Belgium: Muslim Politician Negotiates Suppression of "Offensive" Word

Belgium: Muslim Politician Negotiates Suppression of “Offensive” Word

See below for backgground on this.

The city of Ghent is going to delete the word “allochtone” from its “accord de majorité” and from daily use. “The suppression of the word ‘allochtone’ is the beginning of a new policy of integration”, explains Resul Tapmaz (sp.a), deputy burgomaster in charge of Equal Opportunities, in several Dutch-language newspapers. According to the deputy burgomaster, the parties concerned are themselves demanding the suppression of this word. “You see it in the streets, the Ghentians with origins elsewhere are not happy with this label. They feel like Ghentians, not ‘allochtones.’”

Specifically, the city wants to suppress the word “allochtone” from the “accord de majorité”, in which it occurs 15 times, and replace it with terms such as “ethnic or cultural minorities”, “Ghentian Turks”, or even “first arrivals”.

Source: LaLibre.be

First, Resul Tapmaz is of Turkish origin, so presumably a Muslim.

Second, as far as I can tell an “accord de majorité” is a political agreement that defines the agenda to be pursued by a government formed by a coalition of smaller parties.

Third, ‘allochtone’ is a word that started to be used in Dutch language discourse then spread to French. It means someone of immigrant origin, even if they are not first generation immigrants. So, in practice, it refers to Europe’s third-world colonist population. The word ‘allocthonous’ is sometimes used in English but hasn’t really caught on in reference to immigrants. There isn’t really a direct equivalent in English. This is why I sometimes use the word ‘alien’.

In essence, the aliens are now demanding the suppression of any reference to their alienness.

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