The Woke Language Police at Michigan University want to outlaw words “Picnic” and Brown Bag” as racist
The University of Michigan has a “Words Matter Task Force” that has deemed the word “picnic” to be racist. Yes, really, writes MRCTV
No doubt, when you hear the word “picnic” it immediately conjures up images of white racists lynching black people. But you know all about the problematic history of that word because I told you just now..
No matter, out it goes, replaced with “gathering.”
“Hey, guys, anyone up for a ‘gathering?'” which hardly at all conjures up an image of a Wicken ceremony under a full moon, Notthebee writes.
Reuters sets that record straight :
Text in the post states that the word picnic was used to “describe festive events attended by racist whites.” It adds that at these meetings, Black men released from jail would be “caught by mobs of white men who would lynch or burn them alive in front of cheering crowds.” The post alleges the word picnic itself stems from the “N-word”.
Examples of the claim are visible here , here and here .
According to Dr David Pilgrim, author of several books on the history and cultural symbols of the Jim Crow era, the word picnic derives from the 17th century French word “pique-nique,” a term used to describe a social gathering in which attendees each contributed with a portion of food or another useful item ( here ).
Lawenforcement Today joined the lash-back. “If you thought we were living in the Twilight Zone, you would be correct. According to the task force, the use of inclusive language is “imperative to create a culture where everyone feels welcome, valued and respected.” The task force suggested the use of alternative terms for “men” or “man,” instead suggesting more generic terms such as “people” or “person,” Lawenforcement Today wrote in an article, University ‘woke’ task force says words like ‘picnic’ and ‘brown bag’ are offensive, must be cancelled
See the link to the full report form the Task Force at the end of this feature.
The WMTF, set up by the school’s Information and Technology Services (ITS) department, has declared that it finds more than two dozen words and phrases possibly offensive to people, including “picnic,” “brown bag” and “blacklist.”
“To effectively communicate with customers, it is important for ITS to evaluate the terms and language conventions that may hinder effective communication, harm morale, and deliberately or inadvertently exclude people from feeling accepted to foment a healthy and inclusive culture,” the task force said in a memo, Dailywire reports
Language is powerful. It has the ability to unite or cause people to feel alienated. The use of inclusive language is imperative to create a culture where everyone feels welcome, valued, and respected. It is important to remember that words can impact people in different ways. Not all words on this list may be offensive to everyone. Regardless, if a colleague considers a word or phrase offensive, their lived experience should be acknowledged, and an alternative word or phrase should be used.
Below are a few examples identified by the task force.
Given the importance of communication and the ITS core value of inclusivity, the Words Matter Task Force was formed and charged with identifying terms used within ITS that are, or can be construed to be, racist, sexist, or non-inclusive. See Appendix A for the Task Force statement and recommendations.