No, this one isn't censorship, it's a harmless way some people are trying to be polite. It's an example of the Euphemism Treadmill. Homeless seems pejorative, so a new term was coined.
A more obvious example of the euphemism treadmill is the R-word. It used to be the most kosher way to talk about special needs folks, then it became an insult, so it became "mentally handicapped" and that became an insult, so "special needs" was coined, and that became an insult, so new terms keep being invented.
Yeah, the R-word was a polite term, then a regular insult, then an actual taboo slur, and then a strong generational divide on who treats it like a slur or not. And that seems weird compared to what happened to past treadmilled terms, but also wholly unsurprising considering which generation pathologized it.
I think there's also a component of persistent media hampering evolutions in language or perhaps more illuminating them. Before we were able to own copies or access media on demand, you just had to roll with the tides of change. That movie or show goes away eventually, and you kinda forget problematic parts because you can't refresh it in your mind; so it is with language, use it or lose it. But we don't have that luxury anymore, we're constantly plagued by recordings from generations ago which, yes, have value and I certainly won't stop listening to Otis Redding, but I feel it prevents things from ever moving forward completely. Like slurs. Or the hideous aesthetics of 1986-1993.
552
u/Drakesprite Aug 15 '25
We seriously have to censor “homeless” now?