Find a comfortable chair. This is another long blog post.
I’ve been mulling over today’s topic for several weeks. It’s one thing to erase history – and the Trump Administration seems to be doing an admirable job, if that’s what you want done.
And some people do want that done. As I voiced my displeasure with everything the Trump Administration has done in two short months a classmate, whom I’ve known for 65 years, told me “it’s a beautiful thing to watch.” His comment made me nauseous.
Photo by J. Amill Santiago on Unsplash
Several days ago, the Trump Administration (or should I say, Regime?) attacked the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service. Both were targeted for having “divisive” and “anti-American” exhibits. “Divisive” and “anti-American” can be translated to mean that they have some exhibits about people of color and women of any color. It’s feeling more and more like 1931 in Germany around here.
I have a hunch the elephant pictured above that is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution will be safe, though, since the elephant is the mascot of the Republican Party.
Equally troubling to me as erasing history is the Trump Administration’s efforts to limit or perhaps erase perfectly good words from our vocabulary.
People are disappearing, history is disappearing, and words are disappearing. Our allies are disappearing, and who can blame them?
Several weeks ago, a list of words was cobbled together that the Trump Regime wants US Government agencies to “limit or avoid.” The White House denies issuing a list, but they have left government agencies to use some of their own judgment in erasing specific words from their documents and websites. It seems that the hints they’ve been given are fairly loud as they are supposed to use Trump’s too-numerous-to-mention Executive Orders as their guide.
This is rich, coming from a President who has difficulty speaking in complete sentence. (Before you jump on me… I’m not being disrespectful; there is proof all over TV, video and audio clips, the internet, and the printed word.)
You can’t make this stuff up.
In case you missed it here is the list of 298 words and combinations of words that The New York Times published on March 4, 2025, that US Government agencies are supposed to “limit or avoid”:
- accessible
- activism
- activists
- advocacy
- advocate
- advocates
- affirming care
- all-inclusive
- allyship
- anti-racism
- antiracist
- assigned at birth
- assigned female at birth
- assigned male at birth
- at risk
- barrier
- barriers
- belong
- bias
- biased
- biased toward
- biases
- biases towards
- biologically female
- biologically male
- BIPOC
- Black
- breastfeed + people
- breastfeed + person
- chestfeed + people
- chestfeed + person
- clean energy
- climate crisis
- climate science
- commercial sex worker
- community diversity
- community equity
- confirmation bias
- cultural competence
- cultural differences
- cultural heritage
- cultural sensitivity
- culturally appropriate
- culturally responsive
- DEI
- DEIA
- DEIAB
- DEIJ
- disabilities
- disability
- discriminated
- discrimination
- discriminatory
- disparity
- diverse
- diverse backgrounds
- diverse communities
- diverse community
- diverse group
- diverse groups
- diversified
- diversify
- diversifying
- diversity
- enhance the diversity
- enhancing diversity
- environmental quality
- equal opportunity
- equality
- equitable
- equitableness
- equity
- ethnicity
- excluded
- exclusion
- expression
- female
- females
- feminism
- fostering inclusivity
- GBV
- gender
- gender based
- gender based violence
- gender diversity
- gender identity
- gender ideology
- gender-affirming care
- genders
- Gulf of Mexico
- hate speech
- health disparity
- health equity
- hispanic minority
- historically
- identity
- immigrants
- implicit bias
- implicit biases
- inclusion
- inclusive
- inclusive leadership
- inclusiveness
- inclusivity
- increase diversity
- increase the diversity
- indigenous community
- inequalities
- inequality
- inequitable
- inequities
- inequity
- injustice
- institutional
- intersectional
- intersectionality
- key groups
- key people
- key populations
- Latinx
- LGBT
- LGBTQ
- marginalize
- marginalized
- men who have sex with men
- mental health
- minorities
- minority
- most risk
- MSM
- multicultural
- Mx
- Native American
- non-binary
- nonbinary
- oppression
- oppressive
- orientation
- people + uterus
- people-centered care
- person-centered
- person-centered care
- polarization
- political
- pollution
- pregnant people
- pregnant person
- pregnant persons
- prejudice
- privilege
- privileges
- promote diversity
- promoting diversity
- pronoun
- pronouns
- prostitute
- race
- race and ethnicity
- racial
- racial diversity
- racial identity
- racial inequality
- racial justice
- racially
- racism
- segregation
- sense of belonging
- sex
- sexual preferences
- sexuality
- social justice
- sociocultural
- socioeconomic
- status
- stereotype
- stereotypes
- systemic
- systemically
- they/them
- trans
- transgender
- transsexual
- trauma
- traumatic
- tribal
- unconscious bias
- underappreciated
- underprivileged
- underrepresentation
- underrepresented
- underserved
- undervalued
- victim
- victims
- vulnerable populations
- women
- women and underrepresented
Some of my thoughts on the subject
I considered using bold font to highlight my favorites/most angering/most ridiculous words on the list, but that would have been all 298 of them.
