Mickey Kaus writes today that “It’s not acceptable to call illegal immigrants ‘illegals’ – but it’s no longer OK to use the clanking, formerly PC euphemism ‘undocumented immigrant’ either…. Is it too fusty to ask,” he continues, “if we can’t call illegals ‘illegals,’ and we can’t call illegals ‘undocumented immigrants,’ what words can we use? Is this one of those cases where we just need a new term every decade or so as the old term becomes tarnished by popular opprobrium?”
As it happens, I have some personal experience in these language matters. Please allow me to quote myself, quoting myself:
Please indulge me in quoting myself on the subject of words falling out of favor for political reasons:
I have a bit of personal experience in these ongoing word wars. I once had an odd job (in several respects) working on a revision of the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, a companion to the Education Resources Information Center (a part of the National Institute of Education) database of educational literature. This was back when political correctness was just getting launched in a big way, and indeed one of the reasons for that particular revision of the Thesaurus was to dump newly politically incorrect terms such as “handicapped” for their politically correct replacements, such as “disabled.”
I had, and still have, serious problems with this effort to police the language, and, in fact, the transition from “handicapped” to “disabled” nicely reveals one of them, the ignoring of plain meaning.
If you were lost, driving alone in an old car on an isolated mountain road late at night, would you rather be in a car that was handicapped or disabled? (The Oxford American Dictionary that’s built into my Powerbook’s operating system says of handicapped that it means “having a condition that markedly restricts one’s ability to function.” The verb “disable,” by contrast, means “put out of action,” and its thesaurus entry refers to “incapacitated,” “paralyzed,” “immobilized,” etc.)
“Liberal” to “Progressive” followed the same trajectory, and for the same reasons, as the transition from “Crippled” to “Handicapped” to “Disabled” and from “Colored” to “Negro” to “Black” to “African American” to “People of Color” to … “Diverse” or whatever the new term will be.
What is producing all of these verbal transitions, I think, is that the group to whom the term refers is “disadvantaged” in some way (whether actually in bad shape or only perceived that way doesn’t matter here), so that the term that applies to it takes on the same negative connotations. The new, substitute term reflects a determination to improve the image of the group, but over time it, too, comes to reflect the little-changed reputation of its referent. So it must be changed again … and again….
Liberals, even by another name, are, alas, still liberals.
And illegals are still, well, illegal.
The Associated Press, in its recent notice about updates to its Stylebook, said:
>>>
illegal immigrant
Used to describe someone who has entered a country illegally or who resides in a country in criminal or civil violation of immigration law. Acceptable variations include living in the country without legal permission. Use of these terms, as with any terms implying illegalities, must be based on reliable information about a person’s true status. Unless quoting someone, AP does not use the terms illegal alien, an illegal , illegals or the term undocumented.
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Perhaps regarding the AP and its style manual, we should say “Use of the term ‘journalist,’ as with any terms implying certain qualifications and abilities, must be based on more reliable information than self-identification….”
Updates? To The “Style” book? Does the NYT “style” book concur? Le Monde? How about…say…Strunk and White? OED?
“They” prefer the term…something, ANYTHING, else than what the definition of “Is” is. Preferably non conducive to flowing conversation, debate, or exchange of ante-obfuscated concepts.
Well, I PREFER to be called handsome. It’s MY style.
I prefer usage of-
Homosexual (both “birth” sexes)
Negro
Anglo (Caucasian is a bit clunky)
Illegal alien
Midget
Dwarf
Vandal
Retarded (idiot, imbecile, moron)
Handicapped
Miss
Mrs.
Communist
Socialist
Fascist
Fat
Obese
Whore
Liar
Thief
Coward
Addict
Social parasite
and, of course,… lectern. And that’s in polite company,
over what unsolicited, mis-educated, pretenders to re-education, might “suggest”
under threat of “dire consequences”.
I suppose we all might simply speak only Latin to eliminate confusion from the more delusional medical, legal, and academic, re-interpretive plagiarisms of human histories most consistent failures.
If this is “new” theory is deemed to label me (make up what ever implied diminutive may deflect from ones own personal short comings)-ist, or -phobic, then please make “indulgences”checks payable to CaptDMO. Write- self hatred absolution-on the memo line.
I’ll let everyone know to stop when MY personal “entitlement” to 1% status is merited , I promise.
There is a great Section in Wikipedia referring to the Euphemism treadmill on how PC terms become derogatory and a new PC term is coined… like how moron used to refer to an IQ score, then became and insult, same for mentally retarded, cripple, handicap… etc