Political Correctness, When Will This Insanity Stop?

[HighHeelLover86]

I for one have never been one to use so called "politically correct" terminology. I'll give you a prime example of one that truly makes no sense. Toilet Paper, also known as "bathroom tissue". Well? Which is it? Frankly I have both in my bathroom. a roll of toilet paper and a box of tissue on the back of the toilet. One is for my nose and the other is...well.. you know. There are literally thousands of terms that have been created and often perverted just so people will feel better about what the word represents. Another example to me would be a term like "Shell Shock". Now I don't mean to piss anyone off but in my mind if we still used this term instead of the completely sterile "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" I feel certain that our men and women in uniform might just get more of the help they need after returning from war. Euphemisms and political correctness are wrecking our world. Anyway, this is obviously my personal opinion and while I do have strong views I would enjoy hearing others thoughts on the subject. At any rate i feel its an aspect of society that needs to be addressed. Lets see what you guys think, shall we?

[Bubba136]

Use of politically incorrect terms to some shows one to be crude and uneducated these days.

[Shafted]

Political correctness is nothing more than watering down the truth till it is palatable.

[meganiwish]

HighHeelLover86 is quite right to use the word 'euphemism'. This is at the heart of political correctness. The key word is political. People are saying the 'correct' thing for less than honest reasons. when they're being politically correct, and lots of Pc phrases are inherently racist etc. For example, 'African American' and 'Native American' both really mean, 'Not quite as American as me'. I don't mean to pick on our colonial cousins (such a silly dispute about tea), but I'm in my cups tonight, and I can't think off the top of my head of one we're guilty of. There must be lots. If you have something to say and consider other people before you say it, you won't go far wrong. If you have to hide behind political correctness, you might want to examine your own insides. Sorry, this is terribly badly written.

[Foxyheels]

I'm now told I can't call my wonderful brother "mentally handicapped" which I did al my young life. I have to say he has special needs but this does no explain as easily as the former term when people meet him. He has a reduced mental capacity and the former distinguishes him from those with a physical handicap but apparently it's now offensive. Rubbish, people who discriminate against those with a disability is offensive not the us of a couple of descriptive words from genuine people.

[mlroseplant]

I agree, it has gone a little too far, but on the other hand, do we really want to go back to the days when we classified intellectually challenged people as "idiots, imbeciles, and morons?" There has to be some reasonable balance.

[yozz]

The problem is with people starting to use words as intentional insults. At the moment a word becomes a rather well spread insult, you need a new word that does not have that connotation (yet), because the person at the receiving end will interpret that you try to insult him or her, even when that is absolutely not the case. A very well known is Nigger (just the Latin niger=black) -> negro -> black -> afro american -> ??? If you want to stop this, you have to get people to a point that they do not try to insult others. Y.

Edited February 2, 2013 by yozz

[Shafted]

I agree, it has gone a little too far, but on the other hand, do we really want to go back to the days when we classified intellectually challenged people as "idiots, imbeciles, and morons?" There has to be some reasonable balance.

At least it's honest and accurate in many cases. Many people who fall into this do it by choice so I'm not real sympathetic.

[HighHeelLover86]

All very good and valid points I believe. I'll see if I can conjure a group response. As I see it we have three root problems with this issue. Number one is essentially a need that people possess to either over classify or under classify something for reasons of either deception or a need to solve an issue personal to themselves. In either case this stems from the deeper need to be a part of a group or to belong in society in some form. Number two is a desire to purposefully mislead for either personal gain or to reduce the gain of others. This is often seen in business and politics especially. The third and perhaps the most admirable and insidious is to use euphemisms etc to attempt to insult or discredit someone OR to approach someone in a less insulting way about an issue. In all three cases I believe its possible to say that each is tied to the desire to gain ground, however figuratively over another person. Whether that be for noble or underhanded reasons is to me irrelevant it still amounts to willful misdirection. I find this intolerable and while I could personally get along with the world at large in a much more positive way i choose not to. It goes by many names, Tactless, blunt, inconsiderate, rude, brutish, etc but all it comes down to is how honest you want to be. I prefer those around me to be fully aware of where I stand and most people can respect that. Now if society as a whole could do the same thing we might just get somewhere. I hope I have succeeded in coalescing all of your posts for the most part as each of you made wonderful contributions. Thank you.