As a writer, words are my life. Words help me communicate. I’ll bet they help you, too. Without words, our communications would be extremely limited.
I haven’t read how Trump intends to enforce this or what punishments will be meted out to offenders. And who comes next? Writers? Reporters? Universities? Teachers?
Depending on your background, gender, or ethnicity, there are probably particular words on the list that strike a nerve with you.
Here are 51 that set me off
“Black” (capitalized) — I have Black friends. I don’t see anything wrong with the word “Black.” In fact, my great-grandmother’s surname was Black. My sister and I mentioned her in one of the Morrison genealogy books we published in 1996. I hope the Trump Administration will not ban our book, but we’re on a slippery slope when we start outlawing words.
“female,” “females,” “women,” and “biologically female”– Hmmm. Now those are intriguing words to put on a government’s “limit or avoid” list. I couldn’t help but notice that “male,” “males,” and “men” are not on the list, but “biologically male” is. Surely, it was an oversight on the part of the “biologically male” person who obviously wrote the list to not include “male,” “males,” and “men” on the list.
“mental health” – I have some relatives who struggle with mental health. I’m not sure what to do with this word combination now. Does the Trump Administration think by not using the words “mental health,” mental health issues will no longer exist? How wonderful it would be if we could just use a word and make a whole category of illness disappear!
“belong” – My mind jumped back to a trip to Scotland where I learned that there instead of saying, “She’s Campbeltown,” the locals would say, “She belongs to Campbeltown.” Since the plural form of the word isn’t on the list, maybe that use of it would be legal. Otherwise, Scots might want to think twice before visiting America. Oh… my bad…. They’ve all taken America off their bucket lists since January 20.
“pronoun” and “pronouns” – This is going to be challenging for English teachers, but it will simplify diagramming sentences.
“sex” and “chestfeed” – I don’t know what to say about these. I don’t want my blog to be flagged as obscene, but is “chestfeed” really a word? Is it actually a thing we need to be concerned about?
“systematically” – What?
“orientation” – I guess there will be no more orientation meetings for new government employees or college freshmen at schools that receive federal funds.
“trauma” – Some hospitals are qualified trauma centers, but I guess they won’t be much longer. Heaven forbid if they receive any federal funds.
“environmental quality” – You’ve got to be kidding, Trump! Just because you don’t want the citizens of the United States to have “environmental quality” doesn’t mean that the citizens of the United States don’t want “environmental quality.” Just because you want to drink contaminated water and breathe polluted air, Mr. Trump, doesn’t me the rest of us do. You can’t just outlaw the words “environmental quality” and make the whole concept of a healthy environment go away.
“disability,” and “disabilities,” – I shudder to think what will soon become of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is that act that requires handicapped bathroom stalls, automatic doors to permit easy ingress and egress at government buildings, hotel rooms with bathrooms accessible to people in wheelchairs, etc. Need I keep going?
That leads me to “barrier” and “barriers” – which I think must be on the list because the Americans with Disabilities Act tries to prevent physical movement and communication barriers from remaining in place that make it difficult for blind, deaf, and people restricted to wheelchairs to do what they need to do. Have you ever wondered why you didn’t see many (or any?) ramps into public buildings in the 1950s, but now you do? They didn’t just happen. It wasn’t because architects started adding them out of the goodness of their hearts.
“race,” “racial,” “ethnicity,” and “gender” – The folks who create US Passports better get busy figuring out how to get around those questions.
“historically” – I assume this is targeting “Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” Take out the words “historically” and “Black” and it is going to be difficult to know which “colleges and universities” one is talking about. Oh… my bad… that’s the point!
“discriminated,” “discrimination,” and “discriminatory” – Are we no longer allowed to talk about or file lawsuits regarding discrimination? This is appalling!
“minority” – Lucky for the US Congress that this list, at least for now, only applies to the agencies in the Executive Branch of the government because, otherwise, they would have to come up with a new term for “Minority Whip” and “Minority Leader” in their official titles.
