University of Washington Writing Guru Declares American Grammar ‘Racist,’ Wants New Rules

a reply to: Krakatoa

Perhaps that is on the final exam for that degree from that p'gressiv instatooshun of nawlege. And speeeeling dunt kount.

Another divisive post, this time along class lines. If you are underedumakated, your opinion doesn't count as much?

Plausible deniability inc.

Or am I misunderstanding your position...

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: burdman30ott6

Are we discussing racism, civil rights or freedom of speech?

I'm discussing "point and laugh at the dumbass who thinks he's got a future accusing people of racism in absence of anything even remotely racist." Those years are mercifully past us and we are slowly returning to a sane world in which a man is judged by the horsecrap that falls out of his mouth... if said horsecrap is as ridiculous as "American grammar is racist" and said man is attempting to provide yet another ready made excuse for personal failure, then that judgement will once again be public mockery and venom.

Party time is over, adults have returned to the conversations, and it's time for all the Chicken Littles to STFU and retire to their lil' beds. The sky is not falling, everything isn't racist, and yeah, it's entirely acceptable to look at a person, regardless of their color or creed, and say "what you just said is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, idiot." without 'racism' playing any role. It is also time to return to "innocent until proven guilty" where the racism accusations go... being called racist has no teeth anymore, it's overblown, overused, and overhyped... it has become little more than the death rattles of someone losing an argument. WE DON'T CARE... except, of course, we care about mockery and poking the false accusers with sticks until they either leave or break down, their choice entirely.

a reply to: DrStevenBrule

I don't even care about that as much although it does seem to be the excuse du jour. Think about what he's proposing though. He wants to tear down the structure of the language because it's racist, but he doesn't seem to have a replacement in mind. So basically, everyone is just going to produce word salad and we'll call that good.

Pretty soon, our day-to-day communications will be as messed up as our actual culture and for the same reason - it has been deemed racist to impose one overarching structure on the whole to make sense and order out of it so that all of us can communicate.

We will cease to be a common people but actually will be a group of tribes with their own competing dialects of rapidly devolving pidgin English. Each of them incomprehensible to the rest, and all of them without the ability to learn about their past and shared heritage.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Krakatoa

Perhaps that is on the final exam for that degree from that p'gressiv instatooshun of nawlege. And speeeeling dunt kount.

Another divisive post, this time along class lines. If you are underedumakated, your opinion doesn't count as much?

Plausible deniability inc.

Or am I misunderstanding your position...

Yes, you are misunderstanding my position.
I am upset that the bar to learning seems to be getting lowered by using the call of "racism" to the basic language (a global language) we use to communicate.

Is it the only language? No, not at all.
Am I saying it is the best language? No, not at all.
Am I saying that the best way to educate is not to pander to those that refuse to learn due to a claim of being suppressed.....by a language. A language that is the defacto common (but not standard) in the US. If we fail to agree upon a common means of communication, how long until someone cannot read a street sign, not understand instructions, etc.. and kills someone or themselves. Then take it to court.

This does not help at all. And I have a sneaking suspicion it also has to do with the ability for this particular institution to get more applications when there is now a guarantee you will pass regardless of your understanding of English all veiled in a fake call of racism.

That is my point.

a reply to: ketsuko

Like Idiocracy predicts it will be a mix of Valley Girl, Hillbilly, and Inner City slang.

I bet this "Professor" finds absolutely no problem with Ebonics.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

I'm discussing...

You mean scolding, its own brand of hate speech. I lived thru the civil rights era, that sounded like what the media said about that then, too.

Your harangue was just disingenuous enough to skate under the TnC radar, but it hurt as much as if you had said directly--- your stupid, ignorant and not worth the time to respond to.

so why bother?

a reply to: Krakatoa

I am upset that the bar to learning seems to be getting lowered by using the call of "racism" to the basic language (a global language) we use to communicate.

Sorry I said that in this thread because of the thread before that showed a fist fight, and the one before that that showed racist fans at ball games.

Kind of jumped over the top, this thread is different. My apologies.

nvm

a reply to: intrptr

Understood. We all jump at one time or another.
I too reacted, inappropriately, to which I also make apologies to you.

I just wanted to clarify my point of posting this was not to stir up emotions and divisiveness, but to show the insanity of this approach and its potential aftermath to the victims buying onto it at this university. When the call of racism is diluted to this point, it loses its real meaning. It masks real racism by association. And that, IMO, is another dangerous side-effect.

a reply to: Krakatoa

I'm still confused as to how he can get away with calling it racist without citing any specific examples of how exactly it's racist.

