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

a reply to: Jiggly

You know it's strange: on the one hand, thinking about the ridiculousness of the article in the opening post makes me want to burst out in fits of laughter. But then I think about the deeper purpose behind these kinds of initiatives and it's kind of scary: slowly but surely there is a systematic effort to remove white people from positions of power and influence.

On the "ax me" phenomenon, I was watching local news a while back and a black reporter used that expression. I wrote the station and told them I didn't think much of their news if they couldn't hire someone who spoke the language properly, or at least counsel him on proper English grammar. This guy is a REPORTER.

About a week later the same reporter was on and he'd corrected his language.

I shouldn't have had to do that, but I think what happened was the station didn't want to be accused of racism. They waited for someone to complain before they felt safe in correcting him.

Common sense is dead, but PC pettiness is alive and well.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

It won't fix any of their problems, but right now, they have the boogeyman to point at and blame and they are being allowed to get away with it.

Seems to me there is an ugly end to this story.

this be the dumbest. thang I ever did hears

R u seres? Prety soon, they wont teech spelng cuz they dnt need it eethr. N who needs math? My app wil do it 4 me. But I cn stl b smrt n get a degree.... n sumthng.

I have no idea how to respond to that. Do you people remember when the guns in E.T. got replaced with walkie talkies. This is a whole new level. Grammar is racist now? Germany had there fair share of idiotic things that resulted in weird changes too. Certain Fables were too scary for the children. Changed it. A children song named "Fuchs du hast die Gans gestohlen" offended a vegan because in the end the fox killed the gooose. PETA supported her. I'm dead serious btw. Political correctness got changed into something completely different and it just needs to stop.

The OP just hurt my brain. Who in there right mind would even support this crap? Making people dumber is nothing to strive for ever. This could be a great episode for South Park.

originally posted by: Krakatoa
REALLY???!!! A modern University is advocating completely ignoring proper grammar, to be politically correct.

'Proper grammar'?

Words and meanings change all the time in accord with our evolving understanding of Reality!

Are you suggesting 'tradition' for no other reason than that you are familiar with it?

"A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used." -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

a reply to: Krakatoa

There are few people who are as absolutely opposed to supremacist attitudes, the existence of those who advocate for them, the very concept, as I am. As you can probably imagine, there are not many things that I would not do, to reduce the number of supremacists in the world, not all of them entirely peaceable either.

However, the idea that ones use of grammar might create or promote supremacist attitudes, either in the self, or in others, is frankly absurd. Grammar itself cannot do this. Intent is what drives supremacist ideology. I appreciate anachronistic writing styles, the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for example being amongst my very favourites. There is something about the almost poetic nature of the written word as it was in his day, which appeals to me greatly. When I compose a piece of writing, this enjoyment of the parlance of yesteryear usually shows through fairly strongly as a result.

However, because I am not a supremacist myself, my use grammar does not illicit from me, nor alter the meaning of my words to imply or advocate for ANY manner of supremacist thinking.

The article, to which you have linked in your OP, does not even try to explain precisely HOW the academic involved, came to their conclusions, or give any specific examples of how they would change the way the language is delivered, in order to reduce the spread of supremacist ideology, and I believe that there is a very good reason for this. Its bloody nonsense.

In reality, there ARE methods by which one might reduce the number of supremacists in a given area, and the techniques which allow that to occur are well documented, but ALL of them revolve around the concept of burning their empires to the ground around their ears, before teabagging the burning remains of their emblems, flags and monuments, while forcing the worst of them to watch you do it.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Out of curiosity, do you see Japan as a supremacist country?

Once you get rid of all the "supremacists", who replaces them? Another group of supremacists?

Makes me wonder about the nature of racism, stuff like this.

Grammar and spelling reform seem to revolve around an idea that black people can't understand these concepts.

Surely that is every bit as racist as some tool in a white pointy hat saying that blacks have an IQ of 70 or some such rot?

One of the better writers and speakers of the English language is a chap called Sir Trevor McDonald. I'd suggest this idiot lecturer meet up with the man but I doubt Sir Trev would appreciate that too much.

a reply to: TheBulk

These days? Not anywhere near as much as it used to be. I do not believe that Unit 731 could exist in modern Japan. There may be pockets of that sort of thinking remaining in the region, but that mode of thinking is not a guiding force in today's Japanese culture. If anything, the opposite is true. Japan is more ready to accept new ideas from outside its own culture, than at any time in its history. Its also worth pointing out, that although the population of Japan is quite old by some measures, the younger generations have moved on in terms of attitudes to a STAGGERING degree, when compared with the generations that came before them.

To put that last comment in perspective, Japanese culture is changing faster than nearly any other culture on the planet right now. In the time between WW2 and now, Japans culture has advanced so rapidly, changed so dramatically, that it is virtually unrecognisable from what it used to be, even when compared with British and American culture. In a couple of generations, the general attitudes of people there have undergone change that western nations would take four or five generations to undergo.

In response to your comments about who replaces supremacists, once they are all gone...No one.

No one replaces them, because they occupy a position that should not exist, and will not need to be filled, once emptied.

Well, the fun thing is, we could all make big signs, making fun of these kids that no longer use proper English.

Because if we write them in cursive, they will have no clue.



If this is what our colleges are teaching kids, I am going to just give my grandsons the cash that I started saving for them to go to school.
This is ridiculous.

a reply to: Krakatoa

This is what happens when you let PC run amok.

Does English grammar perpetuate white supremacy? Hell if I know but I'm going to go with no. Does English grammar make any sense? F*** no.