OT: Forbidden Words

Triathlon Forum
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George Carlin a few years ago had a comedy routine about the 7 words you can’t say on television. It was extremely funny especially when he added his sound track to “bleep” out those words. That routine needs to be revised since those words for the most part can be said on radio and sometimes on televisions. Perhaps if George were employed in today’s Corporate America he would revise his routine to include the “Forbidden Words of Corporate America”

While working at a major mutual fund in the great Northeast, I took part in the firm’s “Diversity Committee”. Now we all know that a camel is a horse that was designed by a committee. The Diversity Committee’s mission was to promote diversity while helping the firm meet it’s EEOC requirements. Since on my Team I had an African-American Female Veteran who was Disabled and married a Hispanic thus having a Hispanic surname I was a well qualified to serve on the committee, after all I identified that she represented 5 points in just one human body even though she was dumber than a stump, could not show up on time, was late returning from lunch and spent most of her day on personal phone calls. She did however know how to leave work on time.

On the Diversity Committee I learned there were certain “Forbidden Words” in the work place. These words are acceptable at home or even in some social gatherings but not in Cooperate America. A prime example of this was when I asked an employee if he had a nice Easter. Simple huh? No I was reprimanded for using the work EASTER. You can ask about the weekend, “Did you do drugs over the week or get drunk?” but never ask about EASTER or any religious holiday. (i.e. Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Child’s Baptism, Chanukah, , Rosh Hashanah, etc.)

At Christmas time oops Winter Solstice we had a Holiday Tree. No Angels, Shepherds, Wiseman or Christ Child. The company choir sang Holiday Carols (non-religious of course) and we had a Winter Solstice Party usually a Circus under the big top. I was not allowed to wish my Team Merry Christmas or Happy Chanukah. CHRISTMAS and CHANUKAH are additional Forbidden Words. But Kwanzaa was ok and managers were to encourage employees to take part in the Kwanzaa services.

In the course of business you could however say God damn or Jesus Christ and when your really mad Jesus F$%#ing Christ but never, never talk about going to worship God or Jesus. So I found two more Forbidden Words GOD and JESUS.

To be sure, Corporate America is redefining itself all the time. New buzzwords or phrases appear all the time. Words like World Global Markets, going forward, catalyst, or quadrix are the rage. Rather than adding words to our vocabulary, perhaps it is time for old George to revise his routine to what words can’t be said in today Corporate World.

I’m curious what words are forbidden where you work?

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I am not allowed to say “I’m going home early today” or “do I comp time for working on Sunday?”
.

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sounds like you’re pissed that christianity isn’t the defacto U.S. religion anymore. well it’s not. get over it.

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This reminded me of something at my company, that though not diversity related or forbidden, is irritating to me.

And that is, there are certain words or phrases that become part of the vernacular. One popular one right now is “to partner.” The word partner is now a verb. We “partner” with other areas of the corporation, and the act of doing so is now “partnering.” This word is used far and wide and at all levels of managment. (This is a very large company - 80,000+ employees.)

The other phrase is to “reach out” to customers. We don’t call them on the phone anymore, or even write letters - we now “reach out” to them. Or we can also “reach out” to our “partners” to discuss topics of mutual interest.

It makes me want to gag sometimes. The worst part? I’ve heard myself say these things once or twice.

An old phrase, now out of use, is “paradigms.” We used to have lots of them, but now we don’t! I wonder where they went? That word is never used anymore.

Welcome to the world of large corporate.

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I think some teachers or others have gotten disciplined over using the words “niggardly” (to be cheap or miserly) and “renege” (to back out on a promise or deal) because they sound like the “N” word even though their etiology has nothing to do with that other objectionable word.

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i’ve got to argue with you on this one. while i’m jewish and i get sick of hearing every christmas song known to mankind when walking through the mall in the winter, i also think that productivity in a corporate environment isn’t hampered by acknowledging that there are various religions.

old man, i agree with you wholeheartedly. people need to realize that the risk of offending someone (slim though it might be when we’re talking about christmas carols and references to holidays) is much better than the risk of driving employees crazy with regulations. maybe this boils down to a deeper problem within society - the need to blame everyone but yourself. in our sue-happy country, corporations need to protect themselves from doing anything to upset anyone - hence the fact that everything gets toned down.

that kwanzaa thing is really upsetting. is the point of the “committee” to minimize offensiveness or to sermonize for an underrepresented religion? because thankyouverymuch, but promoting tolerance and compromising my faith are two very different things.

i’ll need to paraphrase, 'cause i can’t remember the exact quote, but as Mr. Garrison so eloquently put it in the “Death Camp of Tolerance” episode of South Park: “Tolerance means you don’t have to like it, you just have to deal with it.”

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I find it comical and sad at the same time that people believe that they can try to take the name God out of the pledge, off money, etc… and that will be the end of God.

You can never get rid of God due to the fact that everything is about him. God will not go away and neither will those of us who have personal relationship with him.

So it sounds like you need to “get over it.”

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RE: sounds like you’re pissed that christianity isn’t the defacto U.S. religion anymore. well it’s not. get over it.

Nay, I’m thinking of becoming a Buddhist but I’m afraid I can’t give up red meat, sex or money.

Actually, I could have used other examples of Forbidden Words it’s just that this board is so “religious” I though it might add to the flavor of the mix.

I couldn’t say:

“You look nice today” to a female of a gay male on my Team because I might offend them and assume there sexuality.

“You look ugly” to the transsexual on my Team sine he/she might be offended.

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I wish my company would ban those words.

I’m not christian and I have had to put up with christian evangelical rhetoric my entire life so I can tune most of it out the same way I do bowflex infomercials or Amway sales pitches. But while our boss was giving his “sermon” during his christmas party prayer, I thought to myself, “would he mind if I blessed the food in the name of Allah?”

I just don’t think work is the appropriate time to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior.

And if the boss found out I object to Jesus not only am I in danger of hell fire but I might also lose my job or next promotion.

So I would hope that most people can see the need for cultural sensitivity in the workplace.

Come to think of it I think they served ham for the Christmas dinner, we should just have a holy crusade get together after the party, I know it will make our muslim friends feel right at home.

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Wow Oldman, in this context you sound like quite the philandering bigot!

LOL…j/k

I don’t know what I would do without my God-Given right to compliment transvestites and homosexuals in the workplace.

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An old phrase, now out of use, is “paradigms.” We used to have lots of them, but now we don’t! I wonder where they went?

They shifted.

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In the words of my hero Mr. Tibbs:

Thank you, thank you very much!

But seriously, in todays world you can’t be a nice guy and compliment some one without being flamed as a philandering bigot?

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Is this true or did someone batch email this to you?

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When I was in the military we had some kind of gnder sensitivity training or some such thing. I recall they schedule 8 hours for it. Our instructor covered it in about 2 minutes:

“Out in the world you got people with dicks and people with pussies. In the army you got one kind of person: The kind dressed in green. Any questions? Good. Now we can take the day off…”

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I’m so sick of this PC shit - and yes I work at a place that is SOOOO PC - we have tons of words, phrases and sentences that you cannot say.

Basically anything that comes out of your mouth will offend someone.

Thus we have two choices -

  1. Ban ALL speach

  2. Lighten the F-up people. Get off your high horses and stop thinking that the world revolves around you and your beliefs/social/value structures. Really you and your personal opionions matter to very few people, and most folks could care less about you.

Very, very, very few people are as important as they think they are. The people who are that important will be the first to tell you they are not.

As long as what someone is saying is not purposefuly meant to harm you, people should be able to say what they want.

Personally I would prefer opion 1 - but there is no way to get everyone to abide by it.

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As a Jew who has grown up in a largely Christian environment (heavily Anglican high school – I can still say the Lord’s prayer without thinking about it), I have to say all this sensitivity training and avoiding references to religion is utter crap. Let’s get serious – Christian holidays have, for the most part lost their religious symbolism. It’s a day to get together with family, exchange wishes and gifts, and maybe actually do something nice for someone else. Hell, even my family has a Christmas dinner. Tolerance to me means letting people do their own thing their own way, and not giving them grief over it. For instance, if Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) falls on weekday, you best believe I’m taking the day off to go to synagogue, and please don’t try and suggest you dock a day from my vacation (as my hick HR woman started to suggest a few years back).

My favourite example of “sensitivity training” and workplace speak: My old roommate had to attend the training, and was told the expression “rule of thumb” (as in “the rule of thumb in this situation is that we invest more in Brand X”) was very non-PC. The sensitivity trainer sternly informed them that “the colloquial phrase “rule of thumb” is supposedly derived from the English common law that a husband could discipline his wife with a rod ‘no thicker than his thumb.’”

The ironic thing is these humourless sensitivity trainers (and their ilk) who champion peoples’ independence are so earnest in embracing mindless crusades. Particularly when those are (as is the case with the “rule of thumb” example) complete and utter bunk. The rule of thumb was never a part of English common law, or any other law, for that matter.

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Mr. elund:

Yes this is true, I find this kind of stuff interesting. On my team I had the 5 slot girl, a gay guy, on overwieght 400 lber guy, a black athlete and several new college grads. My team members were unwanted by other managers. It was the misfits team in a company of white college grad rich kids that tried to step over each other to get to the top.

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i agree with you big time. but I have one thing to add to your statement. you also should be able to say what you want as long as it doesn’t harm anybody and not have to worry about being in the minority. if somebody wants to say “allah bless this food”, it doesn’t hurt anybody at all. but, some jerks will make life hell for them. perhaps we have to go full circle: complete PC-ness first, then as people GET IT that there’s other cultures out there, those other cultures will slowly surface and their little sayings and b.s. will be integrated and not considered wacky.

first there was no worries about homo anything at work… everybody used to make homo jokes all the time with no consequences, but then that changed. then there was a long period of no homo jokes, but still no outward homosexual stuff at work. Now, you’ve probably got a gay dude working on your floor. the truth is, a gay dude was always working on your floor, you just didn’t know it. now, he’s ok to be himself and not get harrassed non-stop. pc-ness is the stupid, but necessary step to get to the point where people can be themselves and pc-ness will go away.

same thing with asian stuff. used to be funny to act like a stereotypical chinaman and say “ahhh ussa wise grasshoppa!”, but when you got a chinese guy and a japanese chick in your office, not so funny. then some time goes by and there’s no racial jokes… then more time goes by and one of your asian buddies tells a cracker joke that just about makes your eyes bleed it’s so damn funny. then it’s all ok again.

everybody relax, it’ll all go back to normal someday… but along with merry xmas, you’ll be saying happy Kwanza.

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totaly agree and your additions are welcome.

I could write on this topic for chapters - but won’t

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I’m not that important.