community. The slang words we used would make these naughty lists. There was much more expression, and much less anger and resentment. As Tyger pointed out, this is 1984, just as Orwell predicted.
I would again like to point out the cowardice of the folks who support speech codes, but when faced w/ the cold hard truth, avoid this thread like the plague.
The school has no business enacting such a policy.
Ah, Karen! You ran afoul of the same problem the Liberal Word Nazis will. Pagan – and Heathen as well – are names of religions / meta-religions. Classing their names as offensive IS offensive.
Then, I suppose, in the ever-more-Godless land of Academia, any and all religious terms would needs be banned because referencing religion is offensive to the Godless unless it’s a negative reference.
This is so cool. We should have an inclusive list of offensive words and phrases – anything that offends anyone. The consequences can be very severe for offending anyone. We will all walk around with zero tolerance for being offended. Our kids can go into counseling for being offended when parents tell them to dress more appropriately, or wash their hands before dinner.
This will definitely make a Better America!
Let’s include on that list:
Tea Bagger
Right Winger
Conservaphobes
Religious Nut Jobs
Hard Right
Christmas
Hanukkah
Ramadan
Humanists
Pagan
Moron
Idiot
Definitely all blonde jokes
any remark about any woman’s or man’s anatomy
All pickup lines ever invented in the history of the spoken language
All body language pickup lines, from before verbal language was invented
Anything with a raised voice, including protest marches, which could be offensive to anyone who was ever yelled at
Any criticism, which can harm fragile self esteem
We can all walk around constantly in trouble with everyone, we will get As on all of our papers, and teachers will no longer mark up our essays with red pen.
It’s usually those who are known as the most advanced that institute the most backwards types of policies.
This why the aliens flying UFO’s don’t want to make contact yet. Earthly humans are to confusing. I checked USAF blue books, area 51. It’s true.
I think any word that is bad, dirty, filthy, fowl, vile, vulgar, coarse, in poor taste, unseemly, street-talk, gutter-talk, slang, colloquial, bawdy, naughty, saucy, raunchy, rude, crude, lewd, lascivious, indecent, profane, obscene, blue, off-color, risqué, suggestive, offensive, hurtful, hateful, insulting, uncivil, or mean-spirited needs to be banned. Everybody has a right to be perpetually happy in our Utopian Fantasyland, so words that describe sorrow, sadness, unhappiness, misery and any word that provokes an unpleasant response also needs to go.
Words under review for possible banning include, multisyllabic words, hard to pronounce words, and any word that makes the speaker sound pretentious, snobbish, elitist, and arrogant. Who needs that?
Or we could just ban the alphabet. Bring back hieroglyphics.
Groty – I vote the following words be deleted from the language and their use stricken off monuments: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Univ of Pennsylvania, and Cornell.
1984’s Newspeak at work. Limit words, limit the ability to think what those words would describe. Just another government attempt to control though.
A friend who is black responded, ‘black’, when I asked him what he preferred ‘black’ or ‘African American’. He felt that ‘African American’ was over compensation and showed the person wanting. “Let’s call a spade a spade”, once meant nothing other than call it what it is. Can’t use it anymore. Spaten, the Budweiser of German beers will have to change its name. Bible thumping relatives won’t let us celebrate Halloween in their presence and patrol the TV when we come to visit. Santa Claus is out at the school where my wife teaches, along with Easter, and a lot of other good stuff. Walking on water, bunny rabbits laying eggs, and fat guys in red suits sliding down chimneys are soon to be gone. Snapping a girls bra gets an awkward and ignorant boy labeled as a sexual pervert. Blowing a friend away with your index finger gets a kid suspended.
Nick, your comment to your son was right on. What people say isn’t as important as what they think. Although you may stop people from saying offensive things, stopping from thinking them is another matter (which would require an entirely different campaign – time to bring in the social psychologists).
There is NO Constitutional right to not being offended.
Bruce, This means speech should remain free. Kids called my Colombian son, “spic.” I told him for every person who said that to his face, there were many more who called him that behind his back. THOSE were the people you needed to be wary. When people use words you find offensive, that helps identify them to you. And, you answer words, w/ words, not speech codes and censorship. Pretty basic 1st Amendment stuff here, Bruce.