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No. That's why it is politically correct. Politically correct is the explanation or term that is consistent with the politics. It would be nice if were also correct, as in true, but that is not necessary and is of no value if it isn't also politically correct.
I think you can see only one side of the coin, Reynard32, and the scope doesn't seem broad enough.
The scope of hate-speech is very narrow. It deliberately seeks to debase one and elevate another from no acceptable basis at all. The English language is quite broad and versatile, but there are still not enough squishy puff words to disguise the venal and divisive intents of those on the wrong side of this issue.
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Originally Posted by Lodestar
But the act, itself, of altering a people's language for political purposes is always a violation of people's freedoms.
Just as the states surrendered some of their sovereignty as they joined this perpetual union, individuals by living in this or any other society give up some of what they might once have imagined as parts of their personal autonomy. Briefly put then, you DO NOT HAVE the sorts of "Liberty & Freedom" <guffaw> that you would so unjustly and irresponsibly try to claim.
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Originally Posted by Lodestar
It was, after all, one of the tenets of the founding of this country to avoid centralizing power into the hands of the few and to prevent the resultant tyranny.
LOL! The founders met in Philadelphia for the express purpose of creating and consolidating new power in a revised and much stronger form of central government, one that would actually be capable of governance over then 13 diverse and disputatious entities as the weak system prevailing under the original Articles of Confederation had so dismally failed to provide. The nation was on the verge of coming apart in 1787. All that had been fought for in the Revolution was in danger of being lost. A far stronger hand was needed at the helm and the people whose names we remember were intent on providing exactly that.
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Originally Posted by Lodestar
In my personal view, as it was when first introduced to the concept in the Seventies as a requirement to continue working, there was no logical reason to believe the government had to make me more polite than I already was. That was the straw man. It was obvious there was an ulterior motive at play and that it had to do with power and control but at the time I was too young and naïve to see the implications. Are things better now after forty years of imposed political correctness? No wonder people began to demonize the concept back in the Nineties when it began to bear fruit.
Your personal view seems to me to be just another horrible and tangled mess. Do you mean to suggest here that you were seen early on as one who was in need of some sort of in-house sensitivity training? If so, I would gather that it didn't go so well.
There is nothing at all legitimate about hate-speech. Nor is there any legitimate reason not to attach extra penalties to the commission of hate-crimes.
It's very telling that you got legitimizing "hate speech" out of everything I wrote. The mere fact something is uncomfortable doesn't translate to "hate-speech", especially if it's factually correct. Who determines what "hate speech" is or isn't? Also, we all know those "extra penalties" mainly apply when you're white, otherwise you're excused.
I don't sugar coat anything, I say it how I see it. If it offends someone I don't want them around me anyway. We have become a society of victims and no matter how politically correct you are someone will always be offended by it. Many terms we use now that are no longer politically correct, in fact, once were the politically correct. Too many people know they can get away with murder if they complain enough.
Bingo. Restricting our speech in order to placate the emotional sensitivities of others is not only foolish—it is downright dangerous. Currently there are too many people who lack the emotional maturity and the intellectual capacity to hear a differing opinion without taking it as a personal insult. If we are to adhere to the tenets of political correctness, i.e. that communication can only occur as long as everyone is “comfortable”, then we risk stifling legitimate free speech. Essentially, political correctness is a weapon used to silence opposition to the status quo, it's the beginning stage of thought crime (mandating that certain things can't and must never be said).
It seems to me that there ought to be a happy medium.
The other night I was watching the film "Mississippi Burning" (1988) about the civil rights era in Mississippi. I found the contrast very interesting. On the one hand, the Whites in the film didn't mind calling the Blacks all sorts of derogatory names (chief among them being "n----r"); in other words, they didn't show political correctness. But when the northern press started publishing articles that made the Mississippians look like hicks and country bumpkins, they were terribly offended; then, political correctness became very important to them.
Right here on this website there are conservatives (I am not talking about you) who rail against political correctness, but when a liberal insults conservatism they get all up in arms about it. Well, you (the generic you) can't have it both ways. If anything goes in language, then anything goes.
My problem with the "political correctness obsessives" is that they often miss the value of an oppossing view because they get so hung up on the political correctness aspect of the conversation that they miss the meat of the content. I think back to 2 situations of political correctness being wrong. One was in a discussion on this forum, and I used the term "American Indian". Another poster went ballistic about how politically incorrect that phrase is...even after I cited several surveys of American Indians who said they preferred the term "American Indians" over "Native Americans". Another time, when I was still working as a principal, I was giving a presentation to parents about our state test scores, and emphasizing minority student achievement in our school. A White parent spoke up and reprimanded me for using the phrase "our Black students". To which a Black mother stood up and said (paraphrased), "I'm a Black parent at this school, and my son is not an African-American; he is a Black student who is still a citizen of an African nation because we are diplomats" (our school was outside of D.C.).
My problem with the "anti political correctness obsessives" is that they're hypocritical. A while back one of these types didn't like one of my responses to one of his posts, reported me, and got me restricted for a couple of days. Wait a minute...what happened to being against political correctness? I have also noted that very often the people who preach (pun intended) the anti political correctness mantra are the same posters who espouse Christian morality for this nation, but then don't speak in a way that seems very Christ-like.
I think the real problem here is not political correctness. I think the real problem is that political correctness has become another beach head in the culture wars.
No, I find most politically correct actions to be wrongful & reverse oppression. For example, it may be called politically correct for jobs to be hiring a certain number of minorities to meet up "minority quota", but it is unfair to the white people. It is an oppression in the reverse direction.
What is politically correct or not depends on if the individual being addressed is offended or not.
Someone said that mentally-challenged has replaced retarded. Well, given time, even saying mentally-challenged will be viewed as offensive and someone will have to look in the thesaurus again to find a similar but equal-meaning word.
Oh damn...... I was looking for signs of intelligence on C-D & I just found it!!
This debate is fascinating....
And I must say I loathe the politically correct b.s. that is now the norm.
Freedom of speech is long gone & it's not coming back (to this country at least)
I don't sugar coat, & don't filter what comes out of my mouth....
There's already too many people who are blindly being PC....
I'm never going to be one of 'em
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