OK. Seriously folks. Why is dewd banned? I'm serious. How or where is this word offensive? I'm genuinely curious.
I'm just floored about this. If this is liberalism, I need to start looking into buying a gun 😱 and a flag pole for the front yard (I'm in the US). Maybe get a "build the wall" bumper sticker too. (BTW, in attempt to remain politically neutral, I mean no offense to members who want the wall and advocate sane ownership of guns).
It does sound like I'd be an outright verbal criminal in Australia. I use "guys" all the time to reference men, women, even cats and dogs. I've been known to use "y'all" and "all y'all's" from time to time as well. For example, if I want to ask someone in the coffee shop if that Leica on the table is theirs -- "Beg your pardon, is that there all y'all's camera?"
I taught my son that words have no meaning, offense, affection, or impact until a reader/listener gives it such. In our house, there were no banned words, only "banned" usages. Thus, the word in play could vary widely, but rarely was it an issue (wonder why 🙄). Of course, that's a more difficult policy to implement, and I've noticed the world is filled with simpletons who want the universe to exist in pure "black and white" (oh yeah, a photographic reference!). I have news for them...