Cleaning up the Language

The following expressions are stupid and should not be used:

  • multipolar (in political contexts)
  • Global South
  • color revolutions
  • settler colonialism
  • -phobia (outside of a psychiatrist’s office)

It’s embarrassing to employ such language unironically.

Also, it’s time to retire the expression “teaching critical thinking” because it has come to mean “raising mindless drones who stupidly repeat slogans.”

And “work-life balance.” Somebody make that one go away already.

What other words and expressions should take a rest for a while or forever?

17 thoughts on “Cleaning up the Language

  1. “self-care”

    “trauma” (used outside a doctor’s office)

    “sex-work” in place of prostitution (would people advocating this term accept the idea of rape as stolen wages? because that’s what it implies)

    “patriarchy” (especially in the west)

    “systemic/structural/institution racism” (anyone using this unironically is a retard who either wants more free stuff, or is grappling with the feeling of guilt and inadequacy from receiving institutional benefits while not being deserving of them)

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  2. Personal beef: “You do you.” “Be yourself.” Your “authentic” self. “To know it in one’s heart.”

    Such self-serving narcissistic expressions reduce me to a state of impotent rage.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Ha! I’m old enough to remember the weird trend of replacing c’s with k’s back in the 90s. Bekause that makes your diskource kompletely kool.

        (kommenter formerly known as AkademikLurker)

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  3. “Black and brown bodies”. More generally, referring to people as “bodies”. Incredibly dehumanizing, yet used mostly by people who fancy themselves oh so kind and caring.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Among other neurological oddities, I have a bit of sound—>visual synaesthesia. Am happy to report that there are definitely “brown voices”. It’s a thing.

        But the idea that they must come from brown people is just silly. Brown voices are the ones that default to a frequency just above middle C.

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