[meganiwish]

Had I been thinking more clearly last night I'd have been able to say clearly, if you need to hide behind euphemism, you probably shouldn't say it anyway. The way to avoid being a boor is to think before you speak, not to find namby-pamby words.

[Pumped]

I agree, it has gone a little too far, but on the other hand, do we really want to go back to the days when we classified intellectually challenged people as "idiots, imbeciles, and morons?" There has to be some reasonable balance.

Years ago those terms were acceptable, just as "mentally handicapped" was not long ago. Some day "special needs" will become non-PC.

[quidam]

I think "Political correctness" is a whole nonsense ans it stands for a lot of "politics" and none of "correctness". In my country (Mexico) disabled people are from some years ago referred to as "People with different abilities" which I find to be the greates insult. If I speak half a dozen languages, or I can make a large multiplication by memory... don't I have a "different ability"?. Some person confined to a wheelchair, "walks different"?. What if she is missing a limb?. A blind is a blind, not a person who "watches different". The sames goes for a deaf, an amputee, etc. Now think of this: can an afroamerican be white and caucasian?.

[ilikekicks]

SOME of this is satyr. Some of this is an honest answer that makes me really/literally want to cry. I love humanity but see a need to chlorinate the gene pool in many instances. Again, the disclosure : This might offend you. If you have soft skin, please skip over it to the next post. My Rant: This is a topic that.. lets say.. I would love to baseball-bat-swing at all the Multicultural-politically-correct people and show that Barry Bonds was no longer the home run champ. ( Maybe McGuire? Sosa? I dont follow baseball ) Political correctness is a way of life or mindset and it has been instituted by design to bait one group of individuals against the other in order to topple what was once a way of living. Some call this ' Empowerment '. I call it a crock of shit as thats what it looks and smells like. It starts with a language. Certain terms can no longer be used. Above, someone mentioned the term ' nigger '. I have a very old ( 1950's ) Webster Dictionary where the term is defined as someone whom is ignorant; stupid. It mentions nothing of ethnic makings at all! It offers nothing in regards to a lifestyle. Today, its supposedly a word of ' hate ', a word of being a racial slur. There was a medical term Im sure many of us over the age of 30 will recognize. ' Retarded '. The term is also used in cars in regards to the timing of ignition ( when the gas is ignited inside the engine ). If you retard or advance the timing, your engine will run differently. If you retard or advance a human mind, I bet it would work/run differently as well. Saying someone is ' retarded ' is no longer acceptable? Why not? Its a very simple term with a direct meaning. The proper term people use now is ' Special Needs '. WAIT! Thats wrong. ' Special needs ' means something needs special attention. What if we used the theme of ' That person has issues '? Someone would find that to be negative as well. Theres no way to win and people are left wondering what they can say that wont ruffle everyones feathers. It makes people feel as if they are walking on thin ice or ' pins and needles '. Thats what its deemed by design to do. Fuel Efficiency! How many miles a car can travel with a given amount of fuel. Its now called ' Fuel Economy '. What was wrong with Fuel Efficiency? ' Abortion '. Huh? WTF? To terminate a progression of events. Its a medical/scientific term now? ' Right to choose '? How about closing your legs or being responsible? I think ( endless its rape ) Suzi and Johnny already chose what they were going to do BEFORE that sperm bumped that egg and caused an ' unwanted pregnancy '.. Wait.. that could be seen as offensive, even though I realize if I put my finger in a socket thats live, I will get shocked. If I put my ' thingi ' in my wife.. OH NOES! That shouldnt happen! Yet, Biology tells us all different. If I put my penis into my wife, she can become pregnant. How is that ' unwanted '? *I* was doing the deed, she agreed to it.. we both had the CHOICE to NOT do such, thus the results wouldnt be something ' unwanted '. Really? Seriously? I actually asked a younger person what the definition of ' abortion ' was and they told me ( I swear this is the truth ) " Its a trip to planned parenthood where they perform a medical procedure so some girl doesnt wind up with a kid when they are to young to care for it ". WTF! Cheating is now called ' Intellectual Dishonesty '. Tell that to the wife when she catches you slamming your secretary! Shell Shock and PTSD used to be 2 different things. In the U.S. a big thing being tossed around is ' Immigration Reform '. Now , before anyone goes off on a rant about racism, being an immigrant