Friday, June 24, 2011

Niggardly: Attacking Vocabulary in the name of political correctness

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Niggardly as being "grudgingly mean about spending or granting", but uttering the word can land you in hot water as a Mayoral Aide in DC resigned after correctly using the word in front of black coworkers, when referring to how they needed to approach the budget, or when parents demanded a teacher being fired for teaching the word during a vocabulary lesson. It also led Amelia Rideau, a student at the University of Wisconsin, to file a complaint against her professor when he used the word while quoting Chaucer. He then explained the definition to the entire class. She tried to launch a crusade that would discipline professors whose speech offends students regardless of intent. Fortunately for free speech, she failed.

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