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| Sam Leith 9-July-2020 |
First they came for the statues of slave traders and confederate generals, and many of us applauded. Then they came for the name of the Dixie Chicks — and most of us were pretty relaxed about that too. But now the cultural moment is coming for, of all things, Scrabble.
The North American Scrabble Players’ Association has called for 238 “slurs” to be banned from the game on the grounds of their offensiveness — including not only the obvious racial epithets but terms such as “wrinklies” (offensive to old people), “papist” (Catholics) and “Jesuit” (apparently offensive to followers of St Ignatius of Loyola, though this seems to me highly questionable). John Chew, the association’s Chief Executive Officer says@
The North American Scrabble Players’ Association has called for 238 “slurs” to be banned from the game on the grounds of their offensiveness — including not only the obvious racial epithets but terms such as “wrinklies” (offensive to old people), “papist” (Catholics) and “Jesuit” (apparently offensive to followers of St Ignatius of Loyola, though this seems to me highly questionable). John Chew, the association’s Chief Executive Officer says@
“When we play a slur,” we are declaring that our desire to score points in a word game is of more value to us than the slur’s broader function as a way to oppress a group of people.
There’s no certainty yet that this daft idea is going to catch hold.
Continue reading @ UnHerd.
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