It’ll never end.
The liberal language police have come for a slew of terms they deem to be ultra-violent.
And now the ultra-woke are coming for more words and phrases. They abhor “jump the gun,” “roll with the punches” and even “deadline,” claiming they’re just too “violent.”
For the record, the word “deadline” was first recorded in 1864 during the Civil War. As both sides captured prisoners of war, a “do not cross” line was traced around prisons, and guards were ordered to shoot anyone that might cross the “dead line.”
And by the way, “jump the gun” has nothing to do with violence. The term comes from sporting contests like foot races, delineating when a runner started too early or “jumped” the starting gun.
But never mind all that. The language police have deemed them offensive and demand new softer terms be used. For instance, they say the phrase “kill two birds with one stone” — which originated in China in the 1600s — must be replaced with “feed two birds with one scone.”
The new guide, titled “Evolving From Violent Language,” was created by Anna Taylor, a communications director and “diversity, equity, and inclusion champion” at technology company Phenomenex.
“The guide is for those who would like to replace mostly violently framed idioms with more positive and inclusive language,” Taylor told The Daily Mail.
The guide offers new acceptable phrases:
“I won’t avoid it any longer” for “I’ll bite the bullet”
“We’re going to launch” for “we’re going to pull the trigger”
“Can you send me an email?” for “can you shoot me an email?”
“That was a bit excessive” for “that was overkill”
“Let’s not focus on that anymore” for “let’s not beat a dead horse”
The guide drew scorn on social media.
“Why? What’s the point in ‘evolving from violent language’? And what’s violent about deadline? Because it has dead in it? Death isn’t inherently violent; it’s simply everyone’s final phase. I respect everyone’s trauma but we’re way too sensitive if we can’t handle colloquialisms,” wrote one user.
Another said the guide is simply misguided.
“It just seems like ‘evolving from violent language’ when it isn’t even violent language that causes harm to people, detracts from the ACTUAL violent language that IS harming people, eg. racist, misogynistic, homophobic terms and phrases still being used to this day.”
Said a third: “This isn’t about ‘evolving from violent language.’ It’s about trying to escape the reality of death. You can’t do it; no need to euphemize it.”
But one Twitter wag said the whole thing is made up.
“I agree that the Evolving From Violent Language list is probably fake right-wing bait and we shouldn’t engage with it, but also I did have a coworker who always said ‘feed two birds with one scone.'”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.