It seems to me that his entire argument is based solely on the premise that because the language originated among white European peoples, it must therefore be racist to expect people to learn it properly.

I mean at least the PC police can point to words like policeman and claim it's too gender specific.

a reply to: Krakatoa

We'll see how what else I said is misinterpreted, since apologizing for the "underedumakated" post.

Hmmm. Yeah, that's going to be a no for me dog...

a reply to: intrptr

We get it, man, when the argument goes south, an accusation of racism, hate speech, or similar attempt to poison the well may distract the argument away from actually discussing the merits of the original argument. I'm not backpeddaling from this and, believe me, disingenuous, I am not. If this professor was standing in front of me and he made the statements quoted in the OP, I'd directly tell him his position is ignorant and his cuss and whine is misplaced...

You want to talk about hurt? OK, let's talk hurt. Let's talk about how horribly the current generation has been hurt by all of these ready made excuses to ensure they're never held personally responsible for their own failures, their own bad choices, or their own stupidity? Let's talk about the hurts caused by an entire swath of people who use "racism" as a blanket excuse to forgive their criminal behavior, their lack of drive, and their tantrums when they don't get their own way. The "hurt" you talk about, walk it off, shake it off, the words of some asshole on the internet shouldn't cause lingering pains... the "hurt" the Chicken Littles cause, however, reaches a lot more ears and poisons a lot more minds... and that's real hurt.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Krakatoa

I'm still confused as to how he can get away with calling it racist without citing any specific examples of how exactly it's racist.

It seems to me that his entire argument is based solely on the premise that because the language originated among white European peoples, it must therefore be racist to expect people to learn it properly.

I mean at least the PC police can point to words like policeman and claim it's too gender specific.

Agreed. In addition, this English language is actually an inclusive language with smatterings of French, German, Greek, Japanese, and other influences. Want an example of a racist language, you have to look at French. The French government actively work to keep it "pure" and not influenced or "polluted" by words for other languages.

Example: The word "email" does not exist in the French language at all. They actively created a new phrase in French (courrier électronique) to describe that technology instead of incorporating the actual word. That, IMO, is a racial decision based upon their belief that their language is superior to others and not open to embracing another culture by refusing to allow non-French words to enter. I remember this acutely.

However, there is no challenge or objections to other languages adopting French words, are there?
Yet, this "genius" of language interpretation seems to ignore that obvious racist approach to a grammatical concept?

Right.

a reply to: Krakatoa

Oh, I know.

We had one Spanish teacher who was from Spain when I was in college, and he described how they have an actual council of people in Spain whose job it is to do the same thing for the language in Spain. Now, various other versions of Spanish are less "pure," but the Spanish version is supposedly kept under control like they police French.

This came out over a discussion of the word "computadora" which some of our other Spanish teachers had freely used. He said that wouldn't be the word because "puta" sounded too much like a bad word and the council who decided what new words would be likely wouldn't use it.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Krakatoa

I'm still confused as to how he can get away with calling it racist without citing any specific examples of how exactly it's racist.

It seems to me that his entire argument is based solely on the premise that because the language originated among white European peoples, it must therefore be racist to expect people to learn it properly.

I mean at least the PC police can point to words like policeman and claim it's too gender specific.

Exactly what I was wondering, what is racist about it? Because white people invented it, it's racist? I guess my iPhone is a racist piece of equipment.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Krakatoa

Oh, I know.

We had one Spanish teacher who was from Spain when I was in college, and he described how they have an actual council of people in Spain whose job it is to do the same thing for the language in Spain. Now, various other versions of Spanish are less "pure," but the Spanish version is supposedly kept under control like they police French.

And how is that NOT racist in this sense? If this "professor" wants to earn his letter suffix, he should study ALL the major languages for the same accusation. I am willing to bet that English is the least racists of of the top 5, which includes proper Arabic.

a reply to: Krakatoa

There is no such thing as Racism.
Only hatred,ignorance, and fear.
The term Racism is an elite "divide and conquer' tool.
S&F

University of Washington Writing Guru Declares American Grammar ‘Racist,’ Wants New Rules

All we can do to combat this racial foolishness is speak proper English using proper grammar.

There is nothing attractive about an idiot who cannot speak or write the language and/or willfully abuses it.

grammar is racist now?

jeez....... the more and more i see reason for human race to get a nuclear enema