It seems you’re speaking of conversation killers. I think they can sometimes have their place in a conversation and a person who is striving towards a more rational discourse might be wise to choose to use these categorizations as an opportunity to combat stereotypes. “What do you mean when you say [buzzword]? How does this apply to me and our conversation?” There are many ways to kill a conversation. Disallowing certain words and phrases can be one of them but so does allowing certain words and phrases when one is unprepared. I find “white privilege” and “whiteness” to be useful in certain contexts. But not every one understands what they mean and don’t mean. If someone was to take offense or forbid me from furthering the dialogue because they did not understand my usage and how it applies, it can effectively shuts down conversation. Yet, if a conversation degrades to us/them, will banning certain words and phrases help? It may, *if* the community decides ahead of time on “what is a personal attack vs what is descriptive/shorthand”. Being stereotyped inappropriately sucks. I suggest when encountering labels that do not fit, take the time to explain why you differ from that stereotype, if you indeed do. But “all labels are bad” can be a conversation stopper.

It seems you’re speaking of conversation killers.

I think they can sometimes have their place in a conversation and a person who is striving towards a more rational discourse might be wise to choose to use these categorizations as an opportunity to combat stereotypes.  “What do you mean when you say [buzzword]?  How does this apply to me and our conversation?”

There are many ways to kill a conversation.  Disallowing certain words and phrases can be one of them but so does allowing certain words and phrases when one is unprepared.

I find “white privilege” and “whiteness” to be useful in certain contexts.  But not every one understands what they mean and don’t mean.  If someone was to take offense or forbid me from furthering the dialogue because they did not understand my usage and how it applies, it can effectively shuts down conversation.

Yet, if a conversation degrades to us/them, will banning certain words and phrases help?

It may, *if* the community decides ahead of time on “what is a personal attack vs what is descriptive/shorthand”.

Being stereotyped inappropriately sucks.  I suggest when encountering labels that do not fit, take the time to explain why you differ from that stereotype, if you indeed do.

But “all labels are bad” can be a conversation stopper.

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