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I mean, if you ever wanted to get on the bandwagon of why we have so many college administrators responsible for raising the cost of college and creating work f

I mean, if you ever wanted to get on the bandwagon of why we have so many college administrators responsible for raising the cost of college and creating work for themselves by stoking culture wars, just read through the list on that page. ------- ">Instead of: Philippine Islands >Consider using: Philippines or the Republic of the Philippines >Context: The term is politically incorrect and denotes colonialism. Some people of Filipino heritage might use the term, though." --------- ">Instead of: "preferred" pronouns >Consider using: pronouns >Context: The word "preferred" suggests that non-binary gender identity is a choice and a preference." --------- ">Instead of: Karen >Consider using: demanding or entitled White woman >Context: This term is used to ridicule or demean a certain group of people based on their behaviors." (Have we landed in backwards land? So "white" is ok to use here?) --------- ">Instead of: blackbox >Consider using: hidden, mystery box, opaque box, flight recorder >Context: Assigns negative connotations to the color black, racializing the term." --------- ">Instead of: red team >Consider using: cyber offense team >Context: "Red" is often used disparagingly to refer to Indigenous peoples, so its use in this context could be offensive to some groups." --------- ">Instead of: war room >Consider using: situation room >Context: Unneccesary use of violent language." ----------

snakeboy 4y ago
>>Consider using: demanding or entitled White woman It's insane that this is one of the most explicitly racist examples and it's in the "Consider using" column...
bigmattystyles 4y ago
The black and red examples are silly. I’m white so I get that I’ve not had the lived experience but we might as well make the color itself unusable. I have no evidence but I think that this is some white person’s idea of what is offensive, infantilizing everyone involved. But I guess that in lieu of actual policy that will help people this will do….(that last line is sarcasm)
lofatdairy 4y ago
>red team Baffled by this inclusion, never in my life have I made that association. I'm also hugely against sports teams naming themselves after Native American stereotypes, but here it's literally just a color. >Karen Totally agree with your points, in what world is white okay to use there when they're arguing against "blackbox". Also, Karen has a lot more connotations beyond just race, there's a class/aspirational class connotation. There's a reason it's not "Madelynn". Not saying it's okay, but it's part of a trend in this list of not understanding connotation and context, and a general lack of thought in their alternatives.
rich_sasha 4y ago
Wow, when I saw this list, I thought it's a parody post. Then I went away and read the suggestions...
macrolime 4y ago
Right, so instead of this: Bob used to think of neural networks as black boxes, but now he's working on figuring out how they actually work. We should say: Bob used to think of neural networks as flight recorders, but now he's working on figuring out how they actually work. That obviously has the exact same meaning /s
- foofoo4u 4y ago
  This is a good example of how those in the commanding heights can order changes to a society or economy, but fail to fathom all of the cascading ramifications of their decision.
FooBarBizBazz 4y ago
">Instead of: Philippine Islands >Consider using: Philippines or the Republic of the Philippines >Context: The term is politically incorrect and denotes colonialism. Some people of Filipino heritage might use the term, though." First of all, they're using "denotes" to mean "connotes", so we shouldn't expect a subtle understanding of English. But second, what "Philippine Islands" does is center geography instead of nationhood or identity. What it connotes is that political boundaries are historically-contingent. Similarly, the "British isles" will always be there, barring geological catastrophe, regardless of whether the United Kingdom ceases to exist, say because Scotland and Wales secede. If you want to work hard at it, you could make an argument that geography-centering language is "colonialist", because, precisely by revealing that borders are contingent, it might suggest that some more powerful actor, an Empire, might reshape them arbitrarily. However, it also undermines nationalism, and many people would consider that to be a good thing. For example, it's a key sentiment behind liberal immigration policies.
- selimthegrim 4y ago
  You might want to talk to the Republic of Ireland about that British Isles bit
  - FooBarBizBazz 4y ago
    That's a good example. Ireland is part of the British Isles without being "Britain". And now Britain is part of Europe without being "Europe". (Canada has always been part of America without being "America".)
sverona 4y ago
Hi. I'm nonbinary. I do, in fact, honestly and genuinely think that Newspeaking the rest of you into believing that I'm not someone with some kind of horrible mental illness or whatever it is you want to believe these days is a Good Thing. And it's fewer words. So please stop saying "preferred pronouns." I've also heard people say "PGPs," meaning "preferred gender pronouns," which is silly and makes me think you're talking about encryption. Please also stop saying "identifies as." I don't identify as a damn thing, I am who I am. You have no chance to survive, make your time, ha ha ha ha...
- CoastalCoder 4y ago
  "Preferred pronouns" is a friendly request, "pronouns" is a rhetorical strong-arm. I appreciate that you want certain pronouns to be used. But why does your preference trump mine? I.e., why must I submit to you? Edit: I realized my comment's tone seems a bit harsh. Just to clarify, my intention is to debate your proposal, not bash on you as a person.
  - sverona 4y ago
    I don't want certain pronouns to be used, I am demanding their usage. I have a right to do this because those pronouns address me. This is the same as any other boundary set by anyone. You can call me by the wrong pronouns if you wish, in which case I will stop talking to you. If you think this is militant behavior, it is, but I submit that you do the same thing and don't realize it. Consider how you would behave if the shoes were on the other feet.
    - crackercrews 4y ago
      > I have a right to do this because those pronouns address me. Actually they don't address you. They refer to you. A term of address is "you". Pronouns are terms of reference. This is one of the things that people misunderstand about pronouns like him/her. If I'm talking about someone, I get to choose how to do it. I can refer to someone as a fool, as "that tall blonde girl", or as "the guy with the huge beard from the grocery store". None of these people get to police my speech about them. Things are somewhat different if I am referring to someone and am in their presence. In that case I would just use the person's first or last name. But some people are now taking issue with talking around preferred pronouns by using a person's name. For me, that is a bridge too far.

