Bad words.

[Ultralight]

I took an HR seminar yesterday at work about the language we use regarding race, gender, ethnicity, etc.

I learned that "tribe," in some contexts is now very much out of favor.

So if you said: "I joined a softball league and I love it and all my teammates. I really found my tribe!"

That would be considered very offensive.

Also, using "crazy" or "insane" is now considered full-on offensive. Like: "That 3 point shot at the buzzer was insane!" or "That 55 yard field goal in the heavy snow was crazy!"

Those are offensive usages of those words.

The preferred term is "wild." Such as: "That walk-off grand slam was wild!"

That is okay.

[jp1]

Using crazy to describe an unexpected positive event is inappropriate? That’s crazy.

[Rogar]

I suppose "it's the bomb" is out

[jp1]

What about ‘go back to where you came from’. I guess that’s back in fashion.

[JaneV2.0]

What about ‘go back to where you came from’. I guess that’s back in fashion.

Someone yelled that at my sister and her friend when they were three blocks from her house in a neighborhood she'd lived in all her life. I wish I could have confronted the ass...(He was probably from California...)

(We can pass for practically everything, I guess--I've been mistaken for everything from Italian, to Jewish, to Russian. Everything but what I am.) I digress...

[Ultralight]

What about ‘go back to where you came from’. I guess that’s back in fashion.

Nope. That would get you immediately fired at my workplace.

[Alan]

(We can pass for practically everything, I guess--I've been mistaken for everything from Italian, to Jewish, to Russian. Everything but what I am.)

I know what you mean, I'm continuously mistaken for a bigot, a homophobe, a misogynist and a bit of an ass lacking in empathy, among other things.

I digress...

Sorry....me too.

[bae]

What's wrong with "tribe", he asked innocently, reflecting on his own Germanic tribal roots...

[Ultralight]

I know what you mean, I'm continuously mistaken for a bigot, a homophobe, a misogynist and a bit of an ass lacking in empathy, among other things.

Dude. Are you serious? Because if you are I sincerely know what you are going through.

I am often mistaken for the same things.

I have wondered why, but I think it is just because of how I look and dress.

[Ultralight]

What's wrong with "tribe", he asked innocently, reflecting on his own Germanic tribal roots...

1. Cool pic!
2. I had the same question, but I knew if I asked I would be in professional peril. There were folks in the meeting referring to all the bad things "old white men" do.

While I don't necessarily agree with all the politically correct stuff -- the language policing and such -- I am just going to conform to it at work. I make my living working for universities and this is just how things are going. I have to adapt to keep my job and not become a pariah.

Fortunately I can still ask questions about these issues in other, more private contexts.