The problem (in my and many other’s opinion) with “use of sexist, racist, ableist, or any other discriminatory or exclusionary language” is that those terms are open to wildly varying interpretation. What person X considers normal speech, person Y considers offensive. Who is the judge? Remember my specific example – we were asked last year to tell people in the welcome meeting at the convention that they should not use gender pronouns AT ALL, because “someone may be offended, even if not part of that conversation”.
And what is “exclusionary language”? Talk about an overly broad term! I just read a paper on that…some good points. A lot of crazy ones…wait! That was one right there! “Never use the word crazy even in reference to yourself “That makes me crazy” because someone who has issues with mental health may take offense” This paper lists about 200 very, very common words and phrases that “should be purged from all language”. Too far…too far. Plus, there is a difference between using language that should be expected to cause offense (obvious example, using the “n-word”) and using standard language, telling a joke, doing the standard guy thing of insulting your friends… Now…MAYBE add in intent there. As in “use of sexist, racist, ableist, or any other discriminatory language with the intention to cause offense”. That is still subject to interpretation, but allows some common sense to be applied. Examples: “I overheard person X talking to person Y and they used CIS gender pronouns!” Answer “Yup. Nothing wrong with that. Sorry you got offended, but people are allowed to do that” Vs “I asked person X to please address me as ZZZ, but he then continued to deliberately address me as XXX even when I reminded him”. Sounds like that was deliberate, we will speak to him and ask him to address you the way you want or just not converse with you. Vs “I asked person X to please address me as ZZZ, but then he occasionally addressed me as XXX”. Sounds like he was trying, but he has known you for 20 years and he is forgetting. Perhaps YOU should politely remind him, since it sounds like it is accidental” See what I mean? A “use of blah blah language” means you are telling people to change their speech habits in toto, no matter who they are conversing with. It does not matter that that is not YOUR intent when suggesting the language, that is how some people will try to apply it. John Scully From: Origami <origami-boun...@lists.digitalorigami.com> On Behalf Of Malachi Brown Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 1:16 PM To: The Origami Mailing List <origami@lists.digitalorigami.com> Subject: Re: [Origami] CoC—Being Too Specific in Language On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 11:18 AM Carol Martinson via Origami <origami@lists.digitalorigami.com <mailto:origami@lists.digitalorigami.com> > wrote: If I am interpreting what he is trying to say correctly, people need the specific words and actions named so they know what is and is not allowed. Acceptable behaviors vary widely from culture to culture so they may need specific actions listed to know what is expected. I believe you misunderstood what I was trying to say or I am misunderstanding what you are trying to say. I think, at least for an event CoC, there is a balance that can be struck between the very vague and open to interpretation "don't be a jerk" and the overly specific enumeration of all words and actions that qualify as harassment. I specifically referenced the OUSA CoC because it does enumerate several types of discrimination that are specifically prohibited which gives the person reading it an understanding of what is not acceptable. I don't think specific words or actions need to be spelled out, but that it is useful to know what areas are covered by the policy. So, maybe we can clarify this point. From the OUSA CoC, do you consider the following to be overly specific? * offensive communication related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, and age. * use of sexist, racist, ableist, or any other discriminatory or exclusionary language. thanks, malachi