snakeboy 4y ago

>>Consider using: demanding or entitled White woman It's insane that this is one of the most explicitly racist examples and it's in the "Consider using" column...

bigmattystyles 4y ago

The black and red examples are silly. I’m white so I get that I’ve not had the lived experience but we might as well make the color itself unusable. I have no evidence but I think that this is some white person’s idea of what is offensive, infantilizing everyone involved. But I guess that in lieu of actual policy that will help people this will do….(that last line is sarcasm)

lofatdairy 4y ago

>red team Baffled by this inclusion, never in my life have I made that association. I'm also hugely against sports teams naming themselves after Native American stereotypes, but here it's literally just a color. >Karen Totally agree with your points, in what world is white okay to use there when they're arguing against "blackbox". Also, Karen has a lot more connotations beyond just race, there's a class/aspirational class connotation. There's a reason it's not "Madelynn". Not saying it's okay, but it's part of a trend in this list of not understanding connotation and context, and a general lack of thought in their alternatives.

rich_sasha 4y ago

Wow, when I saw this list, I thought it's a parody post. Then I went away and read the suggestions...

macrolime 4y ago

Right, so instead of this: Bob used to think of neural networks as black boxes, but now he's working on figuring out how they actually work. We should say: Bob used to think of neural networks as flight recorders, but now he's working on figuring out how they actually work. That obviously has the exact same meaning /s

foofoo4u 4y ago
This is a good example of how those in the commanding heights can order changes to a society or economy, but fail to fathom all of the cascading ramifications of their decision.

FooBarBizBazz 4y ago

">Instead of: Philippine Islands >Consider using: Philippines or the Republic of the Philippines >Context: The term is politically incorrect and denotes colonialism. Some people of Filipino heritage might use the term, though." First of all, they're using "denotes" to mean "connotes", so we shouldn't expect a subtle understanding of English. But second, what "Philippine Islands" does is center geography instead of nationhood or identity. What it connotes is that political boundaries are historically-contingent. Similarly, the "British isles" will always be there, barring geological catastrophe, regardless of whether the United Kingdom ceases to exist, say because Scotland and Wales secede. If you want to work hard at it, you could make an argument that geography-centering language is "colonialist", because, precisely by revealing that borders are contingent, it might suggest that some more powerful actor, an Empire, might reshape them arbitrarily. However, it also undermines nationalism, and many people would consider that to be a good thing. For example, it's a key sentiment behind liberal immigration policies.

selimthegrim 4y ago
You might want to talk to the Republic of Ireland about that British Isles bit
- FooBarBizBazz 4y ago
  That's a good example. Ireland is part of the British Isles without being "Britain". And now Britain is part of Europe without being "Europe". (Canada has always been part of America without being "America".)

sverona 4y ago

Hi. I'm nonbinary. I do, in fact, honestly and genuinely think that Newspeaking the rest of you into believing that I'm not someone with some kind of horrible mental illness or whatever it is you want to believe these days is a Good Thing. And it's fewer words. So please stop saying "preferred pronouns." I've also heard people say "PGPs," meaning "preferred gender pronouns," which is silly and makes me think you're talking about encryption. Please also stop saying "identifies as." I don't identify as a damn thing, I am who I am. You have no chance to survive, make your time, ha ha ha ha...

CoastalCoder 4y ago
"Preferred pronouns" is a friendly request, "pronouns" is a rhetorical strong-arm. I appreciate that you want certain pronouns to be used. But why does your preference trump mine? I.e., why must I submit to you? Edit: I realized my comment's tone seems a bit harsh. Just to clarify, my intention is to debate your proposal, not bash on you as a person.
- sverona 4y ago
  I don't want certain pronouns to be used, I am demanding their usage. I have a right to do this because those pronouns address me. This is the same as any other boundary set by anyone. You can call me by the wrong pronouns if you wish, in which case I will stop talking to you. If you think this is militant behavior, it is, but I submit that you do the same thing and don't realize it. Consider how you would behave if the shoes were on the other feet.
  - crackercrews 4y ago
    > I have a right to do this because those pronouns address me. Actually they don't address you. They refer to you. A term of address is "you". Pronouns are terms of reference. This is one of the things that people misunderstand about pronouns like him/her. If I'm talking about someone, I get to choose how to do it. I can refer to someone as a fool, as "that tall blonde girl", or as "the guy with the huge beard from the grocery store". None of these people get to police my speech about them. Things are somewhat different if I am referring to someone and am in their presence. In that case I would just use the person's first or last name. But some people are now taking issue with talking around preferred pronouns by using a person's name. For me, that is a bridge too far.