Stanford University has backpedaled on its woke “harmful language” guide after admitting it was wrong to have included the word “American.”
The updated guide from Stanford’s “Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative” (EHLI), placed mean words and phrases in various categories, including; “ableist,” “culturally appropriative,” “gender-based,” “imprecise language,” and “institutionalized racism.”
“The purpose of this [EHLI] website is to educate people about the possible impact of the words we use,” reads the language guide – which also suggested that people should avoid using the word “American,” and instead replace it with “U.S. Citizen,” under the “imprecise language section.”
“[American] often refers to people from the United States only, thereby insinuating that the US is the most important country in the Americas,” reads the guide.
Some other recommendations in the guide included replacing the word “Hispanic” with “Latinx, “grandfather” with “legacy,” and “immigrant” with “person who has immigrated.”
“White paper,” which falls under the “institutionalized racism” section, should be replaced by “position paper,” according to the guide. It argued that assigning value connotations based on color, in this case where white means good, is an act that is “subconsciously racialized.” –Epoch Times
Shortly after the story went viral, Elon Musk tweeted “Stanford disapproves of saying you’re proud to be an American? Whoa.”
Stanford disapproves of saying you’re proud to be an American? Whoa.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2022
Musk also said Stanford had “gone too far” and asked for an explanation “for this madness.”
This has gone too far, to say the least! @Stanford, what is your explanation for this madness?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2022
In response to the outrage, Stanford’s chief information officer, Steve Gallagher, said in a Dec. 20 statement that the EHLI website “does not represent university policy.”
“It also does not represent mandates or requirements. The website was created by, and intended for discussion within, the IT community at Stanford,” he continued. “It provides ‘suggested alternatives’ for various terms, and reasons why those terms could be problematic in certain uses.”
Gallagher added that targeting the term “American” was a mistake.
“To be very clear, not only is the use of the term ‘American’ not banned at Stanford, it is absolutely welcomed,” he said. “The intent of this particular entry on the EHLI website was to provide perspective on how the term may be imprecise in some specific uses, and to show that in some cases the alternate term ‘US citizen’ may be more precise and appropriate.”
More via The Epoch Times,
‘Proud to Be an American’
Some Republican lawmakers have taken to Twitter the university’s effort to change the English language.
“The radical left is attempting to destroy our country and erase our history,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wrote on Dec. 20. “Now, Stanford University is seeking to ban the word ‘American.’”
“Stanford University published an index of forbidden words. One of the words they are trying to eliminate is ‘American.’ ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) wrote on Dec. 20.
“I am proud to be an American,” Weber added. “I’ve had enough of the woke liberals trying to destroy America as we know it.”
“If Stanford thinks the word American is harmful, what are they doing with American taxpayer dollars?” Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) wrote on Dec. 21.
Opposition
There is also opposition against the language guide inside the university.
Dr. Jay Bjattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford’s School of Medicine, said he opposed the elimination of the word “American” and added that universities shouldn’t carry out “word policing.”
“I remember how proud I was when I became a naturalized American citizen. I’m still proud to be an American, and I don’t care that @Stanford disapproves of my using the term,” Bhattacharya wrote in a tweet on Dec. 19.
“The problem is the @stanford provenance of the list,” he added in a separate tweet.
“Universities are the wrong place for word policing. There are better ways, more effective & more consistent with liberal norms, to teach students respect and compassion for others than a clumsy list of proscribed words.”
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/28/2022 – 23:05