is ANYONE from ANYWHERE, everyone is treated the same, as an ' immigrant '. How is it about ' race ' at all? Immigration - to move from one place to another. Reform - to renew or redefine or redevelope/correct. Where the hell is there anything about ' race ' in either of the 2 words used for the context? How about ' Assault Weapons '? Cars kill more people in 1 year in the US then 10 years in Iraq And Afghanistan ( including innocent women and children added in ) but we will call something else an ' Assault Item ' when those same cars are used to INTENTIONALLY run people over at times and ( if you ask an environmentalist ) KILL the planet every time they are used. Someone mentioned ' African American ' or ' Puerto Rican American ' or ' Jewish American '.. Wait a minute.. ' Jewish American? ; Since when did a religious entity become an ' ethninc standard '? Are there Negro Jews? Caucasian Jews? Hispanic Jews? So.. I kinda thought we were all citizens of the same country.. guess not? This is the greatest problem humanity faces right now. Some will say they are ' Puertorican American ', shit.. I was born here! Im a full blooded yankee. Im not English, puerto-rican, spic, chicano, wetback, Moulion, cabrone, Laraza, shylock, heime, kike or Zionist! Im just American, nothing special. I dont live in a barrio, I live in a neighborhood. I read english. If I wanted to read spanish, I would move to Mexico, South America, spain.. Sure, I understand spoken spanish and a lot of hebrew, but thats not the language of my country so Im not REQUIRED TO know such. Yet every car parts store I go to and everything I buy has 5, 6, or 7 languages on the instructions.. even stuff thats made here.. Why the repetitiveness? Make no mistakes, ' Political Correctness ' is a war being fought. Its design is to strip every country of its base ideals and FORCE a universal lifestyle upon all of us as slaves under an order we might not like at all, but we HAVE to ' accept it '. A point I will use.. Yozz lead to it of sorts : "The problem is with people starting to use words as intentional insults. At the moment a word becomes a rather well spread insult, you need a new word that does not have that connotation (yet), because the person at the receiving end will interpret that you try to insult him or her, even when that is absolutely not the case. A very well known is Nigger (just the Latin niger=black) -> negro -> black -> afro american -> ??? If you want to stop this, you have to get people to a point that they do not try to insult others." If a term is that bad, like ' nigger ', why it it used as a common word every day by one culture? Rap artists, comedians, Hip-Hop culturally inclined.. " whats up my nigger " instead of ' hello ' and theres nothing wrong with it. Yet, If someone whom is not of a certain ethnic making says the same thing.. its ' racism ' and hateful ? Wouldnt both instances be wrong, regardless of whom says what? Yet, its accepted and ' ok ' if used in some ways, but not in others. Seems like a double standards to *me* and thats a blatant example of that divide I speak of. Political correctness goes outside of language. It goes into government and the Media sells it to anyone whom is watching. Weather or not people buy into it is their own individual choice. MLRosePlant : "gree, it has gone a little too far, but on the other hand, do we really want to go back to the days when we classified intellectually challenged people as "idiots, imbeciles, and morons?" There has to be some reasonable balance. " There cannot be a balance. Its ' all or nothing '. Its like a theology. You either worship it and live your life that way OR, your a ' redneck ' or an ' anti-something ' by label. I have NO ' political Correctness ' in my life. Theres a V8 under the hoods of all my trucks. If people whom want to ' save the planet ' dont like it, they can offer me 2 million a piece and I will gladly let them take them away. I dont care what color you are. I dont care whom you may love. I dont care whom you sleep with. I dont care what you do to your body. I really couldnt give a shit what anyone eats, smokes, snorts, injects, gambles on or sells. Everyone needs to realize that before they are part of some ' community ', they are an individual. If you choose to give up on your individually to be part of a ' community ', you might as well be a part of the Borg. You cannot take away the liberty of the individual to choose for themselves. THAT is the final installation of ' Political Correctness '. A Carpetbagger named Hillary was elected in my homestate. She never lived here but became a senator whom was supposed to represent my ideals. Well.. she made a statement that ' It takes a village to raise a child '. I guess she doesnt know what being a responsible parent is? When your mind is chained to their ideals, your ass will be dragged along right behind it. Make no mistakes, its happened before and its happening now.

