Political correctness has run amok across the United States in recent years. Nowhere is the ultra-sensitive use of words so analyzed more than on college campuses. One of the most liberal of schools, for the sake of political correctness, has gone so far as to completely make a mockery of the English language.
Some schools have slowly learned that the policing of common words is a battle that is as misguided as it is useless. Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts is, apparently, not one of those schools.
This week, professors were informed that the use of the word "women" would no longer be tolerated.
This is a women's college by the way.
Political correctness taken too far
While no one wants to be the subject of hate speech or to have their feelings hurt, there need to be breaks on the political correctness train. The outright banning of common words and terms does nothing for the general public other than set up people to fall victim and be shamed for not using the correct speech.
The real problem is who is making these decisions. This isn't a majority deciding what is best for most people, but rather a very small, yet vocal, group who is demanding that the rest of the world see and speak like them.
Everyone has their own right to be who they want to be, but when it gets to the point of demanding the way others live, it has gone too far.
Too often the goal is eliminating certain speech by any means necessary. This is resulting in a serious erosion of not only the English language but progress within society.
Subjecting people to arbitrary rules of behavior to appease one group only further perpetuates the anti-inclusiveness that these people are trying to abolish.
The amount of tricks one must play in their mind to find this acceptable is ludicrous.
Twitter reacts
As expected, those on Twitter had a field day mocking the new demand on speech.
Mount Holyoke College, which self-describes as an all-women's school, is now instructing professors and faculty to stop calling their students “women” because it may offend someone who doesn’t identify as a woman.
— Jack Ralph (@NevadaJack2) March 21, 2018
At an all-women's school. https://t.co/tGDEOrdkYZ
Eye roll....
— Lisa Mei Crowley (@LisaMei62) March 21, 2018
All-Female Mount Holyoke College Cautions Professors: Don't Assume Students' Gender https://t.co/wFvGsd0NNq
Teaching staff at the all-female ‘Mount Holyoke College’ in Massachusetts are being told not to use gendered terminology such as “women”...lots of confused ladies will be graduating from this lunatic ‘Liberal’ institution of supposedly higher learning!https://t.co/Mpj0AbrAkn pic.twitter.com/Q7IishyGuE
— ╰☆ BUD ☆╮ (@bud_cann) March 22, 2018
.@RoamingMil: How can all-women’s Mount Holyoke College try to have a gender-neutral environment when they don’t have a gender-inclusive admissions policy? pic.twitter.com/Fa8PLNY8dA
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) March 23, 2018
As expected, this overreach in authority is opening up the school to widespread criticism.
For one, a school that is pushing to be all-inclusive yet is only open to women. That right there is enough ammo for those on the other side of the PC battle to point to hypocrisy.
The idea that the rest of society should be taking their cues from the echo-chamber environment that exists on college campuses is troubling, to say the least. More and more kids are leaving college with mountains of debt and no discernible life and job skills.
One would think tackling that issue is more important than whether or not an all women's college can say the word "women" on campus.