I think I’ve coined a new word….wordaphobic. It means being afraid to use a word — any word — that might, somehow, maybe, perhaps, offend someone, somewhere, someplace!

This process began many years ago when a janitor became a custodian…..a garbage collector morphed into a maintenance worker. There was nothing wrong with either of the original job descriptions……but, in a move to equality, we HAD to relabel many jobs and things in our society so no one’s feelings were hurt.

I’m not saying there weren’t pejorative words that hurt. Many of my generation, including me, were bullied at some point in our lives. The difference is that we didn’t try to change the bully, we ignored them. We complained to our friends and parents….and, then, we realized the bully had the problem, not us…..and, we moved on.

The Woke Community of today, though, does not believe that adults are mature enough to weather derogatory talk….or, words. It would seem that their motivation is to protect society from words they deem to be hurtful. But, underlying their language control is a more sinister motivation. They want control.

If they can control conversations, they can control society in many more ways. Witness the lockdowns that destroyed businesses and children’s learning. The Woke culture is working for mind control and then, control of all phases of life.

It might seem a jump to go from word suppression to mind control and then complete control of society, but that is often how dictatorships gain dominance. First, they mandate only certain types of public speech are allowed. Then, they corral those who speak out anyway. Next is to divide society into “approved” groups and attach labels to unapproved groups. Then, an “expert”, or governmental bureaucrat, begins to order even personal lives and businesses. At this point, we have a dictatorship.

So, I was appalled today to find that the word “indian” was not accepted in a word game. It had all the right letters and length. But, obviously, it is an unaccepted word despite there being Indian tribes on reservations all over the United States. I have a distant Menominee Grandmother and it is likely that others here in Wisconsin do, too. We’re proud of that connection and see no harm in the word “indian”.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, though, because the Lie-berals have already condemned so many words and created terms to divide Americans into the Woke Society — those who know what is right for everyone — and the rest of us peons who simply need to be re-educated.

It’s time to give individuals back the right to speak freely without the media excoriating them for their “wrong” ideas. Stop calling all Caucasians “white supremacists”. Stop telling me I have to guard my words because someone else doesn’t like them. Tell the college kids that part of Life is being tolerant and they do not have the right to suppress free speech. Tell them to grow up and act like adults if they want to be treated like adults.

So, while I would never intentionally try to hurt someone with my words or actions, I fully intend to keep using words as I see fit! Yes, I am Caucasian and NOT a white supremacist. Yes, I have Indian blood in me and am proud of it. And, yes, I will defend my right to say or do these things from any Wordaphobic!