Stanford University is facing significant backlash for their “Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative” that is being taught to students.

Earlier this year, Stanford released an index of “harmful language” they argue should be eliminated from the University’s website and code. According to the initaitive, “the purpose of this website is to educate people about the possible impact of the words we use. Language affects different people in different ways… This website focues on potentially harmful terms used in the United States, starting with a list of everyday language and terminology.”

We’ve seen over the last decade how academia has argued that certain words should no longer be used in everyday life. The term “mankind,” for example has been continually criticized for being sexist, and many have begun to replace it with “humankind.” Terms that traditionally have been used for individuals with cognitive disabilities like “retarded” have also become less common because some argue they are offensive.

But Stanford’s list goes well beyond examples like this. The list includes most gendered terms like “ladies,” “she,” “he,” “guys,” and any profession that ends in “man” like “fireman” or “mailman.” They argue that these words “lump a group of people together into gender binary groups which don’t include everyone.”

There are also words that have a supposedly negative racial connotation. The often-ridiculed term “Latinx” is on this list to replace “Hispanic.” But the words “brave,” “chief,” “guru,” and “tribe” are also deemed harmful because it is “culturally appropriative language.”

Then there are some terms on this list that most people would have no clue as to why it’s deemed offensive. Terms like “victim,” “thug,” and “abort” are apparently offensive. But the most shocking word on this list: “American.” Apparently, the word “American” is offensive because it “often refers to people from the United States only, thereby insinuating that the U.S. is the most important country in the Americas.” Stanford says you should us the term “U.S. citizen instead.”

There has been an all-out assault on words and speech in American culture the last few years. The left has realized that if they can control the words you say, they can control how you think. To do this, they constantly move the goalpost so you never fulfill their arbitrary requirements.

Take the term “BIPOC,” for example, a term used to refer to black, indigenous, and people of color. The implementation of this term arose because saying the phrase “person of color” is now deemed racist and offensive. But that term was used after the phrase “colored person” was deemed racist and offensive as well. If you let the left continually force you to change your speech, they will never stop.

There’s a difference between avoiding terms that have negative connotations and changing words because you want someone to have the same worldview as you. We should all try to speak with as much compassion and inclusiveness as we can, but we should not stop using words that clearly have no ill will behind them. Remember that it is best to judge someone by their intent, not your interpretation. Condemning those around you for using “improper terms” that are really just normal, everyday words does nothing to help society. It only helps you feel good about yourself by virtual signaling.