Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services has banned the use of the term “field worker” in its agency communications.
If you thought the left would ever stop policing language, woke progressives in Michigan’s Health and Human Services department are going to stop using the term “field worker” to avoid “implications for descendants of enslaved Black and Brown individuals”https://t.co/nw7bPyU7D2
— OutKick (@Outkick) January 11, 2023
According to a memo sent out by the department, the decision to prohibit the use of the words was made as a result of worries about the term’s racist connotations.
“Recently, staff and stakeholders have raised concerns over the use of the term ‘field worker’ and its implication for descendants of enslaved Black and Brown individuals,” the memo read.
The department added that while the use of the term is not born of ill will, it had to make the decision to throw away the term as it “cannot ignore the impact its use has on our employees.” To conclude the announcement, the department explained that the decision is its way of creating a culture that values the “contributions and voice” of its employees.
As with most symbolic acts such as this, it’s doubtful that any field worker or descendent of one will see his life improved in any meaningful way by this governmental ban. #VirtueSignalinghttps://t.co/ZF22wsknZp
— Bob Beasley (@13013B) January 10, 2023
Michigan’s government is the latest progressive body to request the abandonment of the word “field.” On Monday, news came from the University of Southern California’s school of social work that “field” was no longer in its curriculum. The change saw the school’s education program changed to “practicum education department” from “field education department.”
According to the school, this was a step towards rejecting “white supremacy.”
“This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that could be considered anti-Black or anti-immigrant,” it explained in an email that announced the decision.
The linguistic changes make one of many instances of “wokeness” that progressives have increasingly instilled into language. Words are discouraged or prohibited because they seem insensitive, offensive, or harmful. In a bid to appear progressive, universities, among other elite institutions, are increasingly falling in line with the trend that is divisive at its very core.
The end of last year saw Stanford University recommend that words like “blackballed” and “brown bag” be removed from university websites as they are deemed “harmful phrases.” It also claimed the word “American” is potentially harmful.
The words “father” and “mother” are not appropriate either and should be swapped for “supporter,” according to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Children are now “chest fed” rather than “breastfed.”
Worse, certain terms and speech are labeled “violence,” posing a threat to the concept of free speech.
