What is political correctness ???? [Archive]

Valinorean

10-22-2002, 03:02 PM

I think that in the U.S., "politically correct" is used today to mean a statement that does not contradict the current interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

For example, "all men are created equal" is now interpreted as "all people are created equal" so you can't make a remark that disparages a person on the basis of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, social class, natural intelligence, or pretty much anything else.

The term is meaningless now, though, because it has been so overused and abused. It took a good idea, which was essentially "be nice", and warped it. And even though the attempt to be "politically correct" began with politicians not wanting to anger anyone, it became something that was expected of everyone. So even though we pride ourselve on the right to free speech, everyone had to self-censor to avoid being politically incorrect.

Grond

10-22-2002, 03:58 PM

Actually, I disagree with all of the theories put forward thus far. Political Correctness is having one's actions driven by what one feels will please one's peers and appear more morally ethically correct to the population as a whole. It is usually poll driven data as opposed to what one feels is right in one's gut.

Valinorean

10-22-2002, 06:11 PM

I agree with you to an extent, Grond. I wrote everyone has to self-censor to avoid being politically incorrectSo some people do ingore what their gut says, in order to appear PC.

From the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 3rd Ed.
1. Of, or relating to, or supporting a program of broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. 2. Being or perceived as being overconcerned with this program, often to the exclusion of other mattersAt some point Political Correctness went from being an impetus of social reform to the "cool" thing to do--a way to fit in. But when and why?

As Blues Traveller sang: "It's so PC it's killing me. . ."

daisy

10-22-2002, 10:03 PM

In my opinion, the term 'politically correct' started out as a way to describe certain progressive, inclusive, non-biased ways of dealing with people and issues and was then bastardized and turned into almost something akin to profanity by people who are racist, sexist, homophobic etc. If someone says something is politically correct, this either means that they feel opressed and censored by those in power or those with whom they share society in terms of being able to express their crappy views.
So when someone tells me I am being politically correct, it is because I am rejecting their racist, sexist, homophobic, ageist comments.
But that is just me.

Gloer

10-22-2002, 10:12 PM

Who believes that there is politically correct way to act!

I almost thought that it is actually a legal matter - that political correctness is a misleading term for legally correct or "just"or "fair".

You see I started wondering about the word "political". Politics is the taking care of common matters. It is a debate over wich group should have what benefit.

So political correctness means that there can be no politics?
Totalitarian order? (little provocation here)

Ciryaher

10-22-2002, 10:21 PM

Being politically correct is following the general opinions and saying nothing that is upsetting to the majority. Being politically incorrect doesn't mean that the statement is necessarily racist, sexist, etc., it simply means that the statement might be controversial for one reason or another.

An example, I think, would be Cedric the Entertainer making derogatory comments about Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson.

Grond

10-22-2002, 11:31 PM

Originally posted by daisy
In my opinion, the term 'politically correct' started out as a way to describe certain progressive, inclusive, non-biased ways of dealing with people and issues and was then bastardized and turned into almost something akin to profanity by people who are racist, sexist, homophobic etc. If someone says something is politically correct, this either means that they feel opressed and censored by those in power or those with whom they share society in terms of being able to express their crappy views.
So when someone tells me I am being politically correct, it is because I am rejecting their racist, sexist, homophobic, ageist comments.
But that is just me. Daisy, you continue to crack me up. :D

PC is simply slanting your opinion so that it fits with whatever the flavor of the day is. If wife-beaters are in the news... it is PC to be anti-wife-beating. If high medical costs are in the news... it is PC to be pro-social-medicine. The list goes on. What needs to happen is people need to quit worrying about PC and start worrying about what their conscience tells them they should be doing. That won't lead to unilateral agreement... but at least our disagreements will be honest disagreements. :)

JanitorofAngmar

10-22-2002, 11:34 PM

Political correctness is a quiet **** that no one hears, but it smells just as bad!

That of course was NOT the politically correct expression of it though.

Rangerdave

10-23-2002, 02:54 AM

There are two kinds of political correctness.

