List of things banned by school text books

Dis · May 3, 2003, 03:17

The founding fathers are now called the framers.

People felt like founding fathers implied the United States was created by men and not women. Although it was created by men

. But if it helps the women feel they aren't worthless then I support this change.

Senior citizens are now referred to as older persons.

Snowmen are now referred to as snowpersons

Mt. Rushmore is now banned from textbooks all together.

Native americans cannot be portrayed with braids or in rural areas. Despite the facts that many of them do have braids and live in rural areas.

Some unhealthy foods like hot dogs and butter are also banned from school text books.

Where did I get this? Well it was a whacko talk show of course. It was a libertarian talk show. Yes I'm trying to cure my libertarian ways. I'm trying to become a socialist, honest. It's not an easy conversion.

I don't really care about these. If the liberals want to ban these things, go ahead. The important thing is special interest groups feel good about themselves. I'm not making this thread bashing these things. I can really care less. I'm willing to give in to the liberals on this one.

What I find interesting is how certain terms become derogatory and then banned. For instance, South Central Los Angeles (LA) is now being called South Los Angeles. This resulted from the depiction as south central in movies and rap music. But what happens when new movies and rap music reflect the neighborhood as South LA in a negative manner? Will they then change it to Not North LA?

And don't get me started on short people. I have no clue what to call them. midgets? short people? I have no clue.

I'm unsure what to call retarded people as well. All these changes in the English language is to confusing for my brain to comprehend. Perhaps I'm retarded as well.

and I still call black people black people, so sue me. I'm not sure what to call them either.

Frozzy · May 3, 2003, 03:32

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
The founding fathers are now called the framers.

They made window frames for a living?

Quote:

People felt like founding fathers implied the United States was created by men and not women. Although it was created by men

. But if it helps the women feel they aren't worthless then I support this change.

What a world we live in.

Quote:

Senior citizens are now referred to as older persons.

IMO that's even more derogatory.

Quote:

Snowmen are now referred to as snowpersons

This is stupid. I challenge you to create a pair of breasts with snow!

Quote:

Mt. Rushmore is now banned from textbooks all together.

Why?

Quote:

Native americans cannot be portrayed with braids or in rural areas. Despite the facts that many of them do have braids and live in rural areas.

One would think this could cause problems for the average US 4th grader in history. "Did Native Americans really hang out at KFC on their birthdays miss!"

Quote:

Some unhealthy foods like hot dogs and butter are also banned from school text books.

Butter is unhealthy?

Quote:

Where did I get this? Well it was a whacko talk show of course. It was a libertarian talk show. Yes I'm trying to cure my libertarian ways. I'm trying to become a socialist, honest. It's not an easy conversion.

Figures. Obviously a Marxist link between Mt. Rushmore and Native Americans doused with butter and KFC.

Quote:

I don't really care about these. If the liberals want to ban these things, go ahead. The important thing is special interest groups feel good about themselves. I'm not making this thread bashing these things. I can really care less. I'm willing to give in to the liberals on this one.

If special interest groups can feel good about themselves why can't you give a snowma... I mean a snow person a wonderbra?

Quote:

And don't get me started on short people. I have no clue what to call them. midgets? short people? I have no clue.

Japanese

Quote:

I'm unsure what to call retarded people as well. All these changes in the English language is to confusing for my brain to comprehend. Perhaps I'm retarded as well.

They already have a fancy left-wing name: "Mentally Challenged"

Quote:

and I still call black people black people, so sue me. I'm not sure what to call them either.

Anti-Counter-Not-Quite-Caucasian going by the rest of the twaddle you provided us with.

Dis · May 3, 2003, 03:50

yes they are very silly. but I already lost all hope in the public schools

you should see how bad they are in my state. We did institute a test for high schoolers to pass in order to graduate. But too many were failing the test, so our lefty school superintendant has taken away the test requirement to graduate. Basically all you have to do is show up to school to graduate.

If I ever have children, I will do everything possible to send them to private school. I will never home school though, that's not good for social reasons.

MRT144 · May 3, 2003, 04:26

lay off the KFC frozzy

BeBro · May 3, 2003, 04:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
Snowmen are now referred to as snowpersons

Lol

But it is still racist, because they´re all white

Inverse Icarus · May 3, 2003, 04:45

whats up with mt rushmore?

St Leo · May 3, 2003, 14:12

Will they then change it to Not North LA?

No, we'll change it to North LA Prime.

Dissident, you don't have to agree with the silly political correctess movement to be a moderate socialist. The "left" isn't monolithic.

Snowmen are now referred to as snowpersons

These people are braindead. I understand the argument to a certain degree (though not entirely; do they want little girls to want to grow up to be snowmen too?), but they are forgetting about the fundamental rhythms of language.

"Snowperson" has to roll of the tongue if it is to succeed as a replacement. It doesn't. Why can't they just borrow a foreign gender-neutral word if they can't think of a good native replacement? "Snegovik", the Russian equivalent, could work since it's gender neutral -- ignoring the fact that all Russian nouns have a gender -- and doesn't have too many vowels.

