Language being weaponized to keep people silent
April J. Gibson wrote an excellent letter featured in the Oct. 22, edition of the Cowican Valley Citizen. Congratulations Ms. Gibson on the excellent points you made. However, one aspect of the issue of language was not addressed. Not so long ago language was used primarily to communicate and to emphasize a person’s views as well as to add to the beauty of our culture.
No longer. Language is now a weapon and a political tool used by the far left to terrorize the populace and distort the truth. (You pointed out the underlying foundation of that quite well in your letter.) Catch phrases and terminology fly thick and fast, again, as you pointed out Ms. Gibson, just like in Maoist China and Soviet Russia. The terrible truth is that language has been weaponized.
The latest example that comes to mind is the ridiculous outrage over the use by Amy Coney Barrett, the latest candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court, of the term “sexual preference.” Democratic senator Hirano, who incidentally asked Barrett if she had ever sexually assaulted anyone before, to which Barrett in a tired voice replied “No Senator,” informed Barrett that the term “sexual preference” was insulting to the LGBTQ community. Somehow it mysteriously implied that they had a choice in their preference and they don’t.
The left leaning mainstream media went wild. Slate, Salon and other online progressive outlets accused Barrett almost immediately of discrimination. Sadly, they had not checked their output in recent months and years in which they had used the term “sexual preference” repeatedly. Such is the hypocrisy of the progressive left.
All of this just underlines the point Ms. Gibson, and I are making. Everyone knew exactly what Barrett meant and also knew that she meant no offence. The left is attempting to intimidate and terrorize us by distorting language, and like the bully who continually demands your lunch money they will be back, again and again and again.
Not until we resist will they desist. That is just the way of it. Terms like “micro aggression,” “privilege”, “cultural imperialism”, “unconscious bias” and others are weapons used to keep the people intimidated and silenced so that a radical majority can bully and gain power over the populace.
Use language as you see fit folks. Speak clearly and as you wish to speak. Strike a blow for your freedom against those who would weaponize language to silence you, and take heart in knowing one important fact: hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people, like you, now cowed into silence by the language and thought police, don’t believe a word of the politically correct tyrants’ jargon. Neither should you.
Perry Foster
Duncan