In Seattle, a policy against “citizen,” but “peasant” and “serf” ok

(This article was originally published on the Freedom Foundation blog on August 5, 2013, written by Glen Morgan, while he was the Property Rights Director at the Freedom Foundation.  The original article posting was deleted by the Freedom Foundation in 2017.  It has been reposted here exactly as it was originally written. Some links no longer work and have been removed and some original images are no longer included in the article)

Last week, the City of Seattle made the national news once again. Elliott Bronstein of the Office for Civil Rights wrote in the original memo obtained by Fox News that “citizen” will no longer be a word that employees of the City of Seattle can use. The rationale: a “non-citizen” might be offended. 

This was an effort to justify their job description, salary and the office space they fill on the taxpayer’s dime. It is understandable that bureaucrats need to justify their existence, particularly when they have little tangible value to contribute. Elliott Bronstein needed to justify his job and came up with stuff to put in this memo. Nevertheless, it is just the latest story that makes the City of Seattle an object of national ridicule. 

Is it really necessary that our tax dollars subsidize this pointless, worthless behavior? The folks who spent the time writing this memo need to be put on tasks of value. Sweep the sidewalk. Pick up trash. Do something worthwhile so that the citizens of the City of Seattle get at least a modicum of value for their squandered tax dollars.

Meanwhile, there doesn’t seem to be an official policy at the City of Seattle against using the words “serf” or “peasant,” so they can still call us those words when they talk down to us.

Update:  It has been pointed out to me by Facebook comments that the City of Seattle employees would also be allowed to call us “Comrade,” “Subjects,” “Suckers,” and “Sheeple.”  Thank you for the updates.

Political Correctness

Author

Glen Morgan

Property Rights Director

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