"Jack is my right hand man." "Never walk back on a gentleman's agreement." "Let me show you the master bedroom."
What is common amongst these oft-used phrases? Well, as of now, all are banned in taxpayer-funded organizations in Great Britain, because they may offend minorities and women:
No, this is not snark.
The National Gallery in London believes that the phrase "gentleman’s agreement" is potentially offensive to women and suggests that staff should replace it with "unwritten agreement" or "an agreement based on trust" instead.
Alright? I love how phrases are now being banned because they are "potentially offensive." Isn't just about everything potentially offensive to someone?
The term "right-hand man" is also considered taboo by the gallery, with "second in command" being deemed more suitable, it is reported.
Why not "right-hand woman" if it's a woman? I've heard that used before. Ahh, I guess it's just easier to ban phrases than use common sense.
The Learning and Skills Council wants staff to "perfect" their brief rather than "master" it, while the Newcastle University in England's North-East, has singled out the phrase "master bedroom" as being problematic.
I honestly don't even get where they're coming from at all with this one. It's not like the husband sleeps in the master bedroom and the wife in another one, right? And when you "master" something, like a language, it means you have great control over it, which just makes sense, right?
The Yorkshire Centre for Dermatology is instructing physicians to not use the term "whitehead" anymore and instead to refer to such blotches as "puss-filled pimples."
Alright, I made that one up, but it's hardly any more ridiculous than any of the others.
Western Europe has a lot of great ideas and institutions that we Democrats and progressives would love to have in the United States. A strong social safety net, single-payer health care, sensible vacation policies. They know what they're doing. But Great Britain and various other countries in the region themselves have a lot to learn from us about the importance of the government not intruding on freedom of speech.
So in regards to Great Britain's new censorship policy, I say it's a black mark on an otherwise great country.