Negative Connotations

This week I'm preparing a script for our spring interviews with public housing residents. The following appeared in a government paper on interview best practices that I was reading today:

When used in almost any context, certain words can
be considered “loaded,” because they evoke strong
emotional feelings. “American,” “freedom,” “equality,”
and “justice” generally evoke positive feelings, while
“communist,” “socialist,” “bureaucrat,” and “nuclear
holocaust” may evoke negative feelings. Since it is
difficult to control the emotional connotations of
such words, it is usually best to avoid them.

Yes, "nuclear holocaust" may have some emotional connotations. It evokes a few negative feelings in me, I must admit. Perhaps the "bureaucrats" who authored this rather dry report decided to add a little humor and/or political comment.