“expression” – Wipe that silly expression off your face!
“identity” – Seems like a legitimate word to me.
“prejudice” – Since we still have a US Department of Justice, so to speak, I guess the lawyers are going to have to find a new way to label the rulings on certain lawsuits. You see, the term “without prejudice” is a legal phrase. It is used by judges to indicate that a case can be revisited or that the verdict is not final.
I noticed it’s acceptable to use the word “racist,” but it’s not okay to use the words “anti-racist” or “anti-racism.” Interesting.
“Native American” – I think it should be left up to the indigenous peoples of America to tell the rest of us what they want to be called. I don’t think that she be left up to Donald Trump. When I was doing the research to write my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, I learned that the Cherokee Indians in the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina prefer to be called Indians. The official name of the tribe there is Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
“tribal” is also on the list. That’s unfortunate because some tribes, such as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have tribal courthouses and tribal councils. Please don’t tell them they can no longer use the word “tribal.” The US Government has already taken too much from them.
“bias,” “biased,” “biased toward,” “biases,” and “biases towards” are all on the list. I agree with “biases towards” being on the list because “towards” is incorrect grammar in the United States. I have a problem with the other four, though.
“allyship” – I must admit that was a new word for me. I looked it up and discovered that it refers to those of us in relatively advantaged groups who intentionally support or advocate for disadvantaged people. I hope I’m guilty of having done “allyship” in the past, and I hope I will continue to be guilty of it in the future! As a Christian, I am called on to do that.
That leads me to “advocacy,” “advocate,” and “advocates.” – Now that’s just sad. When you are in the hospital or a nursing home, you need an “advocate” to look out for your best interests. That can be a relative or a social worker or… hut oh….
My doctor says if I have osteopenia and I don’t exercise and eat a calcium-rich diet, I am “at risk” of developing osteoporosis. I assume the Department of Health and Human Resources can no longer “advocate” for “at risk” conditions and illnesses. That’s the least of our worries, though, with RFK, Jr. in charge of that department.
“equality,” “equity,” “inequalities,” “inequality,” “inequitable,” “inequities,” and “inequity” – Does anyone else see a blatant pattern here?
I noticed the word “justice” does not appear on the list. That’s nice, because that word is used in the Preamble of the US Constitution. Whew! That was a close call!
You know the words to the Preamble, don’t you, Mr. Trump?
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
I thought about highlighting my “favorite” words on the list, but before I knew it I had pulled out 50 of them. I’ll just leave it at that for today, but my new purpose in life is to make sure I use at least one word on the list every week in my blog. Heck, I might use more than one.
Some of my comments about specific words on the list were tongue-in-cheek, but I assure you that I take this very seriously.
In essence, Trump’s putting out the word that federal government agencies can read his myriad Executive Orders and surmise the words they need to “limit or avoid” pretty much makes their use on government documents and websites illegal.
No, there is no enacted law prohibiting the use of these words. However, one definition of “illegal” is “not sanctioned by official rules.” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 2001.)
How do you ban books in the 21st century?
You make your citizens afraid to use words on an ever-growing list.
Just when you think things can’t get worse
PEN Americais a nonprofit organization that works to defend free expression in the United States and around the world through the advancement of literature and human rights. On March 21, 2025, the organization published a growing list of words being singled out by the Trump Administration as words Trumps doesn’t want us to use.
My blog post on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, will list the words identified by PEN America that did not appear on the March 4, 2025, New York Times list.
Arlington National Cemetery
With so much going on, and a couple of long blog posts in March, I waited until today to mention how the US Department of Defense is erasing history specifically on the Arlington National Cemetery website. US history seems to be in Trump’s cross-hairs.
Under the heading, “Arlington National Cemetery removed links to webpages about Black, Hispanic and female veterans,” Snopes.com (published March 14, 2025; updated March 15, 2025) verified that the following links had been removed from the Arlington National Cemetery website:
African American History, removed from the Notable Graves subsection;
Hispanic American History, removed from the Notable Graves subsection;
Women’s History, removed from the Notable Graves subsection;
African American History, removed from the Themes drop-down menu of the Education section; and
Civil War, removed from the Themes drop-down menu of the Education section.
This should be no surprise, since Trump has called veterans suckers and losers.
Until my next blog post
What are your “favorite” words on the list of 298 words I shared today?
I hope you have a good book to read.
Nurture your friendships and relatives.
Remember the people of Myanmar, Thailand, Ukraine, and western North Carolina.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 