You May No Longer Say Someone is Outstanding in their Field

She's outstanding in her field

 It offends the easily offended. At the Free Bacon, Michigan Cites Racism in Decision To Ban Term 'Field Worker' ‘While the widespread use of this term is not intended to be harmful, we cannot ignore the impact its use has on our employees’

Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services says it will no longer use the words "field worker" in agency communications, citing the term's "implication for descendants of enslaved Black and Brown individuals."

The department said "staff and stakeholders have raised concerns" about the term’s allegedly racist connotations, according to a January 4 memo obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

"While the widespread use of this term is not intended to be harmful, we cannot ignore the impact its use has on our employees," the memo reads. "Establishing shared language is essential to our collective progress."

 

The memo came from Demetrius Starling, the director of the department’s Children’s Services Agency, and Dwayne Haywood, the director of the department’s Economic Stability Administration, neither of whom responded to requests for comment. Its letterhead includes Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer (D.), who in 2021 mandated "implicit bias training" for all health professionals in the state.

 

The government of Michigan is not the only progressive body to put "field" out to pasture. On Monday, the University of Southern California’s school of social work announced that it had removed the term from its curriculum, citing the need to "reject white supremacy."

"This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that could be considered anti-Black or anti-immigrant," an email from the university’s education department said. "Phrases such as ‘going into the field’ or ‘field work’ may have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigrant workers that are not benign."

Formerly known as the "field education department," the school’s education program will now be called the "practicum education department."

Sheer lunacy. Back when I was an active scientist, "field work" was the best part.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: 2B or not 2B up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.