Political Correctness

UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: USING THE WORD “AMERICAN” IS OFFENSIVE

'Obese', 'normal', 'mothering', 'fathering', 'senior citizens', 'homosexual', 'illegal alien' also discouraged

by PAUL JOSEPH WATSON | JULY 30, 2015

Using the words “American,” “obese,” “normal,” “mothering,” “fathering,” “homosexual,” “illegal alien,” and “senior citizens,” is offensive and should be discouraged, according to a “Bias-Free Language Guide” posted on the University of New Hampshire website.

The guide, first uncovered by Campus Reform, “is meant to invite inclusive excellence in [the] campus community.”

The word “American” is “problematic” according to the guide because it “assumes the U.S. is the only country inside [the continents of North and South America].”

Calling people “illegal aliens” is also politically incorrect, with the preferred term for undocumented immigrants being “person seeking asylum,” or “refugee,” while the word “foreigner” is discouraged and replaced with “international people.”

More banned words and phrases include;

– “Caucasian (replaced with “European-American individuals”);

– “Mothering” and “fathering” (replaced with “parenting” and “nurturing” so as to “avoid gendering a non-gendered activity”);

– “Homosexual” (replaced with “gay,” “lesbian,” “same gender loving”);

– “Obese” or “overweight” (replaced with “people of size”);

– Saying a person is “poor” (replaced with “person who lacks advantages that others have”);

– Saying the word “healthy” because it’s offensive to disabled people, who can’t be called disabled, they must be called a “person who is wheelchair mobile”).

“Terms also considered problematic include: “elders,” “senior citizen,” “overweight” (which the guide says is “arbitrary”), “speech impediment,” “dumb,” “sexual preference,” “manpower,” “freshmen,” “mailman,” and “chairman,” in addition to many others,” writes Peter Hasson.

The guide also rails against “ciscentrism,” which “includes the lack of gender-neutral restrooms, locker rooms, and residences” at the university.

To his credit, the president of the University of New Hampshire Mark Huddleston responded to the story by asserting that the guide was not official campus policy.

“I am troubled by many things in the language guide, especially the suggestion that the use of the term ‘American’ is misplaced or offensive,” he said. “The only UNH policy on speech is that it is free and unfettered on our campuses. It is ironic that what was probably a well-meaning effort to be ‘sensitive’ proves offensive to many people, myself included.”

Meanwhile, Republican State Senator Jeb Bradley has vowed to take the guide into consideration next time lawmakers decide how much money to give to the university.

“Implying the word ‘American’ is not appropriate to use on campus is un-American to say the least,” he said. “Will UNH next propose to change our Live Free or Die motto to Live Free but Upset No-One?”

The University of New Hampshire is by no means the only educational institution that is attempting to encourage censorious codes of political correctness on campus that completely contradict the notion of universities being bastions of free speech.

Earlier this month we reported on how the University of Wisconsin (Stevens Point) was teaching faculty members that all manner of harmless behaviors and phrases were examples of “racial microaggressions.”

The examples included; Asking someone where they are from or where they were born, telling someone they speak good English, telling someone that you have several black friends, saying that you’re not a racist, and complimenting an Asian person by telling them they are very articulate.