1. The art of taking a simple and straightforward concept and, by using a multitude of words, making it completely useless. For example: using the term "visually impared" when what is meant is blind; or "vertically challenged" for short.
NOTE: This should not be confused with Govermental Language which simply tries to use as many words as possible to descriobe an object or action. For example: consider the "hand held, self contained, graphite communication device with intregal correction kit. Commonly know as the pencil.

2. The second form of political correctness is the art of using emotionally neutral words to disguise original intent. For example: describing someone as an "Irish American" rather than "Beer swilling, lucky charms eating, Conan O'Brien looking Mick."

Hope this helps
RD

No Irish were harmed in the making of this post.

daisy

10-23-2002, 02:56 AM

I actually think that people whining about others not being politically correct has done more damage in terms of opening up discussion than the ideas or statements branded politically incorrect....
I remember once I was in a university creative writing class ( already a very irritating place might I add...)and I had written a poem ( already an irritating poem may I add again - I was twenty-one in and in full young adult angst - nobody was as wracked with white middle-class pain as I was...). In the poem , I made a reference to a woman by calling her an African Queen - this was because she reminded me of an African Queen - a beautiful regal woman of colour who had actually bcome from Africa . There was a woman in the class who accused me of racism by using this term - the woman who made this accusation was also a woman of colour. I had never been so mortified and actually lied an told everyone that the woman in my poem was just wearing an African Queen t-shirt - as in the movie - and that it was not a cultural reference.
This experience stayed with me for going on ten years now and to me, is a perfect example of political correctness gone amok - the fact that i could not make any cultural reference I wanted and had to defend myself in a room full of thirty idiots....what if I had said Yugoslavian Queen? Nobody would bat an eye....
So I am as much a non-fan of political correctness as an excuse for crazy Think-Police actions as anyone else.

Gloer

10-23-2002, 05:16 PM

Stop name calling daisy!
;)

So .
You mean we should concentrate on the issue of political ideas that are wrong ie. incorrect?

examples?

or did you mean exactly the opposite...i think you did.

So ok. politically correct person tries to behave in a fair rational utilitarian way so that he often has to act against his instinctive preferences, because he recognizes his/her bias?

Isn't that trying to outsmart ones own flaws? Being more rational than one normally is?

Gloer

10-23-2002, 05:27 PM

Originally posted by Grond
Daisy, you continue to crack me up. :D

PC is simply slanting your opinion so that it fits with whatever the flavor of the day is. If wife-beaters are in the news... it is PC to be anti-wife-beating. If high medical costs are in the news... it is PC to be pro-social-medicine. The list goes on. What needs to happen is people need to quit worrying about PC and start worrying about what their conscience tells them they should be doing. That won't lead to unilateral agreement... but at least our disagreements will be honest disagreements. :)

Scary

If PC is what you say it means PC people are perfect people to be ruled by a dictator. you only need to control the media. The media will tell people what is correct and people feel it is their duty to agree.

Scary because it is true. People are getting dumber and more gullible.

Valinorean

10-23-2002, 06:43 PM

People are getting dumber and more gullible For shame! We prefer the term "common-sensically challenged"

daisy

10-23-2002, 08:30 PM

I think my main problem also with political correct rabidity is that it cheapens the struggle against evil - meaning that if I , someone who constantly strives to overcome my own prejudices and biases, can be labelled a racist so easily due to a culturally specific reference in a bad poem, something is rotten in the state of Denmark....
So the clambering stupidity of 'political correctness' police drowns out the real issues and the true dialogues going on about racism, sexism etc. and makes everyone involved look like losers. This is somewhat similar to the radical feminism movement, spearheaded by people like Adrienne Rich ( I think that was her name - she wrote Compulsory Heterosexuality...) and bel hooks ( From Margin to Centre) who to varying degrees labelled women who loved men or who shared their lives with men in some way as the enemy - it was only the lesbian feminist who denied makeup, femininity, motherhood, heterosexual love etc. who was the true woman - so basically a lot of women including myself who considered themselves feminists were run out of the movement and centres in universities everywhere because they weren't feminist enough - I have also heard this same thing happening with people accused of not being 'Black ' enough or 'Gay ' enough or whatever....pressure both from your own community and the community in which you are defiled. Lovely.

