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Politically Correct

In this day and age it seems like you have to think twice about what you want to say before you actually say it. For instance if I say Africans are more likely to develop strong dense muscles than Chinese it can sound racist to some when in my mind it is actually a compliment and reality at that. What are your feelings, do you find the world is trying to make everyone the same? Being politically correct would be to say both Blacks and Chinese have the potential to develop strong dense muscles.

Correct Politically

Yeah, I do. Of course we're not all equal, but we should have an equal chance of being equal...err, yeah that's very articulate .

What I mean is, it is true that Africans tend to develop stronger muscles, or that boys are generally stronger than girls - but what is wrong is judging two people just by these assumptions. In other words, if you see a boy and a girl and immediately assume the boy is stronger is wrong, because each individual is different.

Politically Correct History & Civil Business Politics

All of this has stemmed from the "self-esteem" issues that were brought to the forefront about 30 years ago. "Oh, no! We can't say Johnny got that answer wrong (even if he did), it might hurt his self-esteem! We'll tell him there are lots of right choices." And what happened? We have a couple of generations of kids who can't spell, can't compose a sentence, can't write in cursive properly, can't interpret basic data, can't count change, and think they should be able to earn the same amount of money as someone who *can* do those things. Absurd.

We went from calling disabled people "crippled," to "handicapped," and now everyone with a disability is called "challenged" or "special."

He's not a janitor or custodian, he's a maintenance technician. She's not a secretary, she's an administrative assistant. Bleagh! All these euphemisms serve no real purpose except to not hurt anyone's feelings. Current society has taken this way too far, in my opinion.

For what it's worth.
Roz

Correct Politically

I totally agree with Roz ~

In my opinion Political Correctedness needs to be abolished. My mother was NOT a Domestic Engineer ~ she was a Mother and a Wife, and of course she was a Stay At Home Mother. It was her job and she was dang good at it! The family that lived down the street were NOT People of Color, they were Negros. They were only one color. None of them were green, pink, blue or sunflower yellow! The boy three blocks away was NOT Mentally Challanged, he was Mongoloid.

A spade is a spade, a kettle is a kettle. I am not handicapped, I am partially deaf in my left ear. To me it is NOT a handicap ~ it hasn't hindered me in any way! Actually I think I am better off than all of you who have perfect hearing. When the noise around me gets to be too much, or someone is talking that is driving me up a wall. I can REMOVE my hearing aid and Peace reigns once again.

Correct Politically

"When words lose their meaning, people will soon lose their liberties."

So said Confucius over 2000 years ago. He was right. And I would submit this is the aim of PC.

What better way to destroy rights than to make the case that you are harming another's rights? Of course, it is true that one should not exercise a right to harm another's rights *if* that latter right is a genuine right - often it is not.

For example, one method is for the powers that be to endow special rights upon certain groups (disabled, homosexual, etc.) and reinforce it through the constant use of PC. This is plainly ridiculous - people have the same rights regardless of their situation, state or condition (self-imposed or otherwise). Rights do not change. They are inherent and inalieanble.

Let me tell you I believe in discrimination. To discriminate means 'to perceive differences, distinguish (between)'. Discrimination is defined as 'capacity for discriminating; ability to perceive subtle differences; perception.' Although not in this dictionary, discernment might be another word I could add.

Without discrimination our society will fail.

If you can, I would urge all to get hold of a 4-page essay entitled "Discrimination and Equality: An Essay on the Misuse of Words" by Geoffrey Dobbs (1968, UK).

Here is a quotation from it:

"The debasement of our landguage, and especially of all those words with which we refer to that which is good and true in life, is one of the chief methods used in the corruption of our thoughts and of our society...'Stupid and ignorant prejudice about race' and 'lack of racial discrimination' are simply two phrases describing the same thing, so that to brainwash people, and especially the young, with the idea that 'racial discrimination' is a monstrous and wicked thing, is the most effective way possible to ensure a growing ignorance of each other, and hence lack of understanding between the races, leading to active hostility and ultimately that violence and anarchy which are the essential prerequisites for the establishment of the Police State."

And here is another essay (this time of US origin!) I would commend to all:

https://www.academia.org/lectures/lind1.html

It breaks my heart to see the youth in my own Church repeating the brainwashed phrases they've learn at school and from government, media, etc.

It will all end in misery - and I can think of few crimes greater than abusing and corrupting the mind of a child. Better they suffered some other form of abuse, for that may be recognised and healed in time...

Sorry if this post was a bit dire.


Dubhdara.

Edited: dubhdara on 4th Nov, 2004 - 10:31am

Politically Correct

I think that all this political correctness is ridiculous. So much time is spent worrying about how you have to say something to not offend, that no one speaks the truth any more. What ever happened to speaking the truth, when did it become more important to not offend someone than it did to get to the root of a situation? Political correctness has caused our society to no longer value truth, but value ones ability to no offend anyone. Just because everyone likes someone, doesn't mean they are saying anything worth while.

Politically Correct

Well, there are a few of us who tend to ignore the whole concept of political correctness!

Believe me, I have felt the pressure to be politically correct, at times even in this forum. We had one member who left the forum, claiming as his reason that I was bigotted. That is because I sometimes say what I feel, particularly in the political areas where I feel particularly strong.

Politically Correct Politics Business Civil & History

I am not so sure it is trying to make everyone the same more than it is trying to protect everyone's delicate sensibilities. The act of being politically correct is very much like trying to be a politician. A large part of a politicians job is to affliate with all groups and upset none in their quest to stay in power to do the other parts of their jobs. Political correctness is extensively used in business. Today, a manager cannot offend groups of people that they work with or they wont be managing for long. In order to climb the ladder, you cannot offend too many or you run out of steps pretty quickly.

While I dislike some of the extremes that political correctness has taken, since EVERYONE can soo easily become offended in these days, I must say that with todays diverse work forces it is a requirement to maintain some level of political correctness.

With all that said, I dont think it is making everyone the same, but it is removing some of the individual creativity and unique characters from our society and workplaces. And that is unfortunate, at times.

Just a thought,

Vincenzo