We're accustomed to hearing this kind of story out of the Big Three of Texas, Florida, and Kansas, as part of their years-long rivalry for the crown of Dumbest State in the Union. But no, this time it's Southern California:
Dictionaries have been removed from classrooms in southern California schools after a parent complained about a child reading the definition for "oral sex".
Merriam Webster's 10th edition, which has been used for the past few years in fourth and fifth grade classrooms (for children aged nine to 10) in Menifee Union school district, has been pulled from shelves over fears that the "sexually graphic" entry is "just not age appropriate", according to the area's local paper.
The dictionary's online definition of the term is "oral stimulation of the genitals". "It's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature," district spokeswoman Betti Cadmus told the paper.
Hat tip to
jwz, who quoted a relevant passage:
"In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every year fewer and fewer words, and the range of consciousness always a little smaller. There's no reason or excuse for committing thoughtcrime. The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect."
Wouldn't it be nice if adults, in the process of guiding children, started acting like adults?
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