Stanford University releases "index of harmful words"

[Stranger in a strange land]

So much of this just seems to be a refusal to accept the reality that words change their meaning over time.  Or more specifically, an attempt to sound clever by pointing out that you know the origin of terms that have completely changed their meaning since that origin.

Example:  "Grandfather clause."  Everyone knows what the term "grandfather clause" means.  It means a provision to let some people who were enjoying the status quo keep things the way they were, exempt from whatever changes you're trying to make.  But did you know this term has a racist origin?  It refers to laws in the Jim Crow south that exempted voters from literacy tests and poll taxes if their grandfathers had voted.  So you see, while you may have thought you were just using a commonly-understood neutral term, you were actually uttering a racial slur and conjuring up the horrors of Jim Crow for any black person who may have overheard you!

It's just this weird academic bubble that's totally divorced from reality.  There isn't a single Black person outside of the campus bubble who will think you're referencing some racist 19th-century legal code when you use the term "grandfather clause."  Sure maybe it has a racist origin but who cares?  Am I expected to evaluate every single word by its origin?  Do we even know the origins of most words in the English language?

As I read through the list, it sounded more and more like it was made by people who never actually interact with others offline... and then I realized that this was probably the case.

Like absolutely no one will hear the words "brown bag lunch" and think of brown bag tests. No one will hear the sentence "Joe's house is too close to the property line, but it was built before 1975 so it's grandfathered in" and think of Jim Crow. And then in addition to silly items like those, they threw in a bunch of actual slurs like "Pocahontas" and "gyp", probably to make the whole thing seem more legitimate.

And on top of everything else, asking your Black colleague if they prefer that you refer to them as "Black" or "African-American" honestly seems more racist than just picking one and hoping that they're okay with it.

[Gracile]

Instead of prostitute (v)
Consider using debase
Context Unnecessarily correlates corrupt or unworthy purposes with sex work.

Uh, this alternative sounds much worse than the original. "Debase" has a pretty negative connotation that would only stigmatize sex work more.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Instead of prostitute (v)
Consider using debase
Context Unnecessarily correlates corrupt or unworthy purposes with sex work.

Uh, this alternative sounds much worse than the original. "Debase" has a pretty negative connotation that would only stigmatize sex work more.

     I think they mean in contexts that don't relate to actual prostitution, e.g. "he was an anarchist but he prostituted himself working for the feds for a paycheck". Still a bad suggestion because "debase" is less specific and it inhibits your ability to communicate if you substitute vaguer words unnecessarily.

[DaleCooper]

Instead of prostitute (v)
Consider using debase
Context Unnecessarily correlates corrupt or unworthy purposes with sex work.

Uh, this alternative sounds much worse than the original. "Debase" has a pretty negative connotation that would only stigmatize sex work more.

     I think they mean in contexts that don't relate to actual prostitution, e.g. "he was an anarchist but he prostituted himself working for the feds for a paycheck". Still a bad suggestion because "debase" is less specific and it inhibits your ability to communicate if you substitute vaguer words unnecessarily.

I suspect the goal behind this change is to remove the negative connotation to prostitution, which is bizarre.

[Gracile]

Instead of prostitute (v)
Consider using debase
Context Unnecessarily correlates corrupt or unworthy purposes with sex work.

Uh, this alternative sounds much worse than the original. "Debase" has a pretty negative connotation that would only stigmatize sex work more.

     I think they mean in contexts that don't relate to actual prostitution, e.g. "he was an anarchist but he prostituted himself working for the feds for a paycheck". Still a bad suggestion because "debase" is less specific and it inhibits your ability to communicate if you substitute vaguer words unnecessarily.

Oh, I see now. The context provided here is vague enough that it sounded like their goal was to remove words that have a negative connotation for sex work (i.e. replacing "prostitute" with "debase").

[Associate Justice PiT]

Instead of prostitute (v)
Consider using debase
Context Unnecessarily correlates corrupt or unworthy purposes with sex work.

Uh, this alternative sounds much worse than the original. "Debase" has a pretty negative connotation that would only stigmatize sex work more.

     I think they mean in contexts that don't relate to actual prostitution, e.g. "he was an anarchist but he prostituted himself working for the feds for a paycheck". Still a bad suggestion because "debase" is less specific and it inhibits your ability to communicate if you substitute vaguer words unnecessarily.

I suspect the goal behind this change is to remove the negative connotation to prostitution, which is bizarre.

     Bizarre that they want to remove the negative connotation or that they would expect it to have that effect?

[DaleCooper]

Instead of prostitute (v)
Consider using debase
Context Unnecessarily correlates corrupt or unworthy purposes with sex work.

Uh, this alternative sounds much worse than the original. "Debase" has a pretty negative connotation that would only stigmatize sex work more.

     I think they mean in contexts that don't relate to actual prostitution, e.g. "he was an anarchist but he prostituted himself working for the feds for a paycheck". Still a bad suggestion because "debase" is less specific and it inhibits your ability to communicate if you substitute vaguer words unnecessarily.

