stop the PC madness

[EJFan]

thanks to eilan's response on another thread i have to ask... how do we, as a society (in the US)... stop being so damned politically correct? or do you not see political correctness as a problem?

first, i brought up that doctors are using "discontinuation syndrome" instead of "whithdrawal" now. then eilan remarked about how the police are now calling it "response to resistance" instead of "use of force."

it's so out of hand, IMO.

 

[Eilan]

I don't think that it's bad/wrong to be politically correct.

I do, however, think it's amusing when it's taken too far, as in the example that I mentioned in the other thread. "Use of force," "response to resistance"--call it what you will, but you're still saying, "You just got your ass Tasered!"

(FWIW, my hubby has never fired a Taser at a suspect; he was never in a situation in which it was warranted. But he DID get hit with one at an inservice training--because he wanted a free t-shirt!)

 

[mrmgp]

it's so out of hand, IMO.

It got out of hand the moment they said you could no longer use the words "fried chicken" and watermelon and jungle in any context because it might offend African-Americans. They never came up with acceptable alternatives for fried chicken and watermelon, but this was about the time that the word jungle was replaced with "rain forest".

 

[EJFan]

but this was about the time that the word jungle was replaced with "rain forest".

jesus... i never noticed that. i guess this goes back further than i'd realized.

couldn't they have used "the woods" instead? rain forest reminds me too much of richard gere and don henley.

 

[SweetErika]

I thought you were having computer problems.

But good topic anyway.

I agree political correctness is definitely out of control most of the time. I certainly see the point for some things (not using racial slurs and offending the hell out of a lot of people, for example), but just for the sake of making things more ambiguous or sound a little better? Give me a break.

I think stopping it is just a matter of people thinking (which, I'll freely assert many, and perhaps most, Americans are "Logical Thought-Process Challenged") and choosing not to go along with it. I'll never call withdrawal "discontinuation syndrome" because there's no bona fide reason to do so. So maybe in the end the solution would be educating people to think on their own instead of just going along with something ridiculous because someone said it was the proper thing to do.

 

[Quoll]

Oh that PC, whew, thought for a moment you were advocating women stop using their pubococcygeus muscle.
Why do we use the term "grey lead pencil" instead of "black lead pencil" but it is ok to use "red pencil" and "yellow pencil", surely if one colour is offensive the others must be too.
There must be something in it for anyone who names a syndrome, perhaps they get a mention in the medical history books. We do not have RSI in this country anymore, we now have OOS.

 

[Quoll]

thanks to eilan's response on another thread i have to ask... how do we, as a society (in the US)... stop being so damned politically correct? or do you not see political correctness as a problem?

first, i brought up that doctors are using "discontinuation syndrome" instead of "whithdrawal" now. then eilan remarked about how the police are now calling it "response to resistance" instead of "use of force."

it's so out of hand, IMO.

Oops sorry didn`t realise this was a local discussion, no probs.

Well excuuuuuuuuse me, how very pc of you, well.................and the horse you rode in on.

 

[Eilan]

I'll never call withdrawal "discontinuation syndrome" because there's no bona fide reason to do so.

Does this also apply to withdrawal as a "method" of birth control? Instead of practicing "withdrawal," one can practice "discontinuation" because it sounds safer. Or not.

 

[Weird Harold]

jesus... i never noticed that. i guess this goes back further than i'd realized.

I think Poltical Correctness goes back to the early sixties in something close to it's current form althoughit didn't get it's name until the seventies.

Thinking about what you say and trying not to give offense to others is not a bad thing per se, but like you say, it is "not within range of a grasping appendage."

The timing of the current excesses in "polite speech" run very close to the changes in the educational system from "goal-oriented" to "confidence enhancement." I can't say that the two are directly related, but the timing and underlying "let's not offend anyone" philosphy are too closely matched to say they aren't related.

I think I'll just blame everything on Dr. Benjamin Spock and then build a survival bunker to hide in until it's over with.

 

[mrmgp]

jesus... i never noticed that. i guess this goes back further than i'd realized.

The PC movement goes back to about the mid to late 1980s. The first article I read on the movement had me shaking my head and saying "They've got to be fucking kidding me."

 

[Gekken]

http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200005/df20000517.jpg

 

[sexy98115]

stop the madness

EJfan May be someone should file a lawsuit to stop the madness... hehehehhehe ... afterall the PC movement didn't start until people started suing willy nilly. Perfect example- people being up in arms about Christmas trees being called Christmas trees... they said they should be called holiday trees... I mean come on don't those people have anything better to do.

thanks to eilan's response on another thread i have to ask... how do we, as a society (in the US)... stop being so damned politically correct? or do you not see political correctness as a problem?

first, i brought up that doctors are using "discontinuation syndrome" instead of "whithdrawal" now. then eilan remarked about how the police are now calling it "response to resistance" instead of "use of force."

it's so out of hand, IMO.

 

[ozbloke1980]

Have to say I agree. It's the biggest crock of shit there is and something I hate with passion. As a well know Scottish comedian once said. "Political Correction Is The Language Of Coward!"

