PC Madness: Europeans Decide To Ban Words That Could Be Insensitive
Earlier today I wrote a piece about the possibility of the comedy group Monty Python getting back together, and I wondered what material they would use if they did so.
They really don’t need to look very far. The real life politicians in Europe are providing plenty and you just can’t make this stuff up:
It could be construed as a black day for the English language — but not if you work in the public sector.
Dozens of quangos and taxpayer-funded organisations have ordered a purge of common words and phrases so as not to cause offence.
Among the everyday sayings that have been quietly dropped in a bid to stamp out racism and sexism are “whiter than white”, “gentleman’s agreement”, “black mark” and “right-hand man”.
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has advised staff to replace the phrase “black day” with “miserable day”, according to documents released under freedom of information rules.
Some more words that are now banned that just might hurt someones feelings:
The National Gallery in London believes that the phrase “gentleman’s agreement” is potentially offensive to women…
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The Learning and Skills Council wants staff to “perfect” their brief rather than “master” it, while the Newcastle University has singled out the phrase “master bedroom” as being problematic.
[...]
Advice issued by the South West Regional Development Agency states: “Terms such as ‘black sheep of the family’, ‘black looks’ and ‘black mark’ have no direct link to skin colour but potentially serve to reinforce a negative view of all things black. Equally, certain terms imply a negative image of ‘black’ by reinforcing the positive aspects of white
I suppose historical terms like “Black Plague” and the “Dark Ages” would be a problem as well. Drop those down the momory hole with the rest. How about “Unpleasant Disease That Makes Your Lymph Nodes Explode And Causes You To Cough Up A Lung” and “Not So Nice Time” instead?
These people are displaying the hypersensitive madness that is the bastard child of political correctness wed with liberalism.
Our future awaits.
 
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