I suspect the goal behind this change is to remove the negative connotation to prostitution, which is bizarre.

     Bizarre that they want to remove the negative connotation or that they would expect it to have that effect?

Both I guess. I'm not surprised that they want to remove the negative connotation, because the left has been saying that for a long time. It's bizarre in the sense that it's obviously bad for society.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Instead of prostitute (v)
Consider using debase
Context Unnecessarily correlates corrupt or unworthy purposes with sex work.

Uh, this alternative sounds much worse than the original. "Debase" has a pretty negative connotation that would only stigmatize sex work more.

     I think they mean in contexts that don't relate to actual prostitution, e.g. "he was an anarchist but he prostituted himself working for the feds for a paycheck". Still a bad suggestion because "debase" is less specific and it inhibits your ability to communicate if you substitute vaguer words unnecessarily.

I suspect the goal behind this change is to remove the negative connotation to prostitution, which is bizarre.

     Bizarre that they want to remove the negative connotation or that they would expect it to have that effect?

Both I guess. I'm not surprised that they want to remove the negative connotation, because the left has been saying that for a long time. It's bizarre in the sense that it's obviously bad for society.

     Leftist movements properly understood are revolutionary by nature. For them what is bad is the current order and the inequality that is inherent to it; those problems are seen as something that will vanish once that order is overthrown. It actually has a lot in common with Christian eschatology, the most obvious difference being that leftists don't expect God to do the heavy lifting of enacting a revolutionary change.

[Anti-Trump Truth Socialite JD Vance Enjoying Juror]

A stupid list for sure, but which University banned word lists aren’t? I expect this one to have about as much effect as the last few which were posted here, which is to say none. I was glad to see that even Stamford’s own newspaper was dumping on it.

[gerritcole]

Might as well start up the ministry of rightspeak so we can get the morning report on what the party/woke mob approve of and what they don’t that day

[T'Chenka]

Might as well start up the ministry of rightspeak so we can get the morning report on what the party/woke mob approve of and what they don’t that day

To be 100% fair to thes ridiculous morons, they simply implemented this word policing on their own website, nothing more, except for releasing the information publicly... which I guess is a gentle suggestion that everybody else consider adopting these language changes. They aren't trying to force others to use / not use this language, in this instance.

[Mercenary]

Just makes me want to use the list as a guide for what words to use around "woke" idiots.

[DaleCooper]

Might as well start up the ministry of rightspeak so we can get the morning report on what the party/woke mob approve of and what they don’t that day

To be 100% fair to thes ridiculous morons, they simply implemented this word policing on their own website, nothing more, except for releasing the information publicly... which I guess is a gentle suggestion that everybody else consider adopting these language changes. They aren't trying to force others to use / not use this language, in this instance.

The people they educate will get jobs in HR, and will then proceed to make the gentle suggestion that everybody else consider adopting these language changes.

[Schiff for Senate]

Someone got paid a six-figure salary to write that list.

I would love to have that job when I'm an adult, lmao. Doing complete BS and making a solid salary? Yes please.

But seriously. What can I say that's not been already said? The list mocks itself and it ought to be parody. The fact that it's unironically been written by one of the most prestigious institutions in this nation is, well, a sad reflection of where we are today. And of course, entertaining too.

[Schiff for Senate]

Just makes me want to use the list as a guide for what words to use around "woke" idiots.

If T'Chenka and Ferguson - both of whom are quite woke, Ferguson arguably as woke as it gets - think most of this list is pretty ridiculous, you'll find most of this is the equivalent of a "straw man." Most people, including most wokeists, will be unfazed and won't care one whit if you use these terms (most of them, anyway - a couple of them are legitimately not good). Try it and see for yourself. HOWEVER, nobody SHOULD get themselves in a frenzy over this usage of words in the English language in the first place. Use them exactly as you normally would - no more, no less. If anybody actually gets offended by these terms, then you'll know that they're woke snowflakes. And, depending on the circumstances, do keep in mind that while it may be "woke" to be offended by a certain phrase in most situations, and it's okay to use that phrase, in some situations it's legitimately best to avoid it - for instance, a person in a wheelchair might reasonably be a bit miffed if you tell them to "walk in." Stuff like that. But on the whole - anybody who's seriously offended by these words (bar a few that actually ARE offensive), is a woke snowflake and needs to get over themselves, and not expect anybody else to rewire their vocabulary because some academic decided that's what we're doing now.

[T'Chenka]

If T'Chenka and Ferguson - both of whom are quite woke

LOL. I'm semi-woke, at best. I would hope that I don't have a "woke" reputation, based on my posting. I'm just anti-establishment, anti-corruption, progressive and anti-bigot. But I understand the point you're trying to make.

[Schiff for Senate]

If T'Chenka and Ferguson - both of whom are quite woke

LOL. I'm semi-woke, at best. I would hope that I don't have a "woke" reputation, based on my posting. I'm just anti-establishment, anti-corruption, progressive and anti-bigot. But I understand the point you're trying to make.

