I acknowledge that language shapes the way people think. But the replacement of cost-benefit analysis and evidence-based debate with arguments regarding the connotations that different words pull in has been a huge mistake in my view.
There might have been a point at which language policing was done in good faith. But I strongly suspect that the replacement of the word felon with the term justice-involved person is essentially attempting a fait accompli on a debate regarding the extent to which convicted criminals should be considered culpable for their crimes. The problem with this mode of debating is that winning correlates with the ability to wield social power, not with having facts on your side.
There might have been a point at which language policing was done in good faith. But I strongly suspect that the replacement of the word felon with the term justice-involved person is essentially attempting a fait accompli on a debate regarding the extent to which convicted criminals should be considered culpable for their crimes. The problem with this mode of debating is that winning correlates with the ability to wield social power, not with having facts on your side.