The latest in Newspeak from some of the Junior Diversity Fascists at the University of New Hampshire (note that the actual administration of the University seems to be trying to separate themselves from this):

Bias-Free Language Guide

UPDATE: It looks like those who would censor speech and thought have themselves been censored. The “Guide” has been scrubbed from the UNH website. However… the Internet Archive has it recorded for your reading and mocking pleasure.

An integral part of UNH’s mission is to continue to build an inclusive learning community, and the first step toward our goal is an awareness of any bias in our daily language. As we begin to understand bias, we explore the truths of hierarchy and oppression. When we free ourselves of bias, we are thus affirming identities that differ from our own.  When we do not affirm another person’s identity, we are characterizing an individual as “less than” or “other”. This makes them invisible, and for some, it feels like a form of violence.

This guide is meant to invite inclusive excellence in our campus community. Each step of inclusion moves us closer to a full democracy. The text was prepared for faculty, staff and students of the UNH community to encourage the full range of contributions that we offer as individuals and members of various groups. The guide presents practical revisions in our common usage that can make a difference and break barriers relating to diversity.

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Micro-assault, verbal attack

Example: “Dogs smell funny” to a blind person using a guide dog.

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Micro-invalidation, degrading a person’s wholeness through making false assumptions about the other’s ability, causing a sense of invalidation.

Example: “The new international student is having language challenges.”  (More appropriately, we would say that the new international student is concentrating on learning a new language.)

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Glossary of Language

Preferred: people of advanced age, old people*
Problematic/Outdated: older people, elders, seniors, senior citizen

Preferred: person who lacks advantages that others have, low economic status related to a person’s education, occupation and income
Problematic: poor person, person from the ghetto

Preferred:  person of material wealth
Problematic: rich

Preferred: people of size
Problematic/Outdated: obese*, overweight people

Preferred:  U.S. citizen or Resident of the U.S.
Problematic: American
Note: North Americans often use “American” which usually, depending on the context, fails to recognize South America

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… and so on in that fashion.

Note: this sort of thing does not “offend” me. Instead, I simply view it with amused contempt.