Normally, if you design a guide for your entity, and it’s based on your supposed values, and it’s meant to improve people’s lives, you would make sure the world knows about it and be proud to share it with everyone. Stanford University had another idea. When everyone found out that their little Orwellian “Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative” had developed a ‘guide’ of forbidden words Stanford panicked and locked the censorious project behind a firewall and began to gaslight everyone about what its intentions were.
Fortunately, the Stanford Review, the university’s independent newspaper, is filling us all in with the latest shenanigans of what used to be a premiere university having slouched toward woke in the most predictable of ways. In a story titled, “Big Brother is Watching You: Stanford’s New ‘Harmful Language’ Guide,” we are given a peek at the insanity driving the woke.
With an agenda of supposedly eliminating “racist, violent, and biased” words from its IT system and websites, instead they provide the rank absurdity driving today’s woke mob. A sampling of the words and phrases considered too toxic and damaging to be used include “Walk in” as it’s insensitive to the disabled, so “drop in” is to used instead. “White paper” is racist and will be replaced with “position paper.” “Karen” will be swapped with “Demanding or entitled White person.” “Brave” is out as it perpetuates the “noble savage” stereotype. There is to be no replacement.
The Daily Mail tells us, “It also says it will swap the term ‘blind review’ for ‘anonymous review’, while ‘tone deaf’ should be swapped for ‘unenlightened’ and ‘handicap parking’ changed to ‘accessible parking’. It also states in its gender-based section that ‘pronouns’ should be used instead of ‘preferred pronouns’, as the latter implies that ‘gender identity is a choice’. The section on institutionalized racism states that ‘black mark’ and ‘black sheep’ are not used because of ‘negative connotations to the color black’.” And now even the woke term “trigger warning” is now too… triggering and will be replaced with “content warning.”
Making the most news is the elimination of the word “American” to be replaced with “US citizen.” Why? American “often refers to people from the United States only, thereby insinuating that the U.S. is the most important country in the Americas (which is actually made up of 42 countries).”
You just can’t make up this sort of madness. Degrading language is cultic and meant to control and impede the freedom of thought of those targeted. Universities are supposed to be environments where the minds of students are to be expanded, not contracted. There is no excuse for this at Stanford or any other institution in this country under any guise.
The mocking and outrage was so swift and merciless Stanford’s Chief Information Officer issued a classic back-peddling statement saying they “missed the mark” and that the guide does not represent university policy. And yet how does something this outrageous get past any sort of review prior to even an internal implementation unless it reflects the desired and brutalized academic culture?
This of course is not new. Stanford is not alone. Censorship and banned word projects are pushed by marginal extremists in school systems, in media, and certainly in politics and in entertainment. This latest iteration of the vandalism of language started decades ago with the idiocy of political correctness. It is now part of the bureaucratic agenda throughout our establishment.
One of the first things totalitarian societies have relied on is censorship and the changing of language. George Orwell used his fiction masterpieces in an effort to warn Western civilization about the cancer of socialism and fascism. From Animal Farm to 1984 Orwell made clear how language and the meaning of words is at the foundation of civilization.
Understanding each other is at the foundation of our ability to govern ourselves and at the heart of our comprehending the world itself. The Tiny Tyrants among us also know that if it is too dangerous and forbidden to use certain words and phrases we will eventually stop thinking about things which require those words to convey your own assessment of society and culture and politics. We will retreat as only silence is ‘safe.’ And that is exactly the point.
If the next generation is going to have any hope of living decent and free lives and being able to function in society, this circus of the absurd must be condemned and stopped. Stanford can issue mea culpas all they want, but nothing will change. Americans everywhere mocking and denouncing the fools who implemented this is an important step, but Stanford alumni must get involved, speak up and say enough is enough.
Their moto is, The air of freedom blows. I guess not demanding or entitled White woman, which is not racist at all Karen.
My son is at Stanford and very disillusioned that a University that attracted highly intelligent students who challenged things is now becoming an anti-fun, anti-freedom of thought, dictatorial institution.
Universities are becoming an expensive poison pill to the culture of the USA as seen by the censorship involvement of big tech executives and teachers who are becoming toxic to our chidren for example.
Stanford, the Ivy League, Univ of Chicago and 4-5 other universities are in a race to
see who can create the most woke environment. My current bumper sticker says:
“Fully Awake but Not Woke”.
After seeing the hubris and lack of sense displayed by Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Bank-Fried
from Stanford I’m so grateful that I and my three children attended respectable colleges.
