An Amusing Diversion

It is notorious that a managed glossary is of the essence of politics, like a managed currency, and it is highly probable that the debasement of language necessary to successful political practice promotes far more varied and corrupting immoralities than any other infection proceeding from that prolific source.

-- Albert Jay Nock, "'A Little Conserva-tive'

I love watching politically correct NewSpeak go from "funny sounding catchphrases used by dorks" to "absurd linguistic abominations". A case in point:

HotJob's latest newsletter makes much of their "Diversity Center", which includes lists of "Employers Seeking Diverse Candidates". This is as opposed to employers seeking --- one candidate? Identical candidates? Legions of evil clones? Of course, what it really means "Candidates who are not white males and are convinced they're getting a raw deal." The news items at the bottom of the page further reinforce the the message: if you don't like some aspect of your working life, you're a victim:

Young Workers Are Lucky But Miserable

- Gen Xers are pissed off that their work is hard and isn't more fulfilling

Labor looks to Working America

- Unions faced with declining memberships are trying to get pissed-off GenXers to join "an organization for non-union workers who share labor's views on issues, on jobs and the economy."

Face of Workplace Yet to Reflect Society

- includes this wonderful little howler:

Physicians and the information-technology sector topped the list in terms of racial and ethnic diversification. A category called "editors and reporters," which includes newspaper and broadcast journalists, ranked at the bottom, along with lawyers.

Take that, Howell Raines.

The page unfortunately lacks anything to help one to determine if they're a "person of diversity", which phrase I would have hoped hasn't made it into common discourse, but according to Google has. I mean, is it sufficient to like both kinds of music, country and western? Or if you buy stuff from the "Ethnic Foods" aisle at Safeway? Or to be really open-minded about who you'd let your sister marry?

Coming up next: using the phrase "differently honkied" with a straight face.

Posted by Steve at September 17, 2003 09:19 PM