WhatFinger


A small hop, skip and jump to homophobia, Islamophobia, trans-phobia and all the gazillion other ‘phobias’ that are becoming socially unacceptable

‘You guys’ stoppit!



The restrictions on free speech in today’s universities are nothing less than the attempt to take control of language to prevent the free exchange and discussion of ideas. It all starts innocuously enough; who doesn’t want to end racism? And if the use of certain pejoratives becomes socially unacceptable, then let’s all pitch in! However, the progressive mind is never satisfied unless it is able to impose its will on everyone else.

Center of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

So the evils of racism are ascribed to sexism. After all, who isn’t in favor of treating women in a fashion equal to men? Shouldn’t women be paid the same as men doing the same job? So we are urged to use gender-neutral pronouns, lest we betray old-boy, sexist viewpoints, which are suddenly elevated to the same status as racism. And from here it’s only a small hop, skip and jump to homophobia, Islamophobia, trans-phobia and all the gazillion other ‘phobias’ that are becoming socially unacceptable. The latest, but not least ridiculous example is the University of Wisconsin-River Falls’ new campaign to muzzle its students through the publication of a guide urging students to educate themselves about language and “the history of oppression” and then to “Check Yourself” before using certain terms. It’s interesting to note that UWRF has a “Center of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging.” Silly me. All this time I thought the purpose of universities was to educate young people with the knowledge and/or skills to lead productive lives and take care of themselves and their families after graduation. Good manners and urbanity have long governed the use of inappropriate speech. It’s been socially unacceptable to use certain language for well over 50 years. But the point isn’t to control the use of certain words; the point is to control thoughts and ideas through the control of words.

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No one understood this concept better than George Orwell, whose dystopian novel, 1984 introduced the concept of ‘Newspeak.’ The organized effort by universities to control the words their students use is an example of Newspeak that amounts to a coup d’état against language. Simply put, if you control the words they use, then eventually you can control their ideas and by extension, the ideas permissible in society. The “Check Yourself” campaign lists a plethora of words and possible expressions that are unacceptable on campus. These include all the well-known bad words common to locker rooms. But they also venture into territory better left to Emily Post, unless there’s a more pressing agenda. For instance the campaign proscribes asking about gender identity, serves to ‘correct’ certain ideas about gayness or bisexuality and urges cessation of certain words used to describe persons with vaginas. It also prohibits the term ‘illegal alien,’ as it “Reduces undocumented immigrants to something less than human. Fixates on legal status instead of people as individuals. Asserts that some people belong here more than others do.” Well, isn’t that the point of describing someone as an ‘illegal alien?’ Does it make ‘illegal aliens’ legal to call them ‘undocumented immigrants?’ As Hillary Clinton would say, “What difference does it make?”

The campaign then goes into full Thought-Police mode to defend the ‘queer/LGBTQIA+ community,’ as well as others, including fat, ugly, and ghetto. It even bans the term, ‘you guys.’ You see, this “Erases the identities of those who are in the room. Generalizing a group of people to be masculine (sic).” One word the UWRF, tellingly, didn’t proscribe, is the word ‘dick.’ It’s quite telling that the UWRF has restricted its campaign to the favored groups of the aggrieved and has, in fact, expanded those groups. It’s also an excellent example of how out-in-left-field organizations are seizing the tools of discourse to further their own, more sinister agendas. Kinda makes you want to keep your kids out of university.


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Klaus Rohrich -- Bio and Archives

Klaus Rohrich is senior columnist for Canada Free Press. Klaus also writes topical articles for numerous magazines. He has a regular column on RetirementHomes and is currently working on his first book dealing with the toxicity of liberalism.  His work has been featured on the Drudge Report, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, among others.  He lives and works in a small town outside of Toronto.

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