No more illegal. The AP could save themselves a lot of work if they just linked their stylebook to Newspeak rules. Instead of an illegal immigrant, now he or she could be a Mexican who skillfully climbed a fence in the cover of darkness on the border of Mexico and the US in search of employment and benefits. Instead of a crack dealer, maybe a he or she is a purveyor of fine and potent schedule three drugs. Instead of murdered how about assisted in the untimely death or helped to not live. We all have our opinion on gay marriage and civil unions, if those things should be and what they should be called, but the ridiculousness seems to be accelerating at an AlGore hockey stick sort of pace. Change is ok and even sometimes good, changing the meanings of words or how we can or can not describe something, especially to fit an agenda, not as good. This whole trend, Double-Plus Ungood.
P.S. Look for Winston Smith to take over for Jay Carney. You heard it here first.
Well written. Your point is made. Used to be called politically correct, but is has gone far, far beyond that. LG
ReplyDeleteWe have reached - and passed - an obscene level of absurdity when it comes to saving feelings and writing (or speaking) bluntly. In my mind, we have traded free and open discourse for the far less noble goal of making sure no one is offended. As I said to my son the other day, "everyone's a winner until you're driving the BMW or drying off the hood of someone else's BMW at the car wash." We're not preparing our children for the realities of life, and we're already beginning to see the consequences.
ReplyDeleteI've worked in Mexico and personally witnessed the extreme poverty that they are escaping from that most Americans cannot comprehend. I would call them refugees - economic refugees.
ReplyDeleteAlso, our entire society is about choosing words to impart a specific response, emotion or intent.
They aren't called Illegal Immigrants, they're called Undocumented Democrats...
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