Word scrubbing: Unintended consequences

About a month ago, a list of words began to circulate. Words, that if found in a grant application, resulted in revocation or rejection. One of those words is “trauma.”

Sadly, because the slash-and-burn mentality seems to prevail, it appears that no forethought was given to the broader usage of “trauma.” I’m suspecting the scrubbing of this word is related to policies and programs designed to support people who have been victimized in some way, people who accuse others of misdeeds. it also refers to programs designed to interrupt the structural issues related to a variety of also scrubbed words, another of which is women. Another group of people targeted with disrespect and showered with contempt.

Here’s who got left out when these two words were scrubbed. People who are in serious MVAs (motor vehicle accidents), GSWs (gunshot wounds), or whose bodies have by some other processes have been badly injured. War heroes who were mortally injured yet who carried others to safety as they died. The mothers of the people who seem to be slashing away at language and culture. Their daughters. Survivors of Hurricane Helene. The fires in LA. And more.

Federal project officers at National Science Foundation released the list of words that cause extra scrutiny and possibly stop orders. It’s good to know what those are. Presence of any of the following words in a grant or grant application now prompts a review at NSF:

• activism, activists, advocacy, advocate, backgrounds, barrier, barriers, biased, bias, BIPOC, Black and Latinx

• community diversity, community equity, cultural differences, cultural heritage, culturally responsive

• disabilities, discrimination, discriminatory, diversified, diversify

• enhancing, equal opportunity, equality, equitable, ethnicity, excluded

• female, fostering, gender, groups, hate speech, Hispanic minority, historically, implicit bias

• inclusion, inclusive, increase, indigenous community, inequalities, inequities, institutional

• justice, LGBTQ, marginalize, minorities, multicultural, polarization, political, prejudice, privilege, promoting

• race, racial, sense of belonging, sexual preferences, social justice, sociocultural, socioeconomic, status, stereotypes, systemic

• trauma, underappreciated, underrepresented, underserved, victims, women

What’s missing is as interesting as what’s present.