Call a spade a spade

Be sure to check out John McIntyre's latest post at You Don't Say.

He explains why it's OK to call corrections officers guards. And people who do social work social workers. And teachers teachers — even if they don't have a teaching certificate.

Greg Garland, an industrious and careful reporter who has written about upheaval in the state prison system, has received a note from a correctional officer complaining ... at The Sun’s use of the word guard. Corrections personnel often find the word demeaning and offensive.

Replying, Greg explained that editors here “see the word ‘guard’ as descriptive of what these people do rather than as a slur. In fact, correctional officers ‘guard’ us from the bad guys who are housed in prison and they traditionally have been known as ‘prison guards.’ It is not intended to denigrate the work being done by those who hold the job.”