Maybe if parents pull their kids out of Stanford, they might reverse their stance. Once it hits their bottom line.
The only solution to the problem is to get rid of Leftist educators nationwide.
Is a waste of money and time going to this university. America needs more mathematicians, chemists, medical doctors, etc, etc. Not all this crap that make everybody stupid.
What is Stanford trying to do to this country? Why would anyone in USA want to drop word AMERICAN & replace it with gobbley gook? I really hope that none of our tax dollars are supporting Stanford in this path of stupidity to only satisfy a few Americans.
I kind of is our tax dollars since Clinton made college loans back by the federal government… but the Ivy League schools are receiving huuuuge “donations” from China – all long as they keep up the positive propaganda on all things CCP. There should be laws against all of CCPs purchasing of US farm lands! Just saying
Agree, we need law that prevents China from purchasing & owning any US farmland. Also, saw on news last week that some of US farmland is being switched to Solar panels & windmills. The ability of our farmers is what made America great & independent food sources.
The nationality of the citizens of the other 41 countries in the Americas can be labeled by adding “n”, “an”, “ian”, or some variant to the end of their country’s name. Only in a crazy place like Stanford would United Statesian or United States of American make any sense.
Intelligent idiots. The old saying in academia is “publish or perish”. So they frantically publish anything in an attempt to be relevant. Sorry you’ve perished ????
Oh look everyone, Stanford has the first snowflakes of the season!
Next on the “woke” chopping block: the word “dog.”
The Progressive-Socialists contend that spelled backwards, it’s “god,” and that might offend atheists and other non-believers. So instead, you must refer to your furry pet as a “canine lifeform.”
Ain’t “progress” grand?
The ONLY way to fight this crap is to double down on using language they deem ‘offensive’. They have NO POWER over the words you use unless you let them buffalo you.
Damn right. It will be a cold day in hell before I address anyone as ze/zim or any such craziness.
In strange ways, this baloney is a good thing. It’s taking this extreme nonsense to wake a lot of us up to the to the Many Negatives of “prestigious “ colleges. The warnings have been in place for decades, but these absurdities just might cut through our ingrained belief in having to have a college education.
Just proves the point that name brand colleges are not worth the cost for that degree from them. This is shameful waste of money because no life skills are learned, just biased attitude.
This nonsense, from he IT School at Stanford. Obviously since they and other IT ‘professionals’ have solved all the actual real world IT problems; hacking, computer fraud, computer theft, ransomware, cyber bullying, child pornography, human trafficking, and all other cyber crimes and bad things it was time. Time for he best & brightest (sarcasm font) IT minds in our country to attack, and solve & correct “words & language” that make them sad. Just ‘WOW.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me. I learned that when I was 7.
I’ve often thought of that little saying since this woke nonsense started. “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but word will never hurt me.” Amazing how the woke folk can be “hurt” by anything a God fearing conservative has to say. Somebody (actually lots of somebody’s) need a trip to the proverbial wood shed to understand how that works. Spare the rod and spoil the child is what my Bible says. Good biblical advice!
But the LACK of clear and descriptive language in our everyday life WILL HARM US ALL!
What was called profanity in 50s-60s-70s seem to be acceptable to most people & media today. These bad words are used by out President & both some of male/female in Congress. Take a look at Communist goals in 1958 & you will find destroying our morality as one goal. As a Baby Boomer generation, I was brought up to not use profanity especially around females like your mother.
This shows the level of insanity extant at Stanford. They say it’s for internal use which is a lame excuse for word tyranny. A once great university has, like so many others, fallen into the leftist fever swamp.
Good thing they outlawed the word “STUPID” so there’s nothing to accurately describe this bull$%@*
Academia has gone off the deep end, jumped the shark and is absolutely useless. I am surprised that graduates aren’t suing universities for fraud.
Or defending their constitutional rights to free speech. This political correctness BS has always been to attack free speech! The proffessors have control over the students in their classes. I learned very quickly how to play their game and answer their questions. One has to do this to make it through without failing. If one does not do it the way they want it, then they can fail them! It is all about mind control!
This must be what the incredibly large endowment funds are being used for instead of possibly lowering tuitions and fees so that a college education is available to more people.
When government pays, the prices triple or worse. Government loans… follow the money…
Same thing with medical care. My doctor did house calls for $5 when i was a kid! No overhead and filling out paperwork all day!
Yup, you got what you paid for in those days. Including no medical diagnostic equipment save for a stethoscope and a thermometer. But it was cheap!
And mostly accurate.