[Salon] And Then They Came For “The”: Associated Press Warns Use of the Article Can Be “Dehumanizing.”

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/01/27/and-then-they-came-for-the-associated-press-warns-use-of-the-article-can-be-dehumanizing/

And Then They Came For “The”: Associated Press Warns Use of the Article Can Be “Dehumanizing”

Bizarre, Media January 27, 2023

The Associated Press has announced that the article “the” should be avoided in many circumstances because it is “dehumanizing.” It warns writers to avoid saying things like “the French” is offensive. It does not seem that we can even just add an x like Latinx. It is not a gender thing so “thx” will not suffice. It is now an article of faith to stop using the article “the” in referencing groups.  It is reminiscent of Winston Churchill was chastised for ending a sentence with a preposition. He responded by showing the artificiality of avoiding an ending preposition: “This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.”

The AP declared that:

“We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing ‘the’ labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant,.”

Even the French Embassy responded with “Le” scorn.

What concerns me most is that this dehumanizing article has lingered in the English language for so long without being noticed until now. Even The editors of The Associated Press are shadowed with this vile, dehumanizing word. It is literally lurking on every computer and in every  dictionary.

The only option is decisive action. AP must take its ox cart through the streets and calling on people to bring out their “thes” for proper disposal. As for any French people encountered along the way, simply refer to them as “people associated with the nation of France.”