(Casey Harper, The Center Square) The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s speech directives for scientists have come under fire for embracing critical race theory and gender ideology ideas.
The Center Square recently reported on the NIST’s “Inclusive Language Guidance,” which tells scientists which words or phrases they can or cannot use in reports.
The guidance, for example, tells federal employees to avoid using the terms “blacklist” or “whitelist” because of the racial connotations and also cautions against “using terms that assign a gender to inanimate objects, such as male/female connectors.”
The guidance also tells report writers to “avoid terms such as master/slave that perpetuate negative stereotypes or unequal power relationships.”
“This new language code by the National Institute of Standards and Technology is one more sign that the Biden Administration in only going deeper and deeper into the racialization and sexualization of everything,” Mike Gonzalez, an expert at the Heritage Foundation, told The Center Square. “It puts the ruinous critical race theory and gender theory on steroids.”
The NIST is a federal agency created to help the U.S. innovate and compete scientifically and technologically with its rivals like China. Congress appropriated about $1.65 billion for the group for 2023.
Many scientists and researchers have begun raising the alarm about the rising politicization of scientific research and related agencies.
“Where most people might regard the sciences as somehow immune from politics, in fact it has taken over the sciences thoroughly, and in so doing, has corrupted the sciences thoroughly,” Scott Turner, who works with the National Association of Scholars, told The Center Square. “As a result, science is no longer the trustworthy source of objective knowledge and advice that the public has long believed.”
The NIST is not the only entity putting its attention and taxpayer funds into these efforts as it struggles to keep pace with its key mission. The trend has become common across federal agencies.
“This is not just a waste of time; prioritizing these nonsense issues comes with a cost,” Gonzalez said. “The NIST is supposed to help us stay technologically ahead of our enemies, particularly China. Taking our eyes off the ball to carry out a witch-hunt for terminology that fits the new orthodoxy is not just an Orwellian foray into language, but it puts us at a disadvantage.”
Jennifer Huergo, a spokesperson for NIST, defended the guidance, telling The Center Square that it “was created primarily for the benefit of NIST staff experts…”
“Use of inclusive language helps to avoid potential gaps in understanding that could arise from the use of colloquial or idiomatic expressions that are rooted in particular historical events or regional dialects,” she said.
Turner, Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York System, said the focus risks the U.S’ “scientific edge.”
“Of all institutions, the National Institute of Standards and Technology… should be immune from politics and ideology,” he said. “The definition of the meter, the determination of the second, the mass of the kilogram, the scale of temperature, has no political dimension whatsoever. The directives to control the meaning of words and phrases is simply the nose in the camel’s tent that will ultimately destroy the United States’ diminishing technical and scientific edge.
“Our scientists need to keep their eyes on the ball, focused on their research,” he added. “The issuance of this new guidance will only make them constantly look over their shoulder, worrying about how to state this fact or that one, rather than engaging in truth discovery without fearing Stalinist diktats.”
Lawmakers recently hammered the Pentagon for investing heavily in critical race theory and gender ideology. The National Institutes of Health has done so as well, along with other agencies.
“President Biden and his Administration continue to push aside real priorities across the government and drive us farther into debt by spending taxpayer dollars on woke, weaponized, and wasteful initiatives,” Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., told The Center Square. “The Department of Defense is undermining our national security by focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. Now that Republicans control the House, we cannot hand a blank check to political officials at the Pentagon.”