Gloer

10-23-2002, 10:55 PM

peer groups give you too much pressure, right?
:(

But they could give you great power if you just embrace the pressure and direct it towards others!

:D

Asha'man

11-01-2002, 07:35 PM

What is political correctness? It's a bunch of mmmmmIcan'tsaythatonthisforum. Starts with the letters "B" and "S", though. ;)

Basically, I'd define it as something that's said in such a way as to offend nobody, except certain groups. For instance, if I said that a '75 Lincoln Continental with 13" gold rims, lots of gold trim and a "Brown Pride" sticker on the window is "spicdified" (funny term, btw), then that would be politically incorrect, because it might offend someone of Mexican descent. However, if that same "Brown Pride" sticker offends me, which it does, it's not politically incorrect because I am male, white, Christian, and American. It is politically correct to bash those groups.

Politically incorrect to bash:

blacks
Hispanics
people of any religion but Christianity
women (very few exceptions)
gays
almost any foreign people
left-wingers (feminists, baby-killers, Clintons)

Politically correct to bash:
Christians
white people (especially men)
white, Christian, conservative women (example: Ann Coulter)
right-wingers (pro-lifers, pro-gun people, Bush)
homophobes (I hate that term, it's so overused by PC retards)

Probably some more, but those have more or less covered the bases. It's horrible, because it's gotten almost to where you can't speak your mind in public for fear some PC freak will start screaming at you. :rolleyes:

Now don't get me wrong here. I don't go around calling black folks inappropriate comment deleted, or Mexican folks inappropriate comment deleted, etc. I do, however, want to be able to speak my opinions on people, life, the universe and everything without worrying about offending someone in the world. Sooner or later, you will be offended by something somone says, and you just have to deal with it. Political correctness attempts to completely eliminate this, which is obvious nonsense.

Asha'man

***inappropriate remarks edited by Grond

daisy

11-02-2002, 04:10 AM

Uh...there is a difference between being censored because of political correctness and because one is simply offensive. Case in point.

Asha'man

11-03-2002, 05:48 AM

I'm sorry you had to edit my post, Grond. I guess I could've used asterisks myself. Sorry to any I offended. :(

But if I said I hated daisy (which I don't, btw) because she's a liberal, that would be politically incorrect. If she said she hated me because I'm conservative, however, that wouldn't be. See the double standard here? That is the point I'm trying to make.

Asha'man

Grond

11-03-2002, 06:07 AM

Ash, I absolutely agreed with the points you were making. I just wasn't thrilled with the language with which you chose to make your points. So...... you got points. :D

daisy

11-03-2002, 10:41 PM

well, I still love you, Ash - you give me a good run for my money which is more than I can say for most people who are my age much less people half my ancient years, like you are. I still think there is a difference between what is wrong to do and say morally,ethically,humanly, and what is simply politically correct. There seems to be some places where the line between blurs. I mean, isn't it just plain wrong to be racist? Forget political correctness....it is just not being a good world citizen to hate someone else due to the colour of their skin or their sexual preference or their gender or ability...and unfortunately it seems that we need laws in place to counteract this because people are just too stupid to educate themselves ...but here in Toronto an interesting thing has happened because a newspaper here just did a data analysis of race in terms of arrests and bail being denied and found that it happens a lot more for males of African descent - wow big surprise, but the public isn't supposed to know this because stats based on race are not allowed due to the concern that this would be racist but what ended up happening was that the problem was hidden away because we're not supposed to have open forums in terms of the effects of race.....

daisy

11-03-2002, 10:45 PM

and before someone says that this is because more males of African descent commit crimes, the data analysis dealt with the difference between the treatment of white and black men caught for the same offense, like speeding or possesion and more often the black man was charged and held without bail whereas the white man was released or got bail....

Grond

11-03-2002, 11:04 PM

Daisy, you may have misunderstood my point in agreeing with Ash. I am not condoning racism. I am condemning the failure to point out problems within the minority communities because one would be condemned as a racist. It is not politically correct to point out any shortcomings of minorities, whether they be gay, female, black, hispanic or any other, because one is typically branded a racist if one does.

An example is that we have "Black Heritage Month" in the USA and I endorse this... but we do not have a "White Heritage Month" because that would be deemed rascist. We have "Gay Rights Month" and I endorse this... but we do not have a "Hetero-sexual Rights Month" because that would be deemed homophobic and inappropriate. So we have two things that are basically trying to celebrate heritages or sexual orientation that appear identical on their face, yet political correctness makes one acceptable and the other unacceptable.

Asha'man

11-04-2002, 06:35 AM

Good examples, Grond. The double standard of political correctness is what makes it a completely impractical way of looking at life.

Can you imagine what would happen if I had "White Pride" tattooed across my back, or on a windshield banner? :eek: Racism! :rolleyes:

Thanks, daisy! :D

Asha'man

daisy

11-04-2002, 07:15 PM

No Gronder, I was not implying anything about your post - mine was just my thoughts separate from what you guys were talking about...I don't actually know why there is no White Pride or Hetero Pride month - I think it is because people who belong to the African-American or Gay community feel that every month is White Pride or hetero month because they are marginalized by society - I mean, if you look at media, movies, television etc., we mostly see white, heterosexual main characters - sure, we have Will and Grace and assorted gay characters smattered around, and there are Black characters on many more shows than there used to be but it is still not inidicative of the percentage of African- American or Gay people in society. For instance, say that 15% of Americans are Black ( I am making this figure up as an example), then there should be a parallel in the media - 15% Black characters...also the Gay community - if 10% of people are Gay as the Kinsey institute suggests( and that does not include people who identify as bisexual), then 10% of characters and people in the media should be gay...also people who are physically challenged, Latino etc.
I don't think I could ever know what it feels like to never see someone who looks like me or lives like me on television or in movies - because I am a caucasian female with no disabilities ( except I can't ride a bicycle!), there are more than enough people around who look similar to me ( although perhaps with better hair and more in shape due to personal trainers...).

Grond

11-04-2002, 08:41 PM

And Daisy, that is where you have finally hit the nail on the head. You have identified a very clear difference between the social conscience and the capital conscience. Unfortunately, all the mediums of which you speak are influenced most (in almost all countrie) by the capital conscience and not the social one. Movies are made, as are TV programs to cater to the group of people with the most common of all denominators... money. So it isn't a function of our lack of a social conscience that is at fault, it simply is the way the game is played.

Since we can't level the playing field in an effective way, anywhere in the world... PC becomes a catalyst to try and make the playing field appear more level... even when it isn't.

I'm not really sure what my point is here.... but I think it sounds good. :)

HLGStrider

11-09-2002, 05:45 AM

I know what Daisy means about special interest groups and extremism.
I have become rather pessimistic because of them, and I'm not a pessimist by nature. Because of extremists I immediately start to tune out when anyone talks about the environment, feminism or a few other subjects because it just drives me crazy... I'm sick of hearing the same thing.

It seems to me that everything is "politicized" lately. I babysit occassionally and I have a weakness for childrens picture books so I go into that section of the library from time to time. Now I start to read these books. Before a certain time the kids books are just stories. They have no hidden message except the occassional, simple "Be goods" that everyone knows. However, as I move up the scale to modern books I find that all these kids books have a message... and I don't mean a "be true to yourself" a "do unto others" or other simple timeless message.

Every animal book is about saving the enviroment.
There are hundreds of books about racism, mostly directed against blacks.
There are thousands of books with a femenist slant.

I found two rewrites of classic fairy tales, for instance, Rumpelstiltzkin (Rumpelstilzkin's Daughter) and Cinderella (Cinderedna)

In Rumpelstilzkin's daughter the weavers daughter runs off with Rump instead of going with the king at the end. Now this I can see. It makes sense, I never liked the guy. However then their daughter is captured by the king and starts to rewrite his social program... It was highly preachy and very political.

In Cinderedna it tells the story of a Cinderellaish chracter and Cinderella, except now Cinderella is portrayed sort of as a sulky, dependant baby doll when other books always sort of gave me the impression of a helpful, cheerful girl who worked for her stepsisters out of a sense of duty. Edna is sort of an entreprenual girl... etc. who doesn't mope and has all the qualities Cinderella used to... Except now she gets her own way to the ball. Up to now I have only one problem and that is the degradation of poor Cindy who really gets a bad wrap. In the end Cindy gets the Prince and Edna gets the little brother of the prince and they go on about how unhappy Cindy is and bored and how the prince wasn't that great of guy...

Now this is just too much. Little kids do not deserve this on their shoulders. This is what I call politicizing. From the time they can read kids are being preached at, often about the evils of the generation before them.

Politically correct is another issue of course and I just felt like ranting on extremism and politicizing.

There are things people shouldn't say. Hating anyone is wrong. However, I don't like it when someone is killed and it becomes a race issue. It doesn't matter to me that the person was of a minority. It matters that a HUMAN BEING was killed. Also it doesn't matter to me what color the killer was. There isn't anything to justify killing.

There are certain groups it is considering politically incorrect to critisize or make fun of, but for the most part that doesn't stop people. I don't know how sensitive these groups are. For instance would Arab-Americans find the song Ahab the Arab (a classic) offensive? It obviously pokes fun at some Arabic tendencies, however, I don't think it inspires hatred... a weird stereotype, yes, hatred no...

HLGStrider

11-09-2002, 10:08 PM

I found this on a joke site.. oh boy...

Don't call that schlub a "fatty," for it's simply not allowed;
He's now "physic'lly expansive" or "nutritionally endowed;"
That clod repeating seventh grade? He's not a knucklehead;
"Scholastic'lly persistent" is the phrase to use instead;

Don't talk of "dwarfs" or "midgets" both are terms you should revise;
Today, they're known as "persons of a non-excessive size;"

You'll find you're not offending any group or race or sect
As long as what you're saying is Politic'lly Correct.

Our nation has no "Indians" in case you haven't heard,
"Indigenous Americans" is now the term preferred;

Don't call that drifter "homeless" that's the no-no of the year;
He's a "worker in transition" or "an urban pioneer."

Don't call that guy in women's clothes a weirdo or a freak;
He's "a fashion nonconformist with a lifestyle that's unique."

No lack of sensivity will anyone detect
As long as ev'ry comment is Politic'lly Correct.

To psychopathic killers, nicer labels we're now giving;
They're "gentlemen who specialize in terminating living;"

As for all those scuzzy pushers hooking kids throughout the land,
They're now "inner city merchants with a product in demand;"

So make certain that you're careful with the words that you select;
And we guarantee you'll always be Politic'lly Correct.

Athelas

11-28-2002, 02:08 PM

seems to mean blind acceptance of every perversion that tries to cloak itself in the mantle of diversity. In the PC world, there are no bastards or illegitimate children. Instead of husbands and wives, we have "domestic partners," so as not to upset homosexuals. Men who spawn children out of Wedlock are "Baby-Daddys" when they aren't "incawsuhwated."

Mrs. Maggott

11-28-2002, 02:45 PM

I followed this thread through the "new post" listings. Perhaps because it is located in a Guild of which I am not a member, my posting here might be considered incorrect or impolite. If so, I apologize to all the good Guild members in advance and hope that no one takes offense at my boldness.

Political correctness - whatever its origination - is now being used to stifle debate! This is especially true when the person involved has what are considered to be conservative opinions. Hence, if one voices a legitimate criticism against, for example, a black politician, in the p.c. world, one is racist. If one complains of the machinations of a woman anywhere, then one is sexist - even if the one who renders the criticism is a woman herself! And so it goes. If, for religious reasons, one disagrees with the advancement of the "gay agenda", one is a homophobe (a fundamentalist, religious bigot homophobe to boot!). No one looks at the argument being made or takes into consideration the context in which it has been made. It is enough that one has criticized certain sacrosanct groups which makes the individual fall into any one of a number of extremely hostile and emotionally charged categories: racist, facist, sexist, bigot, anti-semite, homophobe etc. etc.

Interestingly enough, this only applies when the object of criticism is a liberal. A conservative may be mercilessly subject to the most base and vicious ad hominem attacks (remember the woman Attorney General of Florida - a Republican - who during the 2000 election was castigated and held up to nightly ridicule in the media for her hairstyle and makeup?) and no one ever suggests that the critics are any of the above evil things.

If anyone doubts the strength of the p.c. movement and its determination to set standards and prevent the presentation of any opinion or point of view which differs from p.c. orthodoxy, I suggest a good look at our nation's colleges will indicate just how far p.c. mavens have progressed in preventing objective debate and eliminating access by students to any of what they consider to be "unacceptable" opinions. :rolleyes:

Asha'man

11-30-2002, 06:52 AM

As I said above,

Originally posted by Asha'man

Politically incorrect to bash:

blacks
Hispanics
people of any religion but Christianity
women (very few exceptions)
gays
almost any foreign people
left-wingers (feminists, baby-killers, Clintons)

Politically correct to bash:
Christians
white people (especially men)
white, Christian, conservative women (example: Ann Coulter)
right-wingers (pro-lifers, pro-gun people, Bush)
homophobes (I hate that term, it's so overused by PC retards)

Yay, another conservative! ;)

Ash

Mrs. Maggott

11-30-2002, 02:46 PM

Interestingly enough, it is not the ethnic, racial, sexual or religious makeup of the group than mandates its treatment, but, rather, the ideology of those within it.

Therefore, Gloria Allred, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi cannot be held to any type of exacting standards or criticized even deservedly, but Katherine Harris, Ann Coulter and Phyllis Schlafley can be targets of the most vicious ad hominem attacks which have nothing whatsoever to do with anything they may have done. Jessy Jackson is sacrosanct, Clarence Thomas is "fair game". All "undocumented alien" (illegal) Hispanics are welcome except Elian Gonzales who was sheltered by the conservative, anti-communist Cuban community in Miami.

Obviously, any liberal who belongs to a "protected minority" may not be criticized virtually at all without incurring the wrath of the society's "watchdog", the media, but any conservative is open to the most heinous personal attacks however false and mendacious no matter what their ethnic, racial or religious background. The mere fact that they are ideologically "conservative" makes them undeserving and unworthy of the protection offered liberals of their group by the cultural elites of the press. Now, one may wonder why this is so and the answer is simple: conservatives and liberals view each other differently and that fact is what fuels this schizophrenic response.

Conservatives view liberals as wrong and foolish because they continue to advocate ideas and programs that have failed in the past. Liberals do so because they believe that the failure thereof was due to something external - and therefore "fixable" (more money, more government, more money etc.), a point of view scoffed at - and criticized - by conservatives.

Liberals, on the other hand, believe that conservatives are not only wrong, but wicked! Many liberals actually believe that conservatives want to starve children, drive the elderly from their homes, poison the air and water and generally wreak havoc on society. Of course, that means that their response is going to be infinitely more intense and vicious than would be the case if the "enemy" were simply "wrong". Therefore, calling people names and degrading them personally - for a long time criticisms of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh began with the observation that he was "fat" - is acceptable since these attacks marginalize the conservative agenda that person supports.

On the other hand, protecting one's fellow liberals - however unworthy they may be - is essential, because one is protecting not the individual, but the ideology he or she holds - which is worthy. As a result (and should no other avenue be open), one may lie and cheat in the pursuit of such a worthy goal. One particularly egregious result of this understanding of the ideological debate was the closing of ranks by most liberals against the perceived "assault" by "conservatives" on those bastions of decency, honesty and purity, the Clintons!