 

[bisexplicit]

I have no problem with political correct-ness. In some cases it perhaps has gone a little overboard, but it also has resulted in making many derrogatory terms or slurrs no longer valid.

 

[revolution724]

Wow... I grew up in a place where the Civil War used to be called by the old folks "that recent unpleasantness." Euphemistic speech is not new. It didn't start in the 80's, or the 60's, or the 20th century, or the United States. Ever read one of those nineteenth-century British "manners" novels? Or the seventeenth-century French ones? However, it HAS evolved from a tool of social control that particularly maintained social class lines and upheld the prejudices of the day to one most often (although not always) used to try to undo some of the damage written into our language.

I'm all for being honest in speech and not using a vague substitute when the original word isn't needlessly insulting and provides better clarity - e.g. "fight" or "force" vs. "response to resistance." However, a lot of times, the so-called "PC" term is more accurate, not more vague, and has the added bonus of not insulting somebody.

 

[buttmunch69]

Without wishing to offend anybody's sensitivity etc, I must say that I consider much of what passes for 'political correctness' to be a right load of old dog's bollocks.

It's all well and good wishing to avoid 'unpleasantness' etc, only trouble is, once you start on that road, it's not too difficult to gently alter and erode 'meanings' all over the place.
Classic Orwellian stuff, just keep making words sound less and less 'offensive' and before long you're able to do almost anything, just so long as you find some suitably 'innoffensive' label with which to define it.

 

[silverwhisper]

i think revolution summed up my position quite well. i'm usually a diplomatic sort by nature, a big believer in catching more flies with honey than vinegar, etc. it obviously goes too far at times, but this is IMHO the pendulum swinging too far the other direction. it will, in time eventually right itself, i think.

ed

 

[Lynxie]

Wow... I grew up in a place where the Civil War used to be called by the old folks "that recent unpleasantness." Euphemistic speech is not new. It didn't start in the 80's, or the 60's, or the 20th century, or the United States. Ever read one of those nineteenth-century British "manners" novels? Or the seventeenth-century French ones? However, it HAS evolved from a tool of social control that particularly maintained social class lines and upheld the prejudices of the day to one most often (although not always) used to try to undo some of the damage written into our language.

I'm all for being honest in speech and not using a vague substitute when the original word isn't needlessly insulting and provides better clarity - e.g. "fight" or "force" vs. "response to resistance." However, a lot of times, the so-called "PC" term is more accurate, not more vague, and has the added bonus of not insulting somebody.

This pretty much sums up my views on the matter. "Political correctness" is certainly not a new movement. It's merely a new term for euphemisms. A thousand years from now, people will be reading our literature and trying to deduct the meanings behind it... much like we do with literature that predates our time.

Sometimes "PC" terms are beneficial, and actually do improve society in some fashion. The best example of this, in my mind, is replacing many derogatory racial slurs with words that are less offensive, yet still descriptive and differentiating.

Unfortunately, many "PC" terms are useless, and often serve no purpose other than to mask our hangups and shortcomings. Nearly anything regarding sex or the human body is pretty much unacceptable to discuss in honest, "graphic" terms in public settings. Sex is one of the most natural things people do, yet somewhere along the way mankind decided it was embarassing and devised words to hide it. "Sleeping with" someone is a prime example, as are the countless names we assign to our genetalia because we're too chicken to teach our children to say "vagina" and "penis." The "use of force" being replaced with "response to resistance" falls into this category, as well. Law enforcement decided they'd try and put a positive spin on an unpleasant aspect of their job.

I do believe that some good has come from recent attempts to transform negatives in modern language. However, I also think that our current obsession with psychology has led us astray and caused us to over-obsess about euphemisms.

 

[EJFan]

highly thoughtful responses thus far. now here's mine:

i tend to agree with the master/genius, george carlin who said (i'm paraphrasing) that words are symbols used to convey an idea... and i like to leave symbols to the symbol-minded.

we can say, for example, "holiday trees" but if they're only used by christians at christmas time, EVENTUALLY "holiday trees" will take on the same connotation we presently attribute to the term "christmas trees." at that point, in order to appease the PC freaks, we'll have to change the phrase again.

so where does it all stop? i think the solution is to just stop making inferences and have some self confidence and personal pride. sticks and stones and all that crap.

 

[Eilan]

Law enforcement decided they'd try and put a positive spin on an unpleasant aspect of their job.

What's amusing is that it's the people at the top, the ones who haven't done any actual "enforcement" for years, who put the "spin" on it. My husband and the people he supervises might call it "just another day on the job."

I don't know how I could have forgotten this last night, but back in my working mom days, I used to teach "developmental" reading, writing, and math classes. (I'll bet silverwhisper gets a kick out of someone with my reading comprehension skills teaching reading, BTW.) Those are the classes intended for those college students who might need a little extra help (i.e. are unprepared for college-level work). "Developmental" is more PC than "remedial" or--dare I say it--"bonehead."

The administration insists that it's all about preserving the students' self-esteem. Hell, one year 95% of the incoming freshmen had to take at least ONE developmental course--and THAT includes high-school valedictorians/salutatorians.

 

[silverwhisper]

eilan quoth
i'll bet silverwhisper gets a kick out of someone with my reