Thanks for this post. As a non-American I find this hysteria over words very puzzling and maybe a tad concerning. I hope it passes somehow.
It's weird, but in my country we do have racial problems, but we're not as obsessed about policing people's language as in America. We have strict laws governing what we can say, however. It is problematic - "language that provokes racial tensions" is a really vague rule - but as a result we've learned how to talk in a careful way that doesn't incite anger. I think most Americans would find this level of self-censorship horrifying, but sometimes I wonder if it's actually beneficial to civic discourse in my country.
Thanks for this post. As a non-American I find this hysteria over words very puzzling and maybe a tad concerning. I hope it passes somehow.
It's weird, but in my country we do have racial problems, but we're not as obsessed about policing people's language as in America. We have strict laws governing what we can say, however. It is problematic - "language that provokes racial tensions" is a really vague rule - but as a result we've learned how to talk in a careful way that doesn't incite anger. I think most Americans would find this level of self-censorship horrifying, but sometimes I wonder if it's actually beneficial to civic discourse in my country.