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A comment on Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative. Parent comment

Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by ilyt on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @09:27AM (#34066334)
It's typical "I'm helping!" feel-good activism achieving exactly nothing at best, negative gains at worst.

But hot damn some are terrible. I'd even go as far to say that some are worse insult as original, calling someone "non-vocal, non-verbal" instead of just "dumb" sounds like a better burn than original.

"This proposition was clearly written by someone neither vocal nor verbal"

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by Cthulhu_ on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @10:00AM (#34066758)
See, you're already seeing it as insulting someone; that's a you issue. Intent is important there.

If your intent is to describe someone as non-vocal, you can use inoffensive language; you'll sound more cleverer, too.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by Pigalowda on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @10:39AM (#34067372)
I am confused by your comment. He is demonstrating that the alternative words can be used offensively if that is one’s desire. Why is that a “you” issue?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by jtbayly on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @10:27AM (#34067179)
Mankind is being retarded by committees manned by supposed gurus that are actually just Karens who circle the wagons and beat the dead horse of insisting that the rest of the world is just a bunch of racist ableist hicks.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by remarkEon on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @10:53AM (#34067603)
As a rule of thumb, I tend to ignore blacklists like this and just go about my business.

Btw it looks like Stanford has thrown up a login wall on the site, which is … amusing.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by colpabar on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @10:58AM (#34067679)
"Alt-right/neo-nazi/white-supremacist trolls flood Stanford's inclusive language page with hateful comments, University limits the page to students and faculty only."

Welcome to the basket of deplorables!

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by omginternets on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @10:13AM (#34066955)
The word “abort”, as in “abort mission” is on the list. It’s as if a whole generation somehow avoided the concept of words having multiple meanings.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by fallingknife on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @10:54AM (#34067607)
Anybody who actually thinks normal people use "dumb" to mean non-vocal is dumb, and I can only wish I meant they were non-vocal.
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Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by mbg721 on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @10:57AM (#34067655)
I heard it used in the non-vocal sense once in a Perry Mason episode, and it took me a minute or two to realize what they meant.
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Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by 8ytecoder on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @11:07AM (#34067833)
I grew up with the phrase “deaf and dumb” and it did not once occur to me the other meaning of dumb in the context of this phrase or similar “non-vocal” context. But ever since someone corrected me that’s all I can think.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by mbg721 on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @11:22AM (#34068056)
Yeah, I heard "blind, deaf, and dumb", but never in actual context until then.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Stanford's “Elimination of Harmful Language” Initiative by antihero on Tuesday December 20, 2022 @12:22PM (#34069027)
Also very telling on those that created it that there isn't a classism section.
[ Parent | on HN ]