Council bans brainstorming (Word is deemed offensive to epileptics; hundreds of staff retrained)

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in Kent was accused of taking political correctness to extremes after instructing staff to make the change.

The move came as council chiefs feared the word brainstorming might offend mentally ill people and those with epilepsy.

The buzz term is often used by executives to generate ideas among their staff.

But memos have been sent to staff asking them not to use it and some have been given training which encouraged them to use the alternative of thought showers.

Even charities representing epileptics said the ban was taking political correctness too far.

Margaret Thomas, of the National Society for Epilepsy, said: "Brainstorming is a clear and descriptive phrase.

"Alternatives such as thought shower or blue-sky thinking are ambiguous to say the least.

"Any implication that the word brainstorming is offensive to epileptics takes political correctness too far."

Richard Colwill, of mental health charity SANE, said: "This ban goes too far. Few would be genuinely offended by the word brainstorming in the context of council meetings."

A spokesman for Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in Kent said: "We take diversity awareness very seriously.

Others need to be retrained just because some folks have a fit about a word?

One of the hazards of Governmental organizations...when utterly insane, hysterical and incompetent people are placed in managerial positions, the entire organization is forced to reflect their psychoses :-)

From the Online Etymology Dictionary:

Brainstorm "brilliant idea, mental excitement" is 1849; verb is from 1920s.

It predates the "medical" definition regarding epileptics.

I hate when pressure groups, 'activists', and others steal our language.

thought meters and put the whole of the world leftist party in the slammer.

Oh, thank goodness I read to the end of the sentence.

I was so afraid it would be like a parking meter: Drop your dime, and think offensively until the meter ran out, then get a thinking ticket from the meter maid for overtime thinking....

Lol Perhaps we had best say nothing, because nothing we say can be pleasing to EVERYONE, and following this insane logic means that there is NOTHING that can be said.

Better to beat the crap out of fools like this, since apparently a physical beating is less offensive to the masses of the “Potentially” offended... this way at least it’s specific to that particular idiot.

Uh hua....

Where is my coffee? My head hurts now.....

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Council bans brainstorming

A council has banned the term "brainstorming" and replaced it with "thought showers".