Progressives have been attempting to destroy our language for years in an effort to tilt the scales of opinion in their favor. Unfortunately, they are often effective at this ruse, and their ability—in cahoots with most of the nation’s media—to change or even delete common words from our vernacular often gives them an edge in the battles of political ideas.

Illinois lawmakers are taking this assault on language to a new level of absurdity: They want you to refer to criminals as “justice-impacted individuals.” I kid you not. The lunacy is off the charts, but don’t be surprised if MSNBC, CNN, and the New York Times soon start using this ridiculous terminology.

Democrats in Illinois introduced HB 4409 which changes the word "offenders" to "justice-impacted individuals" in official language.

The left's continuous euthanization of our language distorts the truth and in this case, downplays criminal behavior.

The bill passed both houses… pic.twitter.com/3zrKR233uS

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 22, 2024

Not only is the idea just plain stupid, it would be expensive:

"Over and over again, we keep changing the name of how we are referring to those who have entered into criminal activity and each time we make that change, each agency has to make that change on every one of their documents," Republican State Sen. Terri Bryant said during a Tuesday hearing, according to The Center Square. "Right now in the Department of Corrections, there's multiple changes that have been made and it’s costing thousands and thousands of dollars just to do a name change. Why is it necessary to make the name change?"

Not surprisingly, the ludicrous legislation is being sponsored by Democrats, namely State Reps. Kelly M. Cassidy and Lindsey LaPointe and Democratic state Sens. Robert Peters, Mike Simmons, and Adriane Johnson. 

Their Republican counterparts point out just how unserious such semantic games are:

One Republican also said the name change is offensive to victims of violent crime.

“There seems to be this rush to take away all accountability for people who commit crimes. If a person is going to get on the right path, they have to know they did something wrong. This apologizing for the criminal, the person who chooses to commit crimes to the detriment of our victims, the people who don’t choose to be victims of crimes, is absolutely incredible,” state Sen. Steve McClure (R) said.

The proposed wording passed both the Illinois Senate and House and is now on its way to J. B. Pritzker’s desk, where the far-left governor will presumably sign it without a thought. 

All of this effort being spent by Democrats to placate criminals.

Meanwhile, law-abiding Americans are being ignored and allowed to become victims.

Why would anyone ever willingly move into a Democrat-led jurisdiction?

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) May 22, 2024

This story may seem insignificant, and the word change might strike one as laughable. However, it’s anything but funny: the constant leftist attacks on our language have been a success—if you’re a Democrat. Think of all the garbage they’ve tried to foist on us: a mother is now a "birthing person," an individual of Hispanic origin is "LatinX," a man in a dress is now a “woman,” those who lobby for terminating pregnancies are “reproductive health advocates.” The list goes on ad nauseam. Just think of the evolution of the word “bum”: we’ve gone from hobo (verboten nowadays) to vagrant, to homeless, to lately the “unhoused.” Mark my words; a new term will soon come into fashion, and they will try to cram it down our throats and shame anyone who doesn’t use it. 

And let's not forget: A pedophile is now a "minor-attracted person" (MAP).

The war on language has largely been dictated by the left, and it’s time we stopped going along with it. The antisemites protesting at campuses across our nation aren’t “pro-Palestinian"—call them what they are, pro-Hamas. Abortion is not "health care," it’s the termination of future babies. The people flooding our southern border are not “migrants,” they’re illegal aliens. 

Those who commit crimes are not “justice-affected individuals,” they’re criminals. I don’t oppose giving some of them a second chance after they’ve served their time, as this proposed wording change is apparently intended to facilitate, but stop telling me things are what they‘re not. 

More:

New Book Reveals Politico's Toxic Style Guide and Its Woke Assault on the English Language

You're FIRED! Portland Voters Hand Soft-on-Crime, Soros-Backed DA His Walking Papers

One reason people love RedState is that we don’t play those word games. When I write about border crashers, I call them “illegal aliens,” because that is factually what they are. When I write about Lia Thomas, I don’t call the swimmer “she” because that would be a lie. 

The big tech censors don’t like that, though, and they’ve been known to frequently come after us and demonetize our stories. One way we're able to bring you the reality that the mainstream media won't—and stay away from the censors—is through our VIP program.

Consider becoming a member today; you'll not only be supporting independent journalism, but you'll also get access to VIP stories, videos, and content not available to non-members—and most importantly IMHO, you'll get to participate in our raucous discussion boards.

Remember that a Gold-level account gets you access to all of our sister sites in Townhall Media: PJ Media, Twitchy, Hot Air, Bearing Arms, and Townhall.com.

If you're already a VIP member, all of us here at RedState are deeply grateful for your support. If you'd like to do more, you can give someone a gift membership (you just need their email address).

Use code SAVEAMERICA for a hefty 50% discount. Thank you for participating in the fight!