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Editorial| Volume 19, ISSUE 5, P375-377, May 2018

Language as an Application of Mindfulness

      In December 2017, word spread that staff and scientists in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were prohibited from using seven words or phrases: vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidence-based, and science-based. One month later, it was reported that avoiding those terms was not actually a mandate but rather a suggestion. “Nobody ever told them they couldn't use these seven words. It was just said, 'if you think these words would cause someone to jump to a conclusion, then use a substitute. But if there isn't a good substitute, then go ahead and use the word.”

      Cohen E. The truth about those 7 words “banned” at the CDC. Available at: https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/11/health/cdc-word-ban-hhs-document/index.html. Accessed February 19, 2018.

      That same report indicated that under the Obama administration, “gun control” was considered a sensitive term, as was “intimate” partner violence under the Bush administration.
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      References

      1. Sun LH, Eilperin J. CDC gets list of forbidden words: Fetus, transgender, diversity. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/cdc-gets-list-of-forbidden-words-fetus-transgender-diversity/2017/12/15/f503837a-e1cf-11e7-89e8-edec16379010_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.aa543ce3a794&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1. Accessed February 19, 2018.

      2. Cohen E. The truth about those 7 words “banned” at the CDC. Available at: https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/11/health/cdc-word-ban-hhs-document/index.html. Accessed February 19, 2018.

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      3. Perlman M. How not to adjectify. Available at: https://www.cjr.org/analysis/how-not-to-adjectify.php. Accessed February 19, 2018.

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