The Idler Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 It's a term that gets banded around a lot on here (mainly as a pejorative), but I'd be interested to hear what other posters think Political Correctness actually is? It's such a vague concept, seemingly nowadays only ever used as a criticism that it's hard to ascribe any kind of meaning to it. I think Stewart Lee put it best - calling it 'At best, some kind of legally enforceable level of basic politeness'. Anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Orange Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 It's a term that gets banded around a lot on here (mainly as a pejorative), but I'd be interested to hear what other posters think Political Correctness actually is? It's such a vague concept, seemingly nowadays only ever used as a criticism that it's hard to ascribe any kind of meaning to it. I think Stewart Lee put it best - calling it 'At best, some kind of legally enforceable level of basic politeness'. Anyone else? The term gets thrown around quite a lot on here, often when opinions differ. That and the term, 'do gooder'. Not sure what it is exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister M Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 The term gets thrown around quite a lot on here, often when opinions differ. That and the term, 'do gooder'. Not sure what it is exactly 'Do gooder' used to be a term of abuse thrown at those who criticised Tory policies in the 1980s. But since the invention of David Cameron's 'Big Society' idea, which he hopes will be run by, er, 'do gooders', you don't hear it used to silence critics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
websters gue Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 The term gets thrown around quite a lot on here, often when opinions differ. That and the term, 'do gooder'. Not sure what it is exactly 'tree hugger' is another term that crops up now and again also. I think there's always going to be few Inspector Grim types on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathAxe Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Political Correctness is the fear of offending someone. It's a stupid fear dreamed up by stupid people. Potentially everything you say can be offensive to someone. It's best to ignore those idiots and say as you please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CXC3000 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Political Correctness is the fear of offending someone. It's a stupid fear dreamed up by stupid people. I admit sometimes it can go to ridiculous lengths (like a certain people apparently offended at 'Christmas' etc..). In fact, it turned out none of those had any gripe with Santa except for the ignoramuses (who thought another group might take offense); speaking on others' behalf is not a good idea at times. Potentially everything you say can be offensive to someone. It's best to ignore those idiots and say as you please. Within limits of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Originally it was intended to ensure equally decent treatment for all; it was the argument behind making illegal the "no blacks, no Irish" sort of signs you used to get in certain places. It has been abused in many ways. Making it socially unacceptable to refer to someone with a severe brain disorder as a cabbage was probably a good thing; making it unacceptable to call them disabled is just silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 It's a term that gets banded around a lot on here (mainly as a pejorative), but I'd be interested to hear what other posters think Political Correctness actually is? It's such a vague concept, seemingly nowadays only ever used as a criticism that it's hard to ascribe any kind of meaning to it. I think Stewart Lee put it best - calling it 'At best, some kind of legally enforceable level of basic politeness'. Anyone else? That's 'at best'. What does 'At best' mean? How often does it occur? When I hear the term 'Politically Correct' then I think: "Some bureaucratic minion who doesn't have enough work to keep him/herself occupied constructively (somebody who is trying really hard to make a case to make himself/herself redundant) has devised yet another silly regulation or come up with yet another stupid idea." Rules and conventions designed to protect individuals or groups of people from inequitable treatment don't fall into that category - but such rules and conventions are rarely (if ever) thought up by the PC Bureaucrats. For example, there is a word in the English language spelt 'Dwarf'. It's widely understood and used to mean 'smaller than usual'. You can buy seeds and grow dwarf peas. Some people are described as 'dwarves'. It means that they have a genetic make-up which makes them rather smaller than the median-sized person. Dwarf is a word. It's not a derogatory word, it's a word which has been in common use for very many years. Some politically-correct person suggested that the word 'dwarf' (which simply means 'considerably smaller than the median size) should not be used to describe people. Such people should be called 'Persons Of Restricted Growth'. Porgs. Porg is a 4-letter word. If you call a Dwarf a Porg, does that make him/her any bigger? Would it make him/her feel any better (or any worse. for that matter?) What it does do is draw attention to a particular genetic pattern. IS that desirable? - If so, why? Let's consider the silly people who - in an attempt to remove sexism from everyday speech demonstrate to the world that their command of the English language (and their knowledge of Etymology) is minimal. "We mustn't call somebody a 'chairman' because that is sexist". No it is not. The suffix -man in chairman derives from Old High English. O.E. man, mann "human being, person," from P.Gmc. *manwaz (cf. O.S., O.H.G. man, Ger. Mann, O.N. maðr, Goth. manna "man"), from PIE base *man- (cf. Skt. manuh, Avestan manu-, O.C.S. mozi, Rus. muzh "man, male"). Sometimes connected to root *men- "to think" (see mind), which would make the ground sense of man "one who has intelligence," If you accept that definition, than 'man' obviously includes 'woman' because it includes 'one who has intelligence'.:hihi: How many peopleholes are there in the streets of Peoplechester? There is one potential advantage of 'political correctness'. We all know that there are going to be significant cuts in public services and it is likely that the number of public-sector employees will be reduced. Somebody is going to have to decide what to cut and who to make redundant. I don't want to see the people who provide necessary services made redundant. If somebody has to go, let it be the people who don't have enough gainful work to occupy their time - the people responsible for 'Political Correctness' who go first. It should be possible to identify them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doingalright Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I see political correctness as guidelines from the state as to the "correct" way of thinking and behaving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_W Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Job advertisements, school books, ethics in the workplace, the BBC, posting on internet forums etc...... are all subject to 'political correctness' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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