politically correct language rant

[Kevin]

Now I'm all for phasing out language meant to insult someone's heritage or race or culture. There just isn't any room for that. But lately I've noticed on the television, and today I saw it in a news report. Seriously, my wife and I were watching a tv show the other day, and they must have used the word "unhoused" 5 or 6 times. It even bothered my wife, who is pretty level headed about such things.

They want to change the word "homeless" to "unhoused."

I had to look it up on Google. From what I can understand, there is no difference. In fact, the only difference seems to be, it makes the speaker or writer feel better. The word "homeless" isn't derogatory in any way. It doesn't put down the person who doesn't have a roof over their head. "Unhoused" means the same thing, it too isn't derogatory.

I guess it bothers me that I'm supposed to use some different word, just so I can sleep better at night?

Man, after reading this rant, I sure hope I'm not turning into you guys!

 

[hittman]

Be careful, that thinking is what got Jordan Peterson banned from Twitter and made folks try to cancel him.

Heck before an episode of Gunsmoke or Bonanza now they show a notice that some of the programs references are no longer culturally acceptable …. or something to that effect.

 

[buckaroo]

They want to change the word "homeless" to "unhoused."

And they want you to house some in new house you are building, oh yeah, read the story a few years back about the home owners in Portland Oregon.
It's a narrative they are trying to sell to get you to pay for it all. We no longer have a decent tax base in America because we have no decent jobs for the average to get ahead. So the cities are coming up with any gimmick they can to make revenue.

 

[gasbag]

I believe that most of these PC folks are completely "unhinged".

 

[Kevin]

I didn’t see the story about the homeless in Portland.

I did see in Seattle, they wanted to use some of the hotels downtown. I can just imagine a bunch of homeless people invading the Four Seasons.

But to those people living on the streets, call them homeless or unhoused, they still don’t have a roof over their head. And they aren’t offended.

The real frustrating part is, if I’m out in public and use the word “homeless” and not “unhoused” people will look at me like I’m the bad guy because I’m not being sensitive.

 

[buckaroo]

I hear ya, it's now become Orwellian, everything is backwards. They asked the home owners in Portland to let the homeless set up camp in their backyards and when they objected they raised their property tax's. Can you even begin to imagine someone with a young daughter telling their father she's in love with stinky or crazy. No doubt a parents worst nightmare.

 

[Snake45]

I prefer "mortgage-free." Sounds more positive.

 

[bobski]

bums works better for me.

 

[Danjet500]

The real frustrating part is, if I’m out in public and use the word “homeless” and not “unhoused” people will look at me like I’m the bad guy because I’m not being sensitive.

Let them look at me. I don't care if I'm not sensitive or if they think I'm not sensitive.

 

[vito]

For the most part I refuse to comply with new terminology desired by the "woke". Gay used to be a perfectly reasonable word meaning carefree and happy, but that one is gone forever. (If a young person heard the title of the old Fred Astaire movie "The Gay Divorcee" they would THINK that they know what the movie is about but be totally wrong.) I refuse to use "undocumented immigrant", preferring the correct phrase, "illegal alien". The closest I will come to using "transgender" is to refer to "so-called transgender". "Homeless" will not be replaced with "unhoused" in my vocabulary. Nor will I comply with the nonsense of specifying pronouns. If someone looks like a man I will use he or him, if they look like a woman it will be she or her. If they look like a woman but have a penis, it will be he or him posing as a she or her.

The Left not only wants to change the word used for those people sleeping on the streets, they want to totally gaslight you. With your own eyes you can see that the majority of these homeless are mentally ill, drug addicts, or both. The Left wants you to believe that the homeless are just victims of a capitalistic society that has priced housing out of the reach of ordinary people, and the solution for these "victims" is to give government even more authority over landlords as well as to construct even more public housing with the occupants under the thumb of government bureaucrats. Of course to pay for the solution of the "unhoused", higher taxes for working people are needed and an ever growing volume of government regulation.

 

[Fox Mike]

bums works better for me.

All homeless aren't bums. I have had personal contact with quite a few 'homeless'. Of the many I came in contact with only one could truly be considered a 'bum'. Circumstances led most to be in their situation.

 

[blume357]

"houseless" sounds like a better term to me.... but then what if they have a nice cardboard box in an alley somewhere?

 

[buckaroo]

Don't laugh, because even the barely 1% who fell through the cracks of life ever get out of it. By year 3 you start talking to yourself, by year 5 you are in the point of no return. Sadly that barely 1% never gets the help, because homelessness in America is now a business. And if you happen to be White in that barely 1% you are as good as dead.

 

[Snake45]

For the most part I refuse to comply with new terminology desired by the "woke". Gay used to be a perfectly reasonable word meaning carefree and happy, but that one is gone forever.

If you hadn't noticed, "pride" is now gone, too.

 

[Kevin]

All good answers. I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking like this.

Vito, interestingly, you use the word “gaslight.” That was Merriam-Webster’s word of the year this year.

 

[JPGLSG1234]

And he is spot on in his comments....

 

[Jeepnik]

Folks get too worked up over words. I use whatever one I think appropriate to the situation. Political correctness be darned. If you don't like the word I used either do something stupid or go get your blanky and sit in the corner and whimper.

 

[vito]

As to the homeless, my son used to be a cop in a big Midwest city. He walked a beat in a rough part of town that had sizable encampments of homeless. He said that virtually all of those that he encountered were mentally ill, drug addicts or both, often being mentally ill and self medicating with illegal drugs. The few, he said, who seemed to be just folks down on their luck, gravitated to the shelters and sought help, which was often available. Those on the streets usually did not want any help other than easy handouts.

Where I live now, in a smaller city in IL, you don't see many who are obviously homeless, but we do have a small army of pandhandlers staking out every major intersection in town. On principle I never give any of them a cent.

 

[buckaroo]

On principle I never give any of them a cent.

And don't because it's all a scam ! They'll even borrow children to make it look good, and the con-jobs dressed up in fatigues on the fourth of July or veterans day. And they are clever, will usually travel to another town to do it so they aren't recognized. Several years back were I was living the local paper did a story on a gal who took the bus 12 miles back and forth every day to panhandle. Living on public aid the whole nine yards.

This past 4th of July we had a guy in my area dressed for an assault on Iwo Jima people were throwing money at him. They can't do it any longer on the local Walmart property, so he set up shop across the street right near the main hwy. out of town and sure enough he booked it to the next town after he made his quota.

You have to be careful if you run into them while out walking because some are aggressive.

 

[Shamus2022]

You all forgot my pet peeve (this week) which is "new American". I don't think I need explain it.