17 Steps

“Uglier even than human-rights abuses and more obscure even than comfort station, affirmative action is a euphemism with little to be said for it. It is too late to suppress it altogether and perhaps too soon to consign it to the midden of civil-rights studies, but try to avoid it as much as possible. If you cannot escape it, put it in quotation marks on first mention and, unless the context makes its meaning clear, explain what it is. You may, however, find that preferential treatment, job preferment or evendiscrimination serve just as well as alternatives.”

— The Economist style guide backs up one of my strongest prejudices.