- Idiot -> retarded -> special needs
- Negro -> colored -> Black
- Queer -> gay -> LGBTQ
- Indian -> Amerind -> native american
- Illegal immigrant -> undocumented worker
- fat -> plus size
- He/she -> they (singular)
- bum -> homeless
Using the words in the left column can get you and your writing attacked.
- this is just normal language change. we use different words than we did in the 50s.
- queer and gay are both still used, and in fact are both part of LGBTQ, so this doesn't actually fit the pattern youre trying to show.
- native american is just a better term? indian is confusing given that there is also a country called "india"
- can a person be "illegal"? undocumented worker is just a more correct term.
- this and the undocumented worker one are probably the only ones in here that actually fit the pattern youre trying to show.
- people ask not to be called he/she and we oblige. I don't see how this is similar to newspeak.
- bum is clearly a pejorative term, and because many of us don't dislike homeless people a priori, we don't use this term.
there's nothing sinister going on here. It's crazy to me that people are really clutching their pearls over not being able to call people "retards" and "negroes"
Worried about the thought police? Maybe you're just a jerk and people don't want to hear your crappy opinions.
In the sense that a person can be in the US illegally, yes.
In my opinion, trying to use less intentionally hurtful terms when identifying other human beings seems a far cry from erasing all 'potentially dangerous' concepts from our thoughts, even things as mundane as the word 'bad'.
But, uh, interesting list of specific gripes.
and they over he / she is just a nicer way, gender-neutral of writing when referring to any person
no information or differing perspectives are lost in using these "new" words. I don't think you know what "Newspeak" means
"Undocumented" is also a bit passe, the current trend is to drop the "undocumented" part entirely, and just refer to all immigrants (legal or illegal) as "immigrants".