Conservative op-eds mentioning the French reign of terror remind us of a possible deluge coming. As if Maureen Dowd’s book parties were actual salons for real haircuts.
Given that Individual-1 claims he’s “the least racist person you will ever meet” Noonan’s lexical reactions are perhaps the weakest never-Trumpist revisionism, trying to save a place for the ruling class’s neo-con discourse. Ever media-framing Peggy legitimates the coarseness of Trumpian tweets and nonsense during his hate rallies, which may represent a contemporary reign of terroristic discourse.
There is the latest speech guide from the academy, the Inclusive Communications Task Force at Colorado State University. Don’t call people “American,” it directs: “This erases other cultures.” Don’t say a person is mad or a lunatic, call him “surprising/wild” or “sad.” “Eskimo,” “freshman” and “illegal alien” are out. “You guys” should be replaced by “all/folks.” Don’t say “male” or “female”; say “man,” “woman” or “gender non-binary.”
In one way it’s the nonsense we’ve all grown used to, but it should be said that there’s an aspect of self-infatuation, of arrogance, in telling people they must reorder the common language to suit your ideological preferences. There is something mad in thinking you should control the names of things. Or perhaps I mean surprising/wild.
I see in it a spirit similar to that of the Terror. There is a tone of, “I am your moral teacher. Because you are incapable of sensitivity, I will help you, dumb farmer. I will start with the language you speak.”
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