Political correctness changes how we speak. We speak in a politically correct manner so as to not seem offensive. Generally it is about using a euphemism or inclusive term to describe someone or something. We generally want to avoid being offensive so we use certain terms in a public setting. An example of this is using the term African-American. While in the past, negro and colored were acceptable terms anyone using them today would be considered a racist or bigot.
There is an issue of trust involved in who decides what the best term is. I don’t know whether it is politically correct or not to say black, so I try to avoid it. I have to trust that the term african-american is preferred. However, the term is a few more syllables (7 vs. 1) so I often do say black. Also sometimes people don’t want to be referred to as african-american and prefer to just be called American. How an ethnic group wants to be identified is a completely subjective process.
Political correctness expands beyond determining the proper social etiquette for discussing ethnicity. It also governs the discussion of sexual orientation. Saying queer or faggot is not acceptable while gay is okay. But there also has to be even more specific categories such as lesbian, bisexual, transgender and more. The problem with political correctness is that it puts people into these specific groups instead of acknowledging everyone as simply humans or simply people.
Political correctness also effects the way we describe disabilities. Retarded is deemed offensive so the term “special” is used in. Also several seemingly absurd terms such as “visually impaired” for blind and “height challenged” for short arise. This is basically just jargon. Political correctness can at times make us more polite but at other times simply feel polite because we use a euphemism.
Another issue is that political correctness limits what we are supposed to talk about. If certain topics are off limits, how are we supposed to have open and honest discussions. Being politically correct mirrors the way that many politicians dance around an issue so that they won’t offend someone. Sometime we need to fight about things in this country so that we can get along.
Trusting political correctness is an issue because it is based on assumptions. It assumes people like to be labeled a certain way. It assumes that people are offended by certain things. It assumes that certain topics are not okay to talk about. It assumes that people are so sensitive that offending them must be avoided at all cost. But the biggest danger of political correctness is the assumption that a political position is correct and that an issue is already settled, such as assumptions about the character of the military, the validity of war, the reality of global warming and the need for big government. It is dangerous to challenge what is politically correct. It is dangerous to question the status quo. Dangerous but necessary.
John,
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by this topic, and found reading your blog very enlightening. I strongly agree with your point of view, political correctness does changes the way we speak. Political correctness has become more involved in our everyday life conversations. If someone is politically incorrect they are automatically shamed and discredited. It is clear that our society and the world at large have shifted toward the direction of being politically correct. You discussed race, gender, and disability. The three topics are very sensitive. When discussing race everyone has their own opinion and everyone is entitled to it. If we not careful using politically correct language, it could be easily offending people based on their differences or handicap. In contrast, according to the constitution, our first amendment: freedom of speech allowed us says whatever we want, when we want it, unless it is knowingly libel or slander. One could offend the “gay” or politically correct word is bisexual. When describing people with disability, we are not allowed to use the word “retarded”. People think that by responding in what they want to hear it will them in good standing. But when someone discusses the wrong topic or has different own opinion that culture has taught us to have. Sadly, we could get in trouble because of politically incorrectness.
Congratulations Ben! Your blog definitely hits political correctness on the nose! To me it seems like sometimes people expect other people to be what is considered "politically correct" just because it is thought to be polite. My question is if words like colored and faggot (not that I like to use those words because I don't) were not considered to be extremely rude would people that fall under those categories be offended by them? What if calling someone Asian-American all of a sudden became politically incorrect? We'd treat the words like it were taboo. When I was in high school my English teacher was copying a sentence out of our English book and it said something like "A Japanese boy went to the store"(well probably a little more complex, but for the sake of the story let's leave it at that). He wrote A Jap. boy went to the store instead. I automatically got goosebumps just seeing that word on the board because being Japanese-American I'm so used to thinking of that as politically incorrect. He did not think twice about it because he was merely just trying to get the sentence written in time before the bell. I realize now that Jap. is just like an abbreviation and I'm not sure why it offended me. That's just some food for thought. Also, when you stated "Being politically correct mirrors the way that many politicians dance around an issue so that they won’t offend someone," I noticed that politicians like to use political correctness as a form of doublespeak and doublespeak seems to me to be frowned upon, therefore, is being politically correct...morally correct?
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