The city is experiencing a late fall warm snap. This is the term I came up with because I think the term Indian Summer is no longer appropriate.
History is a little foggy on the origins of the expression. Some think it refers to the time when Native Americans would cease their raids on European colonies at the end of Autumn. Others think it had to do with the time of the native harvest. Regardless, using the term Indian to refer to Native Americans has been well established as inappropriate, not to mention a rather embarrassing misnomer by those who thought they discovered a cheap route to India. Hence, late fall warm snap.
Cultural and social sensitivity is a hard thing to manage. Mostly because as complex a species as humans are, we are slow to change. We get used to referring to things in a certain way. If you ask us to alter our language to avoid offending a particular segment of the population, the reaction is either rolled eyes or outright defiance.
Most of us don't give a lot of thought to the terminology we use, nor do we intentionally choose words to offend others. That is unless they cut us off in traffic. Nonetheless, the evolution of our language is a natural and oft times necessary way in which society progresses. I'm not referring to overt political correctness which is used more as a weapon than a tool. It is rather the process by which our language separates itself from words designed to exclude and deride the people it is meant to serve.
English, which is the mutt of human languages, is an interesting example of this. Borrowing from several sources, including the Germanic and Latin-based languages, English is remarkable for its capacity to have a multitude of ways to say the same thing. It is extremely flexible and very quick to adapt to new circumstances, viewpoints and innovation.
English is likely second to the various dialects of Chinese as the most commonly used language on the planet. While it can be exceedingly complex, this complexity combined with its flexibility also makes it one of the simplest of languages in terms of basic communication.
There a several words in our lexicon that we as a society have either abandoned or deemed forbidden due to extreme cultural and social insensitivity. Some terms have changed because of stigma and/or an evolved understanding. For example, 'manic depressive' has been replaced by the more accurate term 'bipolar.' Then there are words and terms that have become so offensive due their significance in history that they have been all but dropped from common parlance. These are words designed to do more than offend, but rather oppress, subjugate and stir hatred. No need to cite examples here.
Though we might find ourselves bemused or even annoyed by those that encourage an enlightened use of terminology, we have to accept that the language we chose has tremendous power. Words and expressions used as little as fifty years ago might have many of us squirming uncomfortably in our seats.
The only way in which a society can move forward is to find ways for itself to be more inclusive. We already know that creating and encouraging divisions amongst people only leads to resentment and conflict. If it is a language, or languages, that bind us, then they must allow differences to be celebrated and not used divide. Words and terminology should represent dignity in that which makes us unique, and not bring down derision upon those that do not conform to an arbitrary definition of the norm.
As a species, we humans come in many sizes, shapes and colours. There are two sexes with more than a few sexual orientations. We come from many places, north and south, east and west, with more variations of culture than you can imagine. We probably have more differences than similarities and yet we share a common humanity. With so much to discover and learn from one another why on Earth would we want to choose a language that doesn't allow us to truly communicate?
So, late fall warm snap it is.
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