Sapir-Whorf almost can't be disproved. There's no point in disproving it. But where's the evidence?
> the idea that language has an influence on your thought patterns.
What does language even mean in that statement? You can weaken it down all you want, but in the context of this topic, language means: word usage, and thoughts mean: racist, sexist, etc. opinions. Do these opinions get influenced by e.g. the food you eat? The sunset? The temperature of your living room? Those are stimuli, or at least external influences. Language is not a stimulus, but more of a skill. It's encoded in your brain, and it allows you to communicate.
To put it bluntly: is there any evidence that people who are forced to use "black" instead of "African-American" become less racist?
> the idea that language has an influence on your thought patterns.
What does language even mean in that statement? You can weaken it down all you want, but in the context of this topic, language means: word usage, and thoughts mean: racist, sexist, etc. opinions. Do these opinions get influenced by e.g. the food you eat? The sunset? The temperature of your living room? Those are stimuli, or at least external influences. Language is not a stimulus, but more of a skill. It's encoded in your brain, and it allows you to communicate.
To put it bluntly: is there any evidence that people who are forced to use "black" instead of "African-American" become less racist?