Originally published August 25 2015
Political correctness gone mad: University of NH declares "American" to be offensive, along with every other English adjective
by Daniel Barker
(NaturalNews) If you'd like to see startling examples of political correctness theory running amok, you need look no further than America's liberal university system. The nation's higher learning institutes have long been progenitors of PC concepts and policies, but matters now appear to have reached new levels of absurdity - at least at the University of New Hampshire.
In late July, news reports surfaced regarding a "Bias-Free Language Guide" posted on the UNH website. The online guide consisted of recommendations to avoid using "problematic" terms, such as "American," "illegal aliens" and "senior citizen". These are just a few examples taken from a long list of words deemed to be biased by the university.
CampusReform.org, an education watchdog site, initially broke the story. It quickly gained so much media attention that UNH President Mark Huddleston felt it necessary to distance himself from the university's own published stance, saying: "I am troubled by many things in the language guide."
Huddleston also said:
While individuals on our campus have every right to express themselves, I want to make it absolutely clear that the views expressed in this guide are NOT the policy of the University of New Hampshire.
Apparently he wasn't "troubled" enough to do anything about the guide, which was purportedly created in 2013, until the story hit the national press. It has since been removed from the university's site.
It is obvious that the UNH administration at least tacitly approved of the guide's content, or it probably would not have been posted on the official university website.
Aside from whoever created or approved of the guide, its contents would likely be disturbing to the average American or at least amusing in a somewhat annoying way.
Words you can't use anymore
A small sampling of "problematic" terms along with the preferred alternatives and reasons why they are offensive, according to the UNH "Bias-Free Language Guide":
- American: This is problematic because it "assumes the U.S. is the only country inside [the continents of North and South America]." The guide recommends using the less offensive terms "U.S. citizen" or "Resident of the U.S."
- Healthy: This word is problematic because it is biased against those whom we used to call "handicapped" (but you shouldn't use "handicapped" anymore, either - the new, preferred term is "person who is wheelchair mobile"). Instead of healthy, we should now say "non-disabled."
- Poor: It is no longer PC to call someone "poor." Instead, we should adopt the phrase "person who lacks advantages that others have" or "low economic status related to a person's education, occupation and income." By the way, the word "rich" is also taboo now; it's better to say "person of material wealth."
"Mothering" is no longer PC
Those are just a few examples, but I think you get the idea. The long list of problematic words also includes "mothering," fathering," "elders" and even "mailman" and "manpower."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, much of the guide is concerned with gender issues. Gender designations are the current rage among the PC crowd, and all sorts of new terms are popping up to further confuse the rest of us who used to be called "normal" people.
Campus Reform.org states:
The guide defines words such as "homosexual" as "problematic," offering "Same Gender Loving" as a more inclusive substitute. Similarly, a lack of gender-neutral bathrooms is, according to the university, "ciscentrism."
The university defines "ciscentrism" as "[a] pervasive and institutionalized system that places transgender people in the 'other' category and treats their needs and identities as less important than those of cisgender people."
Ciscentrism, eh? Well, one learns something new every day.
Stories such as this one make it easier to understand how a moronic blowhard like Donald Trump can take the lead in the Republican presidential race. After all, his complete and utter commitment to non-politically correct speech actually comes off as quite refreshing compared to this story's subject.
Sources:
http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=6697
http://www.washingtontimes.com
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml