Political Correctness (Your opinion?)

Forgiveness_Man wrote:People will insult you merely because you don't agree with them so why censor yourself?

CeCe wrote:I think "political correctness" has taken on a similar tone as "jump the shark". It's an overused phrase that has completely lost its meaning. When I hear people use it, my ears just tune them out.

alan smithee wrote:Sometimes it's about people who are so hyper sensative that they see insults where none exist.

It's become very trendy these days to dump all over terms and schools of thought that once had much more positive connotations: liberalism, feminism, social democracy, eugenics, evolution theory, scientific method, integration, and Political Correctness.

Of course in these reactionary times, all of these terms tend to draw extremely negative responses from many people, especially young people who bristle at anything they perceive to be an attempt to engineer (or rewire) their thinking.

Political Correctness, like many of the other items listed in the first paragraph, is a tool of the social engineer who believes we can improve society by changing the way people think; Using language to reduce bias, increase clarity, and promote a socially justifiable outcome.

Of course many would understandably dismiss the notion that someone or something else could change how they think.

But, this engineering has already happened. The stated aims of Political Correctness have been wildly successful; In the corporate world, in academia, in the media, even kindergarten. People from every walk of life spend inordinate amounts of time practicing and learning to say things just right; to avoid offense, to include, to embrace, to share, and to be culturally sensitive in mixed company.

Has it gone too far? Undoubtedly yes, in some ways. I'm always being corrected for talking out of turn - but I still say "Have a nice Christmas!" But I do not want to go back to the days when exceptional individuals were disparaged as "retards" and "cripples." No thanks. I'll take today's Political Correctness over that any day.

But if we do remove the obvious excesses of political correctness, we still have to retain a base of "PC" to have a civil society. Every functioning society requires a basic level of Political Correctness to carry out its goals and promote social harmony? Even if it's just minding our manners?

Jason B. wrote:^ I disagree. I think if someone has civility and manners, political correctness shouldn't too much stifle anyone's speech. I notice that it's generally the people who are thoughtless and rude who feel like PC is censoring them from being able to express their thoughts.

Of course in these reactionary times

Xbox Live recently banned Josh Moore for violating its gamers’ code of conduct. His offense? Filling out his Xbox Live profile. You see, Mr. Moore lives in West Virginia. More specifically, in FORT GAY, West Virginia. As Microsoft says, the word “gay” is always offensive. Never mind that several US townships incorporate the word into their name, many people have “Gay” as a first or last name, and some homosexuals do identify themselves as “gay.” No, Microsoft obviously had a wise guy in their midst, and he had to go. So, despite a total lack of customer complaints, Microsoft froze Moore’s account and warned him that he could lose his prepaid subscription if he badgered Customer Service further. Fort Gay Mayor, David Thompson, tried to intervene, but was told that the city’s name didn’t matter; the word “gay” was inappropriate in any context. As a result, Moore missed a Search and Destroy competition and his team lost. Microsoft has since carefully reviewed the matter and reinstated Moore with full Xbox Live privileges (translation: the story hit the web).

In 2007, Santa Clauses in Sydney, Australia, were forced to revolt for the right to say “Ho Ho Ho”, the traditional laugh of jolly old St. Nick. It turns out that their employer, the recruitment firm Westaff (that supplies hundreds of Santas across Australia), told all trainees that “ho ho ho” could frighten children and be derogatory to women. Why? Because it was too close to the American (not Australian, mind you) slang for prostitute. Instead, the Santas were instructed to lower their voices and say “Ha ha ha”. Westaff relented only after the story broke nationally, deciding to leave the belly laughs “up to the discretion of Santa himself “.

Administrators at a California high school sent five students home after they refused to remove their American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican Day of Independence. That’s right, kids, you can’t wear your country’s flag in your country, lest it offend someone celebrating the holiday of a different country. The story began when Assistant Principal, Miguel Rodriguez, asked two of the five teens to remove their American flag bandanas. The boys complied, but were still taken to the principal’s office for a chat. One of the boys told NBC “They said we could wear it on any other day, but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it’s supposed to be their holiday, so we were not allowed to wear it.” They are right. It might be a little insensitive to wear an American flag shirt on Cinco De Mayo– if we were in MEXICO.
And it is an important holiday—IN MEXICO. School District Superintendent Wesley Smith later described the incident as “extremely unfortunate” and said the matter is still under investigation.

Chris wrote:Political Correctness does go too far, but what I absolutely hate is when people say things that they know is insensitive or disrespectful, and then try and use the anti-PC backlash as a way to thwart being called on it. There is a difference between not bowing to oversensitive politically correct jargon and saying something that was designed to offend. It's like when someone says something racist, then will accuse someone of playing the race card when they point out to them that their comment was offensive.

Chris wrote:Political Correctness does go too far, but what I absolutely hate is when people say things that they know is insensitive or disrespectful, and then try and use the anti-PC backlash as a way to thwart being called on it. There is a difference between not bowing to oversensitive politically correct jargon and saying something that was designed to offend. It's like when someone says something racist, then will accuse someone of playing the race card when they point out to them that their comment was offensive.

RobbieFTW wrote:What's your take on political correctness? Ok I can admit that it can get a little too silly and uptight sometimes, but I am ALWAYS suspicious of people who are so quick to complain about PC and try to go out of their way to ANTI-Politically Correct. Like their opinions & speech is really being hindered by it.

2xy wrote: ... Another thought on the term "African American": My friend's boyfriend is mildly offended when people call him AA, because he's not American. He's from France, and is here for college. He's black, thankyouverymuch.

2xy wrote:I do think that PC can be overdone, but I also think that a lot of people who get offended by certain terminology are LOOKING for a reason to be offended. I'm not talking about truly offensive terminology....I'm talking about referring to someone as a "secretary" rather than an "administrative professional."

Another thought on the term "African American": My friend's boyfriend is mildly offended when people call him AA, because he's not American. He's from France, and is here for college. He's black, thankyouverymuch.