Lawrence KilliumHere we go again, another article from the language police – and this time, it’s the workplace.
The wonderful people at Salon came up with five phrases and words that you shitlords should not use anymore for the sake of man- I mean, humankind.
Low Skilled
“While these jobs traditionally involve lower wages, they also require lots of practice and mental focus. Occupations that people often refer to as low-skilled” include cleaning, farm labor, grocery clerks, and retail employees.
Why is saying “low-skilled” not okay? Well, the term suggests that these jobs don’t require any brain power—which means the people holding them aren’t intelligent. Yet in reality, folks with these jobs are doing hard work to support themselves and their families.”
I’m sure anyone that has worked some form of retail or warehouse job will be the first to say that it is arduous and shit-tastic work. I mean, fresh out of high school I worked in a warehouse with the temperature of a volcano to help pay for my college in the fall. There’s the key, I just came out of high school with no work experience. The job didn’t require a lot of training, you just dumped bits of metal in vats and hoped you didn’t cut yourself. It didn’t require a lot of brainpower, I was able to zone out for most of the day thinking better things to do.
They’re called low skill because they don’t require any, if at all, except many patience and physical endurance. Big deal. The 18-year-old cashier only went through a few days of training at the register, and no one is calling them stupid (except you know, when I asked for a cheeseburger and they give me a quesadilla). A guy with a PhD can still dig a hole for a living and still be intelligent, though maybe not that bright if they are in that job.
Urban
Apparently, this is borderline racist and the word conflates blacks with living in the inner city, even though a study denies that.
‘ “Urban” music is music that’s tied to black culture.’
Okay, let’s just buy into that urban music is connected to black culture for just a second. Have you ever listened to rap or hip hop? Are they fucking talking about taking their kids to soccer games in their mini-vans while talking to Jennifer about that new nail place?
What do you expect urban areas to play? Country? The music of blue collar rural workers? I usually hear watered down electronic music, hipster “folk,” or pop music. Unless Taylor Swift, or whatever inane pop artist, somehow represents black culture now.
You guys
Man, this one is just horrible and dehumanizing. Shit, I said “man” and failed to address everyone else.
“It’s important to make sure that everyone you’re addressing feels seen and acknowledged, regardless of gender. Male-centric language subtly hints that women are lesser.”
Only women? You forgot about agenders, genderfluids, and the 57 (and counting) other genders out there. Maybe you should widen your mind and check your privilege. Countless nonconforming identities are dying on the streets from the failure of proper acknowledgment and being dehumanized.
I’m fairly certain “guys” has become more of a neutral term anyways. Like “dude.” He’s a dude, she’s a dude, we’re all dudes. Really, who gets offended by this? They should a consult a proctologist for that rather large piece of wood stuck where the sun don’t shine.
Handicap
“The American Disability Act has asked for the word “handicap” to be replaced with “disability.” Why? Because the word handicap is othering.”
Maybe they’re on to something, but how? How is it othering? According to Merriam-Webster, it can be in reference to being at a disadvantage. Oh no, Stu from work can’t use his legs properly so needs other ways to obtain access. How far can we navel gaze and turn this into a social problem?
“Other phrases for disabilities that are workplace appropriate include special needs, physically/mentally challenged, people with disabilities, or people with limitations.”
I don’t mind calling them this if they prefer, but how are theses terms not othering as well? With any label, they’re going to be different from anyone else simply by default. Maybe it’s not the labels that need to change, but mindsets.
Nah, that’s too much work, let’s just police language.
Ghetto
“People often use the word “ghetto” when they mean “bad.” This is not cool because it directly associates the inner city with being lower-class or subpar. “The problem with the word is that it’s very difficult to disassociate it from its use to characterize low-income African Americans,” says Mario Small, a professor of sociology at Harvard University. “Thus, when ‘ghetto’ is used as an insult, it often sounds like a racial insult.” Instead of saying ghetto, get more specific about what you dislike about the situation or place.”
I mean, when statistically-speaking, a larger majority of those that live in “ghettoes” come from lower-class backgrounds, it’s not really far off, that is kind of the point of the word. Historically, it has usually been in reference to a poverty-stricken area of the city. Then people, often in reference to hip hop culture, used the word as slang, sometimes in a positive way. Even then, as someone growing up a street over from the “wrong side of town,” ghetto was never used to only refer to blacks. There were plenty of whites that lived the “ghetto life.”
But if I see someone duct taping and super gluing their things and the end result looks like an arts and crafts project from a kindergartener on acid, that might look a little “ghetto.” It’s probably not something I’d use in my vocabulary, I’d rather just tell you it looks like a piece of shit.
I’m sure most of the suggestions will be counted as bad in the near future, as some will always find problems with words.
Brb, I think I hear the PC Police knocking on my door.
