I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years.
\nSome great and some that would leave a reasonable person baffled.<\/p>\n
The wife and I\u00a0always liked Seattle.<\/p>\n
Clean, cool and she likes the shopping.
\nI like the fact it’s not quite as off-the-deep-end liberal as Portland.<\/p>\n
Until this came along.
\nThey have got to be kidding.<\/p>\n
Buried in the newspaper is a story that government workers\u00a0in Seattle are being told that the words “citizen” and “brown bag” are potentially offensive and may no longer be used in official documents and discussions.<\/p>\n
The city’s Office of Civil Rights put out a memo saying workers must stop using the words because some may find them offensive.<\/p>\n
Good grief.<\/p>\n
The memo goes on, “Luckily, we’ve got options. For ‘citizens,’ how about ‘residents?'”<\/p>\n
In a radio interview, Seattle’s Office of Civil Rights director said the term “brown bag” has been used historically as a way to judge skin color.<\/p>\n
“For a lot of particularly African-American community members, the phrase brown bag does bring up associations with the past when a brown bag was actually used, I understand, to determine if people’s skin color was light enough to allow admission to an event or to come into a party that was being held in a private home.”<\/p>\n
I really couldn’t believe this.<\/p>\n
According to the memo, city employees should use the terms “lunch-and-learn” or “sack lunch” instead of “brown bag.”<\/p>\n
And the reason “citizen” should be avoided because many people who live in Seattle are residents, not citizens.<\/p>\n
“They are legal residents of the United States and they are residents of Seattle. They pay taxes and if we use a term like citizens in common use, then it doesn’t include a lot of folks.”<\/p>\n
Or maybe they’re illegal immigrants that might feel left out.<\/p>\n
There’s more…<\/p>\n
Did you know the New York City Department of Education stays away from\u00a0references to words like \u201cdinosaurs,\u201d \u201cbirthdays,\u201d \u201cHalloween\u201d and dozens of other topics on city-issued tests because they could evoke \u201cunpleasant emotions\u201d among the students.<\/p>\n
Dinosaurs, for example, brings up the topic of evolution, which could upset fundamentalists and birthdays are not celebrated by Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses.<\/p>\n
Halloween, meanwhile, suggests an affiliation to Paganism.<\/p>\n
Officials said such exclusions are normal procedure, insisting it\u2019s not censorship.<\/p>\n
We agree – it’s not.<\/p>\n
It’s just plain-ass stupidity.<\/p>\n