And the connection to Virginia history is?
Mary Moyars-Johnson (MMJ)
On Nov 6, 2008, at 6:43 PM, Basil Forest wrote:
> (Is there a list of words that should not be used? If there is, why
> are they
> words at all?)
>
> Here are some of the unacceptable terms:
>
> Broken Home - Replaced by Dysfunctional family.
>
> Bum - Replaced by Homeless Person.Calling a person a "Bum" implies
> that the
> person is a moocher that is too lazy to get a job. Referring to
> him as a
> "Homeless Person" removes this stigma, and implies that he would
> be a perfectly
> normal citizen if only the government would give him a house.
>
> Crazy - Replaced by the term Mental Illness. And, since it is an
> illness, it
> may be treated in the same manner as other diseases - with drugs.
> Of course,
> this idea is nothing new ... people have been using drugs to treat
> depression for centuries.
>
> Criminal - Replaced by behaviorally challenged. This is one change
> that
> makes sense. A lot of the people in prisons today are not really
> "criminals" in
> the classic sense. Thanks to the "War on Drugs", there are a lot
> of people in
> jail because they failed to "behave" properly.
>
> Eastern (As when used when discussing Asian Culture) - Too
> Eurocentric.
> Instead, use Africa as your frame of reference. When discussing
> European culture
> you should now use the phase "Northern", and when discussing Asia
> use the
> phrase "North-Eastern". Now isn't that better?
>
> Factory - Replaced by Plant. The word Factory is a place where
> mistreated
> laborers toil long hours to produce pollution that billows forth
> from gigantic
> smokestacks. The word Plant is preferred since it is more
> difficult for this
> term to carry a negative connotation since this term is also used
> to describe
> nature. Its counterpart noun describes plant life (Plants, as in
> flowers,
> shrubs, etc). And the Verb form, to plant, is the process of
> lovingly placing a
> seed in the ground so it may one day grow into a mighty oak. Who can
> complain about having a new plant in their backyard?
>
> Failure - Replaced by Deferred Success.
>
> Fairy - Homophobic. Replaced by Petite airborne humanoid which
> possesses
> magical powers. The term fairy should be avoided when discussing
> these mythical
> beings, regardless of how gay they may appear.
>
> Fat - Replaced by Enlarged physical condition caused by a
> completely natural
> genetically-induced hormone imbalance. Of course, this is very
> difficult to
> say in one breath-- so people will find it easier to not say it at
> all. The
> term "fat" is simply too short and to direct. It all too clearly
> points out
> that the reason that an obese person's skin appears so swollen is
> because it is
> being buttressed by large amounts of... well... Fat.
>
> Foreign Food - Replaced by Ethnic Cuisine. The word foreign is
> generally
> used when one wishes to refer to something that alien to ones own
> country --
> something that is not normally found within the jurisdiction of
> your own
> particular political unit. But with the increasing power of
> multinational
> organizations (such as the U.N. and large corporations), nothing
> can be said to be
> truly 'foreign' anymore. In a world where you can find a
> McDonald's in Moscow, a
> Disneyland in Japan, or a single currency throughout Europe, the word
> 'Foreign' is losing its meaning.
> The word 'ethnic' provides a more accurate way to refer to these
> cultural
> traits which are continually growing fainter as we move away from
> the world of
> the past, in which different areas of the world were actually unique.
>
> Founding Fathers - Too Sexist. Instead, use the term The Founders. We
> wouldn't want to exclude all those great female leaders of 18th
> century America who
> signed the Declaration of Independence would we?
>
> Garbage Man - Replaced by Sanitation Engineer – A Garbage Man
> picks up
> garbage. A Sanitation Engineer engineers it.
>
> Ghetto - Replaced by Economically disadvantaged area. This term is
> used by
> politicians who believe money from the Government would solve
> their problems.
>
> Girlfriend/Wife - Replaced by Unpaid sex worker
>
> Handicapped - Replaced by Physically Challenged, or even worse,
> handicapable
>
> Home-ec (Home Economics) - Replaced by Family and Consumer
> Sciences, and I'm
> really not sure why. These classes have been taught in school
> since the
> early 1900's after Ellen Swallow Richards, an old-time feminist
> and the first
> woman to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
> formed the
> American Home Economics Association in 1909. But I suppose that
> the reason for
> the change has something to do with the fact that Home-Ec is
> generally
> considered a 'girly' class, and is therefore sexist.
>
> Housewife - Replaced by Domestic Engineer. This is to remove the
> necessity
> of marriage from the task of raising children.
>
> Illegal Aliens – Replaced by Undocumented Immigrants. The phrase
> ‘Illegal
> Aliens’ implies that these people are a bunch of law-breaking
> creatures from
> outer space, while ‘Undocumented Immigrants’ suggests that they
> are good
> old-fashioned immigrants that simply have not gone through the
> hassle of being ‘
> documented’ yet.
>
> Janitor - Replaced by Custodial Artist. No matter what you call
> it, this is
> a person who is paid to clean up crap.
>
> Jungle - Replaced by Rainforest. A Rainforest is a happy place
> where Disney
> characters dance and sing ... a jungle is a scary place with
> lions, tigers,
> malaria and natives that want to cut off your head and boil it for
> dinner...
> who in their right mind would want to save that!?!
>
> Lumberjack - Replaced by Murderer.
>
> Man’s Job and Woman’s Work - Replaced by Traditional Gender Role.
> These are
> basic practices that are followed in one form or another by most
> of the life
> forms on this planet, and have been part of human culture for
> thousands of
> years… and as with most other ‘traditions’, a lot of people
> believe that it
> is time for a change.
>
> Midget - Replaced by Vertically Challenged.
>
> Natural Disaster - replaced by Unnatural Event caused by man's
> destruction
> of the environment. Every hurricane, mudslide, and flood should be
> blamed on
> Global Warming, even though these events have been occurring for
> millions of
> years. (I'm still waiting for somebody to blame the last Ice Age
> on the
> campfires of cavemen)
>
> Niggardly - A perfectly good word that dumb people might get
> confused with
> the bad word that has similar letters.
>
> Psycho - Replaced by Pathologically High-Spirited
>
> Secretary - Replaced by Administrative Assistant – The word
> Secretary comes
> from Latin and means ‘Confidential Officer’ – And for some unknown
> reason
> this is a bad thing.
>
> Sex Change - Replaced by gender re-assignment.
>
> Swamp - Replaced by Wetland. Swamps are full alligators, bugs, and
> disease.
> If anybody went around saying that we need to "save the swamps",
> people would
> think they were out of their friggin' mind!
>
> Trailer Park - Replace by Mobile Home Community.
>
> Ugly - Replaced by Visually Challenging.
>
> White Trash - Losers of European descent. Term still in
> acceptance, although
> its counterpart term to describe trash of the negro race has being
> eliminated.
>
> Basil Forest
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