Yeah, if you see the very next part of my post, I quickly acknowledge you're different degrees of woke and that Fergie's a lot woker than you are (and I'm sure he himself would unabashedly say as much).

[SWE]

Just makes me want to use the list as a guide for what words to use around "woke" idiots.

Unless you're around the people who made this list, nobody would notice

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

This is why Democrats dismissing wokeness as “a fringe ideology believed only by those with no actual power” is really disingenuous. This list wasn’t suggested by some idiot on Twitter, it was put out by the most prestigious university in the most powerful country in the world.

The message really is “Use newspeak progressive language, or get memory holed cancelled.”

I'm not sure that's really what democrats are saying. What people like I myself have been saying is that this is a fringe ideology found mainly online and in university settings.

Just look at the responses in this thread. My bet is that amongst democratic voters, at the most 5% finds lists like these reasonable.

The synthesis of these ideas is that universities have become a safe harbor for this type of thought which is so unpopular in the public at large that it's a minority opinion within their own party. But, universities (especially "prestigious" ones like Stanford) are so deeply ingrained with this country's powerful institutions (including the institutions that we think of as being "left") that it's pretty easy for this stuff to permeate the halls of power and have an outsized seat at the table.

The one thing the far left has done very well at in this country is creating high-paying jobs for themselves that no one can fire them from. The problem is not that some idiot made a list of offensive words; this alone would get them laughed out of the room in most cases. The problem is that they get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to do it and anyone who suggests getting rid of them will then be at risk of losing their jobs.

Six figures? I'd be pretty surprised if the people making this list made $80K.

Part of the reason for this is that a lot of organizations (universities and non-profits, e.g.) set aside a set fraction of their budget for DEI work. The reason these people aren't easily "fired" is because their job would just be taken by someone else on a similar mission.

[DaleCooper]

The one thing the far left has done very well at in this country is creating high-paying jobs for themselves that no one can fire them from. The problem is not that some idiot made a list of offensive words; this alone would get them laughed out of the room in most cases. The problem is that they get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to do it and anyone who suggests getting rid of them will then be at risk of losing their jobs.

Six figures? I'd be pretty surprised if the people making this list made $80K.

Part of the reason for this is that a lot of organizations (universities and non-profits, e.g.) set aside a set fraction of their budget for DEI work. The reason these people aren't easily "fired" is because their job would just be taken by someone else on a similar mission.

Well, they make more than they should, whatever it is. And I should've been more specific, I don't just want the DEI people fired, I want the whole department scrapped. The jobs shouldn't exist.

[jamestroll]

funny thing is.. there is literally nothing wrong with using any of their "proper words". I use about like 40% of their recommended list myself.

But we can not have word police.

I used to work in luxury hospitality. This reminds me of word lists they would give line level employees and managers/supervisors (like me) to say. Obviously I wouldn't say sup.. or hey dude.. most people can naturally professional. But they would literally give step by step instructions what to say and even down to syllable emphasis. lol

would always roll my eyes at that list.

I would have actual feedback from guests that employees were robotic.. they could predict everything they said and nothing came natural.

luckily, I predominantly over saw night operations in large properties... so I didn't have to worry about that BS much about a damn verbiage list.  Large part why I switched industries.

word policing is bad.

[Donerail]

The same university that basically created Silicon Valley and happens to be one of, if not the, top feeders to a lot of the most powerful companies in the world. God help us if the future leaders of Apple/Google/Meta are brainwashed by this crap.

Wow, lots of you are very silly people (quoted post is one example of many). No one's being forced to follow this list. Before last week, few people outside IT knew it existed.

Some history: IT released this list around that time in 2020. They were getting some low-level flak about their hiring practices and put this out so people would stop asking them to Hire More BIPOC Technicians or whatever. What this is really about is IT not wanting to spend more money on salaries to hire more people and needing the cover to do that, not The Libs Doing 1984. But it's a good excuse for people to get their Posts off I guess.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The same university that basically created Silicon Valley and happens to be one of, if not the, top feeders to a lot of the most powerful companies in the world. God help us if the future leaders of Apple/Google/Meta are brainwashed by this crap.

Wow, lots of you are very silly people (quoted post is one example of many). No one's being forced to follow this list. Before last week, few people outside IT knew it existed.

Some history: IT released this list around that time in 2020. They were getting some low-level flak about their hiring practices and put this out so people would stop asking them to Hire More BIPOC Technicians or whatever. What this is really about is IT not wanting to spend more money on salaries to hire more people and needing the cover to do that, not The Libs Doing 1984. But it's a good excuse for people to get their Posts off I guess.

OK that makes more sense (and also serves to explain why no one seems to be supporting it.)

Also I recall Brandeis came out with a similar list, also got absolutely skewered, and in response changed the section of their with a disclaimer about how no one is forced to adhere to this and also removing the list and instead including a link to a Google page with the list on it because apparently not hosting it directly was thus a sign they weren't trying to enforce it or something.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Someone got paid a six-figure salary to write that list.

It's being paid by student loan money.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

There's a reason conservatives are abandoning "the West" as a concept.