Stanford University recently released a guide encouraging students to avoid using several terms because apparently, they’re too “offensive.”

One of these “offensive” terms is the word “American”. Yep, you read that right. It’s offensive due to its alleged “exclusionary” and “insensitive” implications. This guide has been met with a strong backlash, with many arguing that this is a direct violation of free speech and an attempt to censor certain viewpoints.

The guide states that the term “American” can be used to refer to the United States and its citizens, but also carries a sense of “superiority” and “exclusion”. It then encourages students to use “more precise language,” such as “U.S. citizen” or “person from the U.S.” instead.

This move by Stanford has been met with strong criticism, with many arguing that this is an unnecessary and dangerous attempt to censor certain viewpoints. After all, the term “American” is not only an accurate way to refer to a person from the United States, but also carries a sense of pride and patriotism. To suggest that it is inappropriate to use this term is an affront to the values of freedom and liberty that this country was founded on.

Take a look at some of the words on the list that the wokies decided was “offensive”:

Original: walk-in

Swap: drop-in, open office

Reason: ‘Ableist language that trivializes the experiences of people living with disabilities’

Original: grandfather

Swap: legacy

Reason: ‘This term has its roots in the “grandfather clause” adopted by Southern states to deny voting rights to Blacks’

Original: guru

Swap: expert, subject matter expert (SME), primary, leader, teacher, guide

Reason: ‘In the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, the word is a sign of respect. Using it casually negates its original value’

Original: brave

Swap: none/do not use

Reason: ‘This term perpetuates the stereotype of the “noble courageous savage,” equating the Indigenous male as being less than a man’

Original: man hours

Swap: person hours, effort hours, labor time

Reason: ‘This term reinforces male-dominated language’

Original: American

Swap: US Citizen

Reason: ‘This term often refers to people from the United States only, thereby insinuating that the US is the most important country in the Americas (which is actually made up of 42 countries)’

Original: whitespace

Swap: empty space

Reason: ‘Assigns value connotations based on color (white = good), an act which is subconsciously racialized’

Original: proѕtitute

Swap: person who engages in ѕ-x work

Reason: ‘Using person-first language helps to not define people by just one of their characteristics’

Original: kill(ing) two birds with one stone

Swap: accomplish(ing) two things at once

Reason: ‘This expression normalizes violence against animals’

Original: trigger warning

Swap: content note

Reason: ‘The phrase can cause stress about what’s to follow. Additionally, one can never know what may or may not trigger a particular person’

Stanford’s guide is a worrying sign that these values may not be upheld, and it is essential that we ensure that our right to free speech is not infringed upon.

This is the softening of society that we’re dealing with. Remember, “Tough times create strong men, strong men create easy times. Easy times create weak men, weak men create tough times.” Where are we now? I’d say we’re in the last part where weak men are creating tough times. You know what comes next.