The words [Equity-language] guides recommend or reject are sometimes exactly the same, justified in nearly identical language.
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Although the guides refer to language “evolving,” these changes are a revolution from above. They haven’t emerged organically from the shifting linguistic habits of large numbers of people.
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Prison does not become a less brutal place by calling someone locked up in one a person experiencing the criminal-justice system.
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The whole tendency of equity language is to blur the contours of hard, often unpleasant facts. This aversion to reality is its main appeal. Once you acquire the vocabulary, it’s actually easier to say people with limited financial resources than the poor.
The main issue I have with this sort of thing is that in going to such great lengths to avoid offense, the plain meaning of words are often ignored. We have elevated the feelings that these words conjure above their intended use, to the point where words can be blacklisted rejected simply because someone else uses something that sounds similar in a bad context.
(Humans have equated “black” with “darkness” and bad things before they were even aware that other humans came in different skin tones. That connotation existed long before some humans decided they were better than others based on their skin tone. Why does every expression involving color have to be evocative of race now? Don’t we call it a “brown bag” lunch because the bag is, literally, brown?)
“Felon” is a good example, directly cited in this article. Felon simply means one who is convicted of a Felony offense. Why do we have to qualify or sugarcoat that? By trying to avoid any baggage that has built up regarding the term over the years we are making language imprecise.
I believe that the further we go down the rabbit hole of changing the plain meaning of words to avoid offense, that only serves to give more power to people who purposely offend.
While it would be great to be able to use these words without the subtext and context, that’s not how people operate. So while your way would be ideally better, it’s also literally impossible.
When we recognize it’s impossible, because you can’t change how people think, then we ask people to change how they act instead. I.e. what words they choose.
This is the only other solution, and at least it is slightly possible, as opposed to impossible.
Wait, are you seriously arguing that it’s impossible to think of the word “brown bag” without racial subtext? I mean, the bag is literally brown. That’s it’s color. All I want to do is eat lunch.
I’m saying that there are plenty of things where context matters.
I’m also saying that I don’t always know all the context. I’m not omniscient. So if someone who DOES know tells me about the context, I learn and adjust. For example, I no longer use the phrase “gypped” to mean ripped off. I didn’t know it was a slur against the Romania, I learned, I adjusted.
Life is full of changes and it’s really not hard to make small adjustments if it lessens other people’s pain.
As for the brown bag thing, if African American leaders that I trust explain that it’s somehow offensive, I’ll look into it. They haven’t, so I haven’t.
