Kevin Kelly
Aug 15, 2021

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There has been one instance if this occurring; last year Merriam-Webster changed their definition of “racism” to lean more towards the social justice-based redefinition. This happened around the time that George Floyd died, after a recent college graduate in Missouri wrote to them. I’ve never been totally clear, looking at their new wording, if they meant it as something that virtually only whites can be guilty of or if anybody can still be capable of it.

That’s the only time I’ve noticed such a thing happening, though. All the other dictionaries I’ve seen, like Oxford (US) and American Heritage, have thankfully held strong to the common definition of racism, which includes simple dislike of people from certain races.

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Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly

Written by Kevin Kelly

Poetry & opinion writer, nature lover and Upstate New Yorker.

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