[meganiwish]

Oh I do love you ILK, even though, if we were to meet I'm afraid we'd not get on, I'm sure. I'm afraid I'm a Guardianista. I'll leave it to you to look that up.A bit of research will be good for your soul We'll talk about it over tea sometime. But you're not afraid to say what you think and you THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK. You understand PC for the rubbish it is. There's no more racist term than African-American or Native American (see above).(Sorry, don't mean to be picking on the yanks, but they are good at this.) You're right with your list of what you don't care about. PC is about people worrying what others might think, and about people feeling they have a right to make others think like them. The meaning of words is in the intention. If you mean it, say it , by all means. If you don't mean it, don't say it. Of course, this isn't political correctness. We call it good manners

[HighHeelLover86]

Holy smokes Batman! ILK you hit the nail on the head. I couldn't agree more. And Megan, you are right we Americans are probably not only the most widely versed in PC usage but I'll wager to say the we may have at least in part started the whole modern notion of it in the first place. One reason that if I ever get the chance I'd love to move to England. It would seem that I'm definitely not alone in my loathing for euphemistic language. Its nice to be among kindred spirits. Anyway I'm glad I started this thread. It would seem to be one more thing that binds together many of us here.

[ilikekicks]

Oh I do love you ILK, even though, if we were to meet I'm afraid we'd not get on, I'm sure.

I better make sure the misses doesnt see that! She might wrap my head in tin foil and chain me up!

I'm afraid I'm a Guardianista. I'll leave it to you to look that up.A bit of research will be good for your soul We'll talk about it over tea sometime. But you're not afraid to say what you think and you THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK. You understand PC for the rubbish it is. There's no more racist term than African-American or Native American (see above).(Sorry, don't mean to be picking on the yanks, but they are good at this.) You're right with your list of what you don't care about. PC is about people worrying what others might think, and about people feeling they have a right to make others think like them. The meaning of words is in the intention. If you mean it, say it , by all means. If you don't mean it, don't say it. Of course, this isn't political correctness. We call it good manners

Theres this thing called the ' Jones Syndrome '. Its where everyone is wondering " What are the jones family doing today/tomorrow/yesterday/3 weeks from now ". Why should I care? Its not my business nor problem. They have lives and should live them out freely. I dont need to live my life in fear or what someone else MIGHT do. Other people.. they live in fear and worry about how others will think, react, what others will do to harm them..

Thats not a life I have chosen and certainly will never give thought to.

Holy smokes Batman! ILK you hit the nail on the head. I couldn't agree more.

Its actually great to hear from someone of a younger mind that actually understands how things ' are ' and doesnt subscribe to the new-ages media hype on everything.

And Megan, you are right we Americans are probably not only the most widely versed in PC usage but I'll wager to say the we may have at least in part started the whole modern notion of it in the first place. One reason that if I ever get the chance I'd love to move to England. It would seem that I'm definitely not alone in my loathing for euphemistic language. Its nice to be among kindred spirits. Anyway I'm glad I started this thread. It would seem to be one more thing that binds together many of us here.

