Stanford University Walks Back Plan to Eliminate ‘Racist’ and ‘Harmful’ Words Like ‘American,’ ‘Grandfather’ After Backlash

 

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The woke losers at Stanford University recently released a list of ‘harmful language’ to eliminate in an effort to be more sensitive to marginalized groups.

The guide, titled “The Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative,” featured “10 ‘harmful language’ sections outlined in the index: ableist, ageism, colonialism, culturally appropriative, gender-based, imprecise language, institutionalized racism, person-first, violent and additional considerations.’”

The ‘woke’ guide was released earlier this year but the Wall Street Journal opinion piece made the ‘list’ to go viral.

Stanford University eliminated the word “American” because “This term often refers to people from the United States only, thereby insinuating that the US is the most important country in the Americas (which is actually made up of 42 countries)” 

The words “brave” and “grandfather” and “long time, no see” because they are insensitive to indigenous peoples and women.

Below is a partial list of banned words:

Original: walk-in

Swap: drop-in, open office

Reason: ‘Ableist language that trivializes the experiences of people living with disabilities’

Original: grandfather

Swap: legacy

Reason: ‘This term has its roots in the “grandfather clause” adopted by Southern states to deny voting rights to Blacks’

Original: guru

Swap: expert, subject matter expert (SME), primary, leader, teacher, guide

Reason: ‘In the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, the word is a sign of respect. Using it casually negates its original value’

Original: brave

Swap: none/do not use

Reason: ‘This term perpetuates the stereotype of the “noble courageous savage,” equating the Indigenous male as being less than a man’

Original: man hours

Swap: person hours, effort hours, labor time

Reason: ‘This term reinforces male-dominated language’

Original: American

Swap: US Citizen

Reason: ‘This term often refers to people from the United States only, thereby insinuating that the US is the most important country in the Americas (which is actually made up of 42 countries)’

Original: whitespace

Swap: empty space

Reason: ‘Assigns value connotations based on color (white = good), an act which is subconsciously racialized’

Original: prostitute

Swap: person who engages in sex work

Reason: ‘Using person-first language helps to not define people by just one of their characteristics’

Original: kill(ing) two birds with one stone

Swap: accomplish(ing) two things at once

Reason: ‘This expression normalizes violence against animals’

Original: trigger warning

Swap: content note

Reason: ‘The phrase can cause stress about what’s to follow. Additionally, one can never know what may or may not trigger a particular person’

Stanford walked back the plan to ban the ‘harmful phrases’ after major backlash.

The Free Beacon reported:

That was quick! Just 48 hours after the Washington Free Beacon and the Wall Street Journal shed light on a Stanford University list of “offensive” words and phrases like “American” and “blind study,” the university would like to make a few clarifications.

The university hid its “Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative” behind a login page Monday following widespread public criticism of its effort to purge “potentially harmful” language like “survivor,” “victim,” “blackbox” and “white paper” from university websites. In a letter posted Tuesday evening, the university’s chief information officer Steve Gallagher said the guide “does not represent university policy,” nor “mandates or requirements.”

“We have particularly heard concerns about the guide’s treatment of the term ‘American,'” Gallagher wrote, referring to the blueprint’s assessment that “American” ascribed superiority to people from the United States. “To be very clear, not only is the use of the term ‘American’ not banned at Stanford, it is absolutely welcomed,” he continued.