I am sure there's a good word in French, German, or some Scandinavian tongue we could rip off.

alva · May 3, 2003, 14:21

Isn't there a thread for this topic already?
-
It remains stupid though, no matter how many times you read it.
-
Dutch won't work
Snowman = sneeuwman

BeBro · May 3, 2003, 14:25

Schneemann in German

Kirnwaffen · May 3, 2003, 14:34

Hey BeBro, Man vs. Mann?

orange · May 3, 2003, 14:40

I'm left-wing, and I think it's utter crap.

Spiffor · May 3, 2003, 14:43

Bonhomme de neige in French (gender dependent too)

I often sympathise with women's struggles to stop the overuse of masculine in language. Language is the daily, permanent tool that we use to shape our thought and our worldview, and it is not neutral (neuter) at all.
So, "neutering" the language is fundamentally a good idea, that gets a fundamentally bad application. For example, the attempt to change history in order to minimize the overrepresentation of men is stupid IMHO. But the replacement of "salaryman" by another, good, word is something good.

I most often don't agree with political correctness for the reasons Dissident said : some things get a bad reputation, and the very word describing them becomes a negative word, like South Central. Renaming these things will be completely useless if their bad reputation isn't fixed. For example, the wonderful "senior citizens" were already a PC word !

In Africa, they don't have to rename the word "old people", since they are respected. Fix that, and you'll see that "old people" will be a very nice, if not laudating, word.

Kidicious · May 3, 2003, 14:46

Dissadent,

If you establish yourself enough as a leftist then maybe you don't have to be politically correct. I still use PC language though around people that don't know me.

Az · May 3, 2003, 14:57

If you believe Noam Chomsky, your thought doesn't depend on the language you use.

I have my doubts about it, but it appears to be the dominating thinking now.

ceroomaster · May 3, 2003, 17:35

I don't understand the Mt. Rushmore thing... WTF?

The rest is the OTT PC nonsense that is sweeping across the world.

Political correctness & 'positive' discrimination = anti-white-young-hetrosexual-well-above-the-poverty-line-but-never-gonna-make-the-rich-list-english-speaking-males (i.e. me).

Kontiki · May 3, 2003, 19:08

Quote:

Originally posted by Frozzy

This is stupid. I challenge you to create a pair of breasts with snow!

Actually, I think that would be quite easy, and come to think of it, quite fun. I'll have to keep that in mind for next winter.

Q Classic · May 3, 2003, 19:09

the la times has a book review about this.

Tests, textbooks: Only men bake cookies in these parts

Ben Kenobi · May 3, 2003, 19:59

Sorry to say, this has been already done.

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=84743

Give this a bump.

Pekka · May 3, 2003, 20:00

Our schools won't ban things.. we are after all free

yavoon · May 3, 2003, 20:01

its also a tragedy that the adventures of huckleberry finn are still banned from classrooms.

Pekka · May 3, 2003, 20:03

Is huckleberry finnish?

yavoon · May 3, 2003, 20:05

=D

Agathon · May 3, 2003, 21:26

Rushmore apparently offensive to Lakota Sioux.

Dis · May 4, 2003, 02:35

Oh I heard a couple more that I forgot to post.

Jungles are now referred to as rain forests

swamps are now referred as wetlands

GeneralTacticus · May 4, 2003, 02:39

Probably due to some percieved assocation with the colonial era... and for swamps/wetalnds, an additional reason is probably the fact that 'swamp' isn't exactly regarded as a positive term.

Dis · May 4, 2003, 02:39

and yes. Rushmore is offensive to the native americans.

I think the americans stole the land or something or other.

but we stole all the land, so what's a little more

DRoseDARs · May 4, 2003, 02:53

Quote:

Originally posted by Q Cubed
the la times has a book review about this.

Tests, textbooks: Only men bake cookies in these parts

I find the insinuation that exposing the "bias and sensitivity" guidelines used by textbook publishers to public scrutiny would make them scurry like insects on the underside of a rock exposed to sunlight to be offensive, derogatory, and stereotyping honorable and well-intentioned "Language Police" as not-good people doing not-good things...

I hate how far out of control "political correctness" has gotten.

God, NOW would be a good time to smite the heathens...

Bugs ****ing Bunny · May 4, 2003, 02:58

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
Oh I heard a couple more that I forgot to post.

Jungles are now referred to as rain forests

swamps are now referred as wetlands

Well if we're going down that line, I should point out that on maps "Here be beasties" is now called "Australia".

Space05us · May 4, 2003, 03:10

Quote:

Well if we're going down that line, I should point out that on maps "Here be beasties" is now called "Australia".

I hate political correctness it only makes me hate certain things even more than I already do.

taking things out of history books (where we supposedly learn correct facts) just because it offends someone is ****ing stupid, if that keeps going on than the people who came up with that idea are going to decide to turn Hitler into a woman who was born in africa and saw much of the world before settling down in Germany to fix its economy by turning it into one big cookie factory.

Sir Og · May 4, 2003, 06:05

I read the article that Q Cubed gave. And it is just frightening. What would happen with the kids that are taught that ****? Those history books seem worse than the communist propaganda history books that we had before the communist regime collapsed.

The good thing is that we don't have that PC crap in Bulgaria yet.