'Latinx' and other woke 'inclusive language' has 'gone overboard,' warn liberal pundits: 'It's a joke'
Terms like 'Latinx' are 'more about the agenda-setting power of affluent White leftists,' one guest said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two liberal CNN guests admitted Thursday that they have grown tired of terms like "Latinx," arguing that supposed "inclusive language" is an invention of "White leftists" and not representative of the views of normal Americans.
When asked on "CNN Tonight" if the left was going "too far" with woke language requirements, commentator Van Jones admitted that he was "afraid" to speak out against "inclusive" language in public.
"Even people like myself, who are passionately committed to these causes," Jones said, have become "afraid to even talk on a Zoom call, because you might say the wrong word."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Van Jones said, "Even people like myself, who are passionately committed to these causes," and added he has become "afraid to even talk on a Zoom call, because you might say the wrong word." (REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon )
It is a mistake that comes with a high price, Jones said, as people who use the wrong words may "spend 15 minutes being lectured about something that nobody has even heard of six months ago [has become] required speech in polite company."
Another CNN guest, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, said that the left’s invention of terms like "Latinx" has gone too far.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think that we should be inclusive, I think we should be prepared to think about our language and use it in a way that obviously doesn’t dehumanize anybody," Kristof said.
"But I do think that we’ve gone overboard."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Latino voters in border states tell MSNBC they identify more with the Republican Party. (MSNBC/screengrab)
He focused on the term "Latinx," which Hispanic lawmakers in Connecticut are pushing to ban from government reports.
Connecticut State Rep. Geraldo Reyes Jr. argued that Latinx is a "woke" term and is offensive to many Puerto Ricans in Connecticut, according to the Associated Press.
A recent Pew Research poll also found that only 3 percent of American Latinos and Hispanics actually use the term "Latinx" to describe themselves.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kristoff added that Rep. Richie Torres, who is an Afro-Latino, said that use of the term "Latinx" probably "says more about the agenda-setting power of affluent white leftists than it does about the interests of working class Latinos."
The New York Times columnist also argued that Americans who live outside of major cities "feel excluded" because "well-educated" and often "urban liberals" are inventing these new terms.
"They don’t know where to tread. They resent it," Kristoff said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Times columnist said that terms like "Latinx" hurt Democrats and help politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
It is a development that Kristoff explained is bad news for the Democratic Party, and good news for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"I think that makes them more likely to vote against their economic interest and to support somebody like Governor DeSantis. So, coming at this from a liberal [perspective], I think that our efforts to be inclusive have actually been counterproductive."
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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