Seattle officials call for ban on 'potentially offensive' language

[Erod]

Government workers in the city of Seattle have been advised that the terms "citizen" and "brown bag" are potentially offensive and may no longer be used in official documents and discussions.
KOMO-TV reports that the city's Office of Civil Rights instructed city workers in a recent internal memo to avoid using the words because some may find them offensive.


Read more: Seattle officials call for ban on 'potentially offensive' language | Fox News

The New York Post reported in March 2012 that the city’s Department of Education avoids references to words like “dinosaurs,” “birthdays,” “Halloween” and dozens of other topics on city-issued tests because they could evoke “unpleasant emotions” among the students.
Dinosaurs, for example, conjures the topic of evolution, which could rile fundamentalists and birthdays are not celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Halloween, meanwhile, suggests an affiliation to Paganism.


Read more: Seattle officials call for ban on 'potentially offensive' language | Fox News

So "citizen" is an offensive word now. Can't say "brown bag", "dinosaur", "birthday", "Halloween".....

What next? Are they going to outlaw "creepy ass cracka", too?

We've got to be near the Apocalypse.

 

[Heebie Jeebie]

So "citizen" is an offensive word now. Can't say "brown bag", "dinosaur", "birthday", "Halloween".....

What next? Are they going to outlaw "creepy ass cracka", too?

We've got to be near the Apocalypse.

Well if the 'officials' are going to change terms the they should get rid of Civil Service because there is less civility from some of them and lousy service!

 

[Carjosse]

What the hell does brown bag mean that could possibly offensive?

 

[Erod]

So is this offensive, Seattle?

Rangel: Tea Party Is 'Same Group' Of 'White Crackers' Who Fought Civil Rights | TPM LiveWire

Probably not.

 

[StillBallin75]

So "citizen" is an offensive word now. Can't say "brown bag", "dinosaur", "birthday", "Halloween".....

What next? Are they going to outlaw "creepy ass cracka", too?

We've got to be near the Apocalypse.

Wow, a misleading headline if there ever was one. Why am I not surprised?

 

[Erod]

Wow, a misleading headline if there ever was one. Why am I not surprised?

What's misleading about the headline (which I didn't write)?

 

[justabubba]

What the hell does brown bag mean that could possibly offensive?

that someone is without the financial means to purchase a meal
not saying i subscribe to that interpretation but see that as a negative connotation of the term's usage

 

[Heebie Jeebie]

that someone is without the financial means to purchase a meal
not saying i subscribe to that interpretation but see that as a negative connotation of the term's usage

My daughter brown bags it to school every day because she doesn't WANT to but the crap they serve there.

 

[Erod]

that someone is without the financial means to purchase a meal
not saying i subscribe to that interpretation but see that as a negative connotation of the term's usage

If someone is offended by that, how do they manage to get through the course of an average day? Without Xanax, I mean.

 

[justabubba]

that someone is without the financial means to purchase a meal
not saying i subscribe to that interpretation but see that as a negative connotation of the term's usage

was i ever wrong in that speculation. apologies!
here is the correct excerpt from the linked faux news article:

"For a lot of particularly African-American community members, the phrase brown bag does bring up associations with the past when a brown bag was actually used, I understand, to determine if people's skin color was light enough to allow admission to an event or to come into a party that was being held in a private home," Bronstein said.

Read more: Seattle officials call for ban on 'potentially offensive' language | Fox News
​

 

[Lutherf]

that someone is without the financial means to purchase a meal
not saying i subscribe to that interpretation but see that as a negative connotation of the term's usage

The reason given in the article is very much different.

 

[rocket88]

What's misleading about the headline (which I didn't write)?

It implies that they'll be regulating what ordinary people say, not terms used by the city government.

 

[rocket88]

So is this offensive, Seattle?

Rangel: Tea Party Is 'Same Group' Of 'White Crackers' Who Fought Civil Rights | TPM LiveWire

Probably not.

Of course not, it's all about persecuting Conservatives. :roll:

 

[tererun]

So "citizen" is an offensive word now. Can't say "brown bag", "dinosaur", "birthday", "Halloween".....

What next? Are they going to outlaw "creepy ass cracka", too?

We've got to be near the Apocalypse.

Though I think it is a bit silly, the NY law doesn't actually ban any language use. It simply says the standardized tests handed out by the state will use different set ups for things like math problems which do not include those terms. It is the same as saying they won't make a word problem that says "Johnny has 500 dollars and niggers cost 250 dollars. How many niggers can johnny buy at the slave auction?" The terms are allowed to be used by teachers, in class tests, and anywhere else.

Interestingly one of the reasons they chose to remove those words is the source you quoted. Fix noise flips out on things like creationism, pagan holidays, and promotes religion to a sacred status that is at war for it's survival. So in order to not offend the overly sensitive right wing wack jobs the state said they will not mention these things. This is why you should stop listening to things like faux news.

 

[Phys251]

There are on the order of 100,000 words in the English dictionary, and now they won't be able to use an additional dozen of them. Oh noes, the sky is falling!

 

[StringBean]

lol, I thought the left were the ones that fight for freedom of speech (ACLU?)....

which I applaud, making this such a devastatingly inane and moronic idea

 

[Rocketman]

lol, I thought the left were the ones that fight for freedom of speech (ACLU?)....

which I applaud, making this such a devastatingly inane and moronic idea

They are for the first amendment except when they aren't

 

[justabubba]

lol, I thought the left were the ones that fight for freedom of speech (ACLU?)....

which I applaud, making this such a devastatingly inane and moronic idea

what would you propose the ACLU do, and why?

 

[StringBean]

what would you propose the ACLU do, and why?

The dinosaur's birthday was on Halloween.

Is now offensive language.

Grow a pair and call garbage what it is.

(Is what I would like them to do)

 

[justabubba]

The dinosaur's birthday was on Halloween.

Is now offensive language.

Grow a pair and call garbage what it is.

(Is what I would like them to do)

so then, you have no idea what you would have the ACLU do
figured

 

[Forseti]

Ahh, but of course, freedom of speech is linked with freedom of thought. Suppress one, and you're well on your way to suppressing the other. And nothing is more dangerous to the status quo than a free thinking person.

 

[Verax]

Is this the liberal dystopia we've been fearing?

I for one am absolutely terrified.

We must arm ourselves against this terrible, terrible insurrection.

 

[trfjr]

this has become beyond absurd
we should go ahead and ban the words white black red and brown from ever being used in a phrase

"what color is that shirt Jimmy"
"I cant say it will offend someone"

 

[TheNextEra]

so then, you have no idea what you would have the ACLU do
figured

I would like them to stand up for my first amendment rights to say "Brown bagging it" when I am referring to my damn lunch that I am bringing from home.

This is political correctness on crack here.

Wait, can I say "crack" even because it may refer to a minority on drugs? :roll:

 

[fishinRod]

that someone is without the financial means to purchase a meal
not saying i subscribe to that interpretation but see that as a negative connotation of the term's usage

no.......it has "racial connotations".....its a term that was once used to judge the skin tone or shade of AAs