I was looking at an online article written by the ‘Indeed Editorial Team’ on how to write a job resume, not that I’m thinking of going back to work. This resume research is for a friend of mine.
Indeed is an online help site for writing different kinds of papers. A slew of words were brought up by the Indeed Editorial Team to never use because of potential offensiveness.
I’m assuming that members of this team are practicing etymologists, including being WOKE advocates. Etymology is the study of the origins of words and the way their meanings change over time.
People in this field must be working overtime, because it seems each year a new offensive word comes to light. For those wondering, the definition I found for woke and decided to use in this article is: alert to racial prejudice and discrimination in word usage. Another interpretation is: no longer asleep. That’s the one most of us are familiar with.
Some of the words listed were quite obvious, yet with these word police trying to cover all bases, I got a good laugh out of several.
Retard is one of those words having different meanings, one of them definitely on the offensive side where mentally challenged individuals are concerned. As a mechanic, I find retard useful in describing ignition timing on automotive and truck internal combustion engines.
A group of concerned folks are out to totally strike the word retard from dictionaries. Something tells me that in automotive shops around town, that’ll have no bearing on mechanics still saying it.
Master and slave are two additional words deemed offensive by the posse. Once again, these words are used quite frequently in repair shops. Slave cylinder and master cylinder are clutch and brake components on trucks and cars, and I can’t think of suitable replacements for either.
Woke ideologists always mention them as being offensive, solely because of their association with slavery, evidently not aware that both have other non-offensive meanings as well.
Businessman should never be used according to them, replaced with businessperson instead. Folks or people should be substituted for ladies. A layman is now a layperson. Widow has been changed to deceased spouse or deceased partner.
Gypped is now considered to be offensive because of its relation to Gypsies, yet gypsum isn’t. Go figure?
Other names to be avoided, a few found in several different articles are: workmanship, man-made, spokesman, gals, girl, guys, man, forefathers, females, founding fathers, crippled, spooky, handicapped, ghetto, invalid, sister, husband, wives, dwarf, mom, basket case, freshman, elderly, blacklist, foreman, and cakewalk.
Broomrape Lane here in Lake Havasu City is undoubtedly offensive to some, although the name has botanical meaning. Why the scientific plant name ‘orobanche’ wasn’t used instead is a question for the founding fathers, oops, I mean town organizers. I suppose some folks will eventually plead for a name change.
A phrase that wasn’t mentioned, is a term my grandparents used to describe a man and woman living together. The term ‘shacking up’ always cracked me up upon hearing it as a kid. I didn’t have a clue what grandpa and grandma were talking about, believing it had something to do with the house folks were living in. It wasn’t until much later in life that I came to know the true meaning.
I came up with three offensive labels of my own that etymologists seem to have passed on, especially where writing a resume is concerned. Grease monkey should be appropriately labeled lubrication technician. Pump jockey is of course a gas station attendant. Prostitute should definitely be defined as a copulation expert.
Personally, I believe that some people get carried away by simple words. Thin skin comes to mind here and I’m sure that phrase is on the ‘do not use’ list. Where my own offensiveness is concerned, I try to adhere to the adolescent limerick, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me!”
If anyone should be upset, it’d be me, because I’ve been called Mr. Hankey going back some 27 years to 1997. Family and friends jokingly labeled me that and I still chuckle whenever I hear the name. It’s a good thing thick skin is part of my physical chemistry.
For those not knowing who the real Mr. Hankey is, he’s a character from the comic television series, “SouthPark..” Folks can call me Mr. Hankey any time they want, but please don’t refer to me by any other names the little guy’s known for!
“Howdy ho!”
I like to write junk... 