The problem we all face is removing our fears. As an example, there have been many of us on this site whom dont wish to be seen in public with heels on. Yet at the same time, we want to be accepted and ' allowed ' to wear what we want.

How is being accepted ever going to happen endless we put to task what we desire?

People will be shunned and shamed into conformity. Such is done through language.

To change such, laugh AT those whom would shun or disallow others liberty and do as you please so long as it harms nobody else. Screw what others might say or think. If one worries about the repercussions or consequences, they should drop all their desires to begin with. Its THEIR problem, not someone elses.

I know for a fact some of my family laughs and has made a joke out of some of my apparel. Im sure there are others out in the general public whom have seen me out and about and had some choice thoughts/comments. Thats not *my* problem. Thats an issue that belongs to someone else. If they dont like what Im wearing, they have the chance to just look away. Im not bothering anyone.

Thats where those whom are ' PC ' really get into a huff. If they dont like something, they HAVE to burn it down. Its their theology! They own everything and wrote all the rules..

F-them. They should go live peaceably in their own little world and leave the rest of us free-thinkers alone.

OH! another term ' Closed minded ', remember that one? I guess my last statement is wrong to them and I must hate gays/fags/homos/labiaphobes/queers.. Sorry, I think for myself and someones sexual preference doesnt bother me. PC lifestyle folks feel they are the only non ' closed minded ' individuals that exist.

To plagiarize Megan ' RUBBISH! '

[HighHeelLover86]

Throughout history going back thousands of years, individuals who show an aptitude for "free thinking" have always been attacked for their beliefs and their so called "unorthodox" or "radical" way of approaching things. Although PC is something extremely bad I doubt it will ever truly go away. In the deepest sense PC is an extension of nature itself. Fear and trepidation towards things that are not considered normal by the majority of the group is an extension of the very genes which compel us to only mate with members of our own species. This could also be linked to racism or any other predisposed behavior encompassing intolerance. If we as a species and as a people are to overcome our differences we must either learn to throw off the shackles of millions of years of evolution or evolve to such a state that our deepest instincts can be left behind. Many many people have learned to screen out this feeling of insecurity concerning things that are different but even I have to admit that those feelings are still their. Its hard-wired inside us all. The question is whether or not humanity has the power to overcome that wiring. This is an excerpt from a term paper that I literally got kicked out of college for writing. Just goes to show you the size of the mountain we must climb.

[nyenor]

Its not always in speech that PC pokes its nose in. Here in Oz, so as not to 'upset' females who deliver the post, officially, instead of postman, they are to be referred to as Postal Delivery Officers. (This comes direct from the mouth of an ex-Postal Delivery Officer). The man collecting the garbage is a Garbage Disposal Officers. The list goes on. ChairMAN cannot be used, the correct term is either Chair or Chairperson. Even the simple cover to the water, electricity mains is longer a MANhole cover but an Underground Pit Inspection cover. What a load of crap. I must say I disagree with most of this PC rubbish. Maybe someone should come up with a PC term for the politicians and public servants who come up with these terms. I think 'Idiots' would aptly describe them.

[meganiwish]

'Chair' is just wrong. It refers to the office, not the person. 'Chairperson' is unspeakably ugly (some of them are) as is 'chairwoman' (most of them aren't). In Old English 'man' meant 'adult human' regardless of sex. Why don't they use 'chairman' for both men and women? Because it would mean admitting that women and men are equal. A word like 'chairwoman' is laden with prejudice.

[yozz]

What are we going to do with 'mankind'? Y.

[nyenor]

Yoss. According to one of the 'experts' on the subject I once heard it should be either humankind or personkind. (I am not joking.) By what he (sorry - the person) said any word or phrase should be neutralised - whatever that may mean.

[Shafted]

Sounds like this expert is paid way too much money to stir the pot.

