Words and their Usage
Death of the Media
There are big changes at the AP! They’ve decided that Homophobia and Ethnic-Cleansing are words to not use:
“Ethnic cleansing is a euphemism for pretty violent activities, a phobia is a psychiatric or medical term for a severe mental disorder. Those terms have been used quite a bit in the past, and we don’t feel that’s quite accurate,” said AP Deputy Standards Editor Dave Minthorn… “Homophobia especially — it’s just off the mark. It’s ascribing a mental disability to someone, and suggests a knowledge that we don’t have. It seems inaccurate. Instead, we would use something more neutral: anti-gay, or some such, if we had reason to believe that was the case.”
Got that? So the noun (phobia) and the suffix (-phobia) are interchangeable in their minds.
Here’s a quick lesson to help them sharpen their skills:
The anti-gay boss fires the gay guy, the homophobe kills him.
We hope that clears up any ambiguity, Mr. AP.
Anyway, the new AP Style Book comes out in 2013.
“pretty violent” OK, pretty can mean a large amount, but it is a weak, if not silly, modifier considering the context.
I’m not known for my adherence to PC norms, and am sometimes deemed “offensive” for my word choice. My position is this: being “nice” has gotten us Progressives SERVED since The Reicht began employing lexicographers and psychologists to shape their think-tank messaging.
I’m not playing that game. I call bigots by their name, spineless pussies by their defining attributes, and liars, LIARS.
I have two daughters and a Daughter-in-Law, and will continue to call homophobic bigots by their defining characteristic at every opportunity, with absolutely no compunction to treat them with kid gloves.