Unfortunately, all of the above has made valid ideological debate almost impossible in this country and that is sad - and more than sad. The exchange of ideas in the public forum is absolutely critical to the survival of the republic, but I personally do not see its return any time soon. In fact, as the two sides become more polarized, any common ground upon which they might meet and promote sane discourse becomes smaller and smaller and smaller.............:(

Gloer

12-02-2002, 10:33 AM

Political correctness rules again:

----------
Toronto city officials began the flap last week when they called the 50-foot (15.2 meter) tree set up outside City Hall a 'holiday tree.' That sparked much derision and prompted the city's mayor to set the record straight.

"Our special events staff went too far with their political correctness when they called it a holiday tree," said Mayor Mel Lastman. "They were trying to be inclusive and their hearts were in the right place, but you can't be politically correct all the time."
----------

What the hell is going on in Canada? Christmas tree is a christmas tree. It has not much to do with the fact that Christmas is usually a holiday and even less with christianity. Actually I don't know what is the problem with words in certain anglo-american cultures!

Anglo-americans, anglos, those english speakers, they are incomprehensible. I am starting to doubt that it is irreparable damage to ones rational developement to learn English as your first language.
----------
"I'm not sure what they're trying to achieve," Ahmed Shoker of the Canadian Islamic Congress in Saskatoon said yesterday. "Everyone has the full right to celebrate in their own way."
----------
http://xtramsn.co.nz/entertainment/0,,3909-1952345,00.html

Mrs. Maggott

12-02-2002, 01:03 PM

It is not the language, but the thinking process. Poor logic and a total lack of common sense produces nonsense in any language. :rolleyes:

Gloer

12-17-2002, 08:55 PM

" What Is Political Correctness?
Political Correctness (PC) is the communal tyranny that erupted in the 1980s. It was a spontaneous declaration that particular ideas, expressions and behaviour, which were then legal, should be forbidden by law, and people who transgressed should be punished. It started with a few voices but grew in popularity until it became unwritten and written law within the community. With those who were publicly declared as being not politically correct becoming the target of persecution by the mob, if not prosecution by the state. "

Political correctness is one sign of lack in general understanding and sense of moral right and wrong.

This answer (version) can be found here:

http://www.ourcivilisation.com/pc.htm

Pretty conservative page though, but so very correct in many views...

Mrs. Maggott

12-17-2002, 09:26 PM

Originally posted by Gloer
Pretty conservative page though, but so very correct in many views... [/B]

The mere fact that one has to "apologize" for recommending a "pretty conservative page" or having conservative views or just being an idological conservative is proof positive of the efficacy of political correctness which has made many people believe that such views are not only wrong but "wicked".

In the mid-90s, the clarion cry of those on the other side of the idological spectrum was that conservatives wanted to "kick old people out of their homes, starve children and poison the air and water" among other awful, evil things. These allegations were accepted without question by like minded members of the media and no one voicing such sentiments - especially in politics - was ever expected to explain just how they "knew" these things or to offer proof of their accusations. Conservatives - and especially traditional Christians of every denomination - were routinely presented as "ignorant red necks", "homophobes", "racists", "bigots" and every other "hot button" appellation known. Efforts to counter such charges were met with stonewalling or disbelief so that the general concensus of opinion remains that conservatives are somehow heartless, cruel and greedy people. That is the power of "political correctness".

What the movement has done in effect is to "shut down debate" as no one wishes to be tarred with the label of racist or some other equally scurrilous charge because it is virtually impossible to "prove a negative". How can I prove that I am not a racist or bigot? In fact, sometimes it is even somewhat humerous as conservative African Americans find themselves accused of "racism" because a p.c. reaction is one of instinct, not intellect. P.c. is like that old double-edged question, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" No matter how you try to answer it, you're sunk! :rolleyes: