Wash. lawmaker wants to banish negative language

Rather amusing:

"Decades ago, poor children became known as "disadvantaged" to soften the stigma of poverty. Then they were "at-risk." Now, a Washington lawmaker wants to replace those euphemisms with a new one, "at hope."

Democratic State Sen. Rosa Franklin says negative labels are hurting kids' chances for success and she's not a bit concerned that people will be confused by her proposed rewrite of the 54 places in state law where words like "at risk" and "disadvantaged" are used.

The bill has gotten a warm welcome among fellow lawmakers, state officials and advocacy groups. "We really put too many negatives on our kids," says Franklin, who is the state Senate's president pro tem. "We need to come up with positive terms."

Positive labeling is more than a gimmick or political correctness, Franklin says. She believes her idea could lead to a paradigm shift in state government and to changes in classrooms across the state....

Wally Endicott, the northwest director of the Phoenix-based Children of Hope, says he was excited to talk to Franklin about the bill. But he is not thrilled with the idea of using "children at hope" to refer just to the disadvantaged. His group uses the concept to talk about all kids, not just those in poverty, because all children have obstacles to their success.

If Franklin's proposal is approved, Pink has no doubts the idea has the potential to catch on quickly. Years from now, he says, "at hope" could even make Lake Superior's List of Banished Words.

Source

The stupid Leftist belief in verbal magic again. People will realize very quickly that "at hope" means "dummy" and will use "at hope" mockingly -- so nothing positive will be achieved. It may even lead to dummies being treated more scornfully.

Posted by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).