[meganiwish]

Yoss. According to one of the 'experts' on the subject I once heard it should be either humankind or personkind. (I am not joking.) By what he (sorry - the person) said any word or phrase should be neutralised - whatever that may mean.

Of course, the problem with 'human' is that it contains the word 'man', so it should be 'huperson'. But the problem with 'person' is that it contains the word 'son', so really we should say 'huperchildkind' and 'huperchildholecover'. But what do I know, I'm just a silly wohuperchild.

[yozz]

Yoss. According to one of the 'experts' on the subject I once heard it should be either humankind or personkind. (I am not joking.) By what he (sorry - the person) said any word or phrase should be neutralised - whatever that may mean.

Let us see what the next step would be.

There is this awfully sexist difference between men and women.

Let us neutralize all of them (make some doctors rich).

Hence all the PC people who follow this, will become itkind and die out.

Problem solved.

Y.

[heels59]

any word or phrase should be neutralised - whatever that may mean.

Even that's been PCed. The word isn't "neutralised", it's "neutered." But perhaps that cuts a little too close.

[mlroseplant]

I'm going to take this opportunity to lead us somewhat astray, but I think this may the perfect place for this story. My sister and her husband are both academics, so naturally they have a lot of friends in those sorts of circles. Occasionally, the intellectuals let me hang out with them on Facebook. There is a woman (or possibly a wohuperchild) who teaches in Seattle. She posted one day that she had to have her laptop keyboard repaired because three letters, "n," "m," and "a," had basically just worn out and didn't always type on the first try. Naturally, people made a lot of "gender neutral" comments, but the best one was from my brother-in-law, who is generally a very serious fellow. Keeping in mind that the aforementioned professor is of Korean descent, he wrote the following: "Those letters evidently wore out because [her name] kept writing "man o man, i can't get enough of that gangnam style" over and over. And that, my heely friends, is the most hilarious thing I've ever heard out of my brother-in-law. He did admit to me later that it took him a while to come up with it. Were I tempted to write LOL, I wouldn't have been fibbing in this case.

[HighHeelLover86]

Personally I think that George Carlin ought to be required teaching in high schools and universities but that's just me hehe. Love that story by the way mlroseplant. Funny stuff man. Anyway I think I may have run out of stuff to say about PC but oh well, its been a great conversation. Looking forward to the next hot-button issue.

[ilikekicks]

Heres a PRIME example of how bad Political Correctness gets : http://news.yahoo.com/ron-pauls-puzzling-critique-murdered-seal-chris-kyle-072000026.html Ron Paul, a guy whom is absolutely against going to war brings up the fact that if you send people off to war, it will screw them up and these people might come home and have problems. Just for mentioning such after a shooting, hes lambasted from every direction. The guy has been saying the same thing since 1990 when he voted against the Gulf War, 20+ years ago! Why wasnt he taken to task so harshly back then? all of a sudden, hes now a ' bad guy '? So much for liberty and peaceful co-existence. Political Correctness will not allow such ( its designed not to allow peace ).

[meganiwish]

Political Correctness will not allow such ( its designed not to allow peace ).

It's important to understand PC's intention here. Compare with what Orwell said about political language:

"In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible. Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of political parties. Thus political language must consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness. (Politics and the English Language, 1946)

Similarly, political correctness is almost always used to hide the speaker's prejudices, and one should question their motives. The remainder are using the phrases as a badge to show which group they align themselves with, without having to do any of that tiresome and inconvenient thinking that would let them understand the rights and wrongs of the issues.

[ilikekicks]

Another example to show how dumb the PC type REALLY are :

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/australian-kids-banned-birthday-tradition-school-181900033.html#!qBQJ

"Celebrating birthdays at school just got a little less fun for kids in Australia. New guidelines issued Tuesday by the country's National Health and Medical Research Council say that children can no longer blow out the candles on cakes at school because doing so spreads too many germs. "

WTF?!?!! Are they serious?