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đŸ‡ș🇾 Stanford's List

Plus, here's what you said about Southwest Airlines yesterday.

January 06, 2023

The Flag

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Good morning, and happy Friday! Yesterday we asked if you think Southwest Airlines will be able to win back customers after its recent hiccups. 67% said yes, 33% said no. For what it's worth, here's what an ex-Southwest pilot thinks of the airline.

Plus, here are 3 rare but powerful skills to master this year.

Also, the weekend is here. Today's sponsor, Tipxy, can help you start it on the right note.

FLAG POLLS

📉 January 5, 2023: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 47, Disapprove 52 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 January 3, 2023: Americans Largely Pessimistic About US Prospects in 2023: 90% expect political conflict in US; 85% predict international discord (Gallup)

🐘 January 3, 2023: Majority of GOP voters support replacing McDaniel as RNC chair: 73% want new RNC leader, 6% want McDaniel reelected, 21% aren't sure (The Hill)

📉 January 3, 2023: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 46, Disapprove 52 (Rasmussen Reports)

TRENDING

Right: Dan Crenshaw Shows His True Colors Nick Arama, RedState

Left: Fiasco Shows That Republicans Are Unable To Govern Andrew Gawthorpe, Guardian

Left: Jeffries Is the Leader of the House Right Now Joan Walsh, The Nation

Left: Your Stuff Is Actually Worse Now Izzie Ramirez, Vox

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QUICK CLICKS

Biden to the Border, Sheath at the Scene, Orthodox Christmas Cease-fire

US: Biden targeting illegal border crossings (Axios)

US: McCarthy loses ninth vote as his speaker bid faces increasingly dire prospects (CNN)

World: El Chapo's son has been captured in Sinaloa in Mexican military operation: report (Fox News)

US: Idaho student killings: suspect’s DNA allegedly matches knife sheath at scene (The Guardian)

Sports: NFL won’t resume Bills-Bengals game after Damar Hamlin collapse (NY Post)

Business: Peloton fined $19 million for dropping the ball on Tread Plus safety issues (The Verge)

World: Putin calls for Ukraine cease-fire to mark Russian Orthodox Christmas (NBC News)

Business: Amazon to Slash More Than 18,000 Jobs in Escalation of Cuts (Bloomberg)

EDUCATION

Stanford's List

Controversy has ensued in response to the Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative, which originated within Stanford University’s IT department. A related website, which is now locked to non-university members, says the policy aims to "address harmful language in IT at Stanford."

From The Flag: The list of terms the guide seeks to eliminate is extensive and relates to things like race, disability, and other characteristics. Here’s more from both sides of the political aisle.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The Need For Real Reform Is Clouded By A Debate Over Words

  • The push for inclusive language has actually been divisive, and many wonder why words are the focus, rather than actions.

  • One of the terms listed as offensive is American, which goes too far in this debate, even for those on the left.

  • For many liberals, it’s important to be inclusive, but this type of thing is why people derisively use the term “woke.”

“BIPOC or POC? Equity or Equality? The Debate Over Language on the Left” Amy Harmon, New York Times: “Americans have always wrestled with language when it comes to describing race, with phrases and vocabulary changing to meet the struggles and values of the moment. But especially in the wake of protests for social justice in the summer of 2020, there is a heightened attention to this language, say scholars and activists, as some on the left try to advance changes in the culture through words. 
 For some people, though, the new lexicon has become a kind of inscrutable code, set at a frequency that only a narrow, highly educated slice of the country can understand, or even a political litmus test in which the answers continually change. Others feel disappointment, after so many protests [two summers ago] demanded far deeper change on issues like criminal justice and voting rights.”

“Internet goes berserk over Stanford ‘language guide’ that discourages use of ‘American’ and ‘survivor’” Aldo Toledo, Mercury News: “At a time when politicians and the media continue their ongoing debate over critical race theory, LGBTQ discussions in schools and other cultural issues, liberals and conservatives appear to be on the same page about one thing: This Stanford ’language guide’ goes too far. 
 The 13-page guide discourages the use of what it calls ableist, ageist, colonialist and culturally appropriative language among others, and urges code writers to avoid words from the obvious ‘retarded’ and ‘spaz’ to phrases that might seem more innocuous, like ‘brave,’ ‘American,’ ‘Hispanic,’ ‘cakewalk’ and ‘homeless person.’ 
 But ‘American’? 
 (the guide suggests) using ‘US citizen’ instead, partly because American ‘often refers to people from the United States only, thereby insinuating the US is the most important country in the Americas,’ ignoring the other 42 countries that make up the continent.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Word police cracking down on everyday terms Julie Smith, Summerville Journal Scene Opinion

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Destroying Our Language Is Not Liberal Or Progressive

  • This is the height of politically correct vapidity, and it ignores that language is intended to communicate, not obfuscate.

  • It’s likely that other departments at Stanford and officials at other universities are pushing similar, Orwellian directives.

  • Treating college students like children who must avoid certain words curtails societal progress and the ability to work through issues.

“The Stanford Guide to Acceptable Words” Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: “Call yourself an ‘American’? Please don’t. Better to say ‘US citizen,’ per the bias hunters, lest you slight the rest of the Americas. ‘Immigrant’ is also out, with ‘person who has immigrated’ as the approved alternative. It’s the iron law of academic writing: Why use one word when four will do? You can’t ‘master’ your subject at Stanford any longer; in case you hadn’t heard, the school instructs that ‘historically, masters enslaved people.’ And don’t dare design a ‘blind study,’ which ‘unintentionally perpetuates that disability is somehow abnormal or negative, furthering an ableist culture.’ 
 ‘masked study’ is to be preferred. Follow the science. 
 Not to beat a dead horse (a phrase that the index says ‘normalizes violence against animals’), but you used to have to get a graduate degree in the humanities to write something that stupid.”

“Stanford's political correctness czars deem 'American' and 'guys' harmful words (no joke)” Ingrid Jacques, USA TODAY Opinion: “Because Stanford is a private university, the directive doesn’t have the same First Amendment implications as it would at a public institution, but it’s still alarming. It’s symptomatic of the wider trends in higher education to coddle students and prevent them from hearing anything that could ‘trigger’ bad feelings. 
 If Stanford’s IT administrators are backing this list of harmful words, it’s likely other departments are making similar considerations. And I wouldn’t be surprised if other universities were as well, given how trends spread in academia. It’s perfectly fine for Stanford to police campus language for professionalism and politeness – many organizations do. But this goes far beyond that. As wokeness pervades our society, expect to see a lot more limits placed on our daily word choices. That’s what I find most harmful.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Rethinking Stanford’s approach to eliminating ‘harmful’ language Komi Frey, FIRE

FLAG THIS

What Term Is Correct? And Who Decides?

Last year at this time, a poll asked Hispanic Americans what they thought of the terms “Latino,” “Hispanic,” and “Latinx.”

Opinions vary in scholarly, official, and cultural settings as to which term is most appropriate.

The majority of respondents said “it doesn’t matter” (56%), while just under a quarter preferred “Hispanic,” 15% opted for “Latino,” and just 4% chose “Latinx” (Gallup).

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

"Wheel of Fortune" Premieres, Queen's Final Hours, Active Animals

Wheel of Fortune, one of the longest-running syndicated games show in American television, premieres on NBC on January 6, 1975. Created by television legend Merv Griffin and hosted since the early 1980s by Pat Sajak and Vanna White (pictured above), Wheel is one of the most popular television shows in the world.

Today I Learned in 2004, Dutch scientists left a 'hamster wheel' in the wild, and all types of forest animals, including frogs and slugs, used it throughout the year.

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