No CDC ban :(
So I had a surreal moment of disappointment over a situation being less bad than I thought.
I’m talking about yesterday’s news that the Trump administration banned 7 words/phrases from appearing in any future CDC publication. The list included things like “diversity” and “evidence-based.” It turns out things aren’t quite that bad - instead of a fiat from on high, this was an internal list of terms to avoid when asking for funding from a Republican-controlled legislature.
The reason this disappointed me was because I’d had an idea. I was about to promote it when I learned the people who work for the CDC aren’t being forcibly censored, which would be much easier to resist than what's really happening.
It’s a moot point now, but I’d like to share my idea because of how much enjoyment I get from it, and I think others might too.
Here it is: In every publication, note, and memo - use those banned terms as frequently as possible. Not to a ridiculous extent, but take every available opportunity to use them. Then, before publishing, use Find-and-Replace to change all those terms to… Pokemon.
Okay there would be some licensing fees and whatnot, but I like to think Japan would be reasonable about such a great idea. Replace every ‘fetus’ with ‘squirtle,’ every ‘transgender’ with ‘butterfree,’ and every ‘vulnerable’ with ‘geodude.’ Every scrap of text from the CDC would instantly go viral. Don’t worry about the substitutions sounding grammatically incorrect - sounding ridiculous is the point. It serves as a blatant mockery of wannabe oppressors, while still technically following orders. Send the clear message: “We are not afraid of you.” Show the autocrats they are small and that the adults in the room do not respect them.
My suggested pokemon were going to be squirtle, butterfree, geodude, wooper, sneasel, spoink, and bidoof.
Choosing which Pokemon should be on the list was a challenge. They have to sound silly enough to communicate the ridiculousness of the situation, be pronounceable, and be so obviously Pokemon that even someone who knows nothing about the franchise can tell at a glance. Those were the seven that I thought were best.
Honorable mentions: Clefairy, jigglypuff, woobat, turtwig, trubbish, foongus, cubchoo, mewtwo, slurpuff, guzzlord, buzzwole, and wurmple.
The 'banned' words, just for reference: fetus, diversity, transgender, vulnerable, entitlement, science-based, and evidence-based.
So... that list must indicate the worst bogeymen of today's Republican politicians. A non-homogenous population, human rights/autonomy, and the existence of objective facts. We live in strange times.
I’m talking about yesterday’s news that the Trump administration banned 7 words/phrases from appearing in any future CDC publication. The list included things like “diversity” and “evidence-based.” It turns out things aren’t quite that bad - instead of a fiat from on high, this was an internal list of terms to avoid when asking for funding from a Republican-controlled legislature.
The reason this disappointed me was because I’d had an idea. I was about to promote it when I learned the people who work for the CDC aren’t being forcibly censored, which would be much easier to resist than what's really happening.
It’s a moot point now, but I’d like to share my idea because of how much enjoyment I get from it, and I think others might too.
Here it is: In every publication, note, and memo - use those banned terms as frequently as possible. Not to a ridiculous extent, but take every available opportunity to use them. Then, before publishing, use Find-and-Replace to change all those terms to… Pokemon.
Okay there would be some licensing fees and whatnot, but I like to think Japan would be reasonable about such a great idea. Replace every ‘fetus’ with ‘squirtle,’ every ‘transgender’ with ‘butterfree,’ and every ‘vulnerable’ with ‘geodude.’ Every scrap of text from the CDC would instantly go viral. Don’t worry about the substitutions sounding grammatically incorrect - sounding ridiculous is the point. It serves as a blatant mockery of wannabe oppressors, while still technically following orders. Send the clear message: “We are not afraid of you.” Show the autocrats they are small and that the adults in the room do not respect them.
My suggested pokemon were going to be squirtle, butterfree, geodude, wooper, sneasel, spoink, and bidoof.
Choosing which Pokemon should be on the list was a challenge. They have to sound silly enough to communicate the ridiculousness of the situation, be pronounceable, and be so obviously Pokemon that even someone who knows nothing about the franchise can tell at a glance. Those were the seven that I thought were best.
Honorable mentions: Clefairy, jigglypuff, woobat, turtwig, trubbish, foongus, cubchoo, mewtwo, slurpuff, guzzlord, buzzwole, and wurmple.
The 'banned' words, just for reference: fetus, diversity, transgender, vulnerable, entitlement, science-based, and evidence-based.
So... that list must indicate the worst bogeymen of today's Republican politicians. A non-homogenous population, human rights/autonomy, and the existence of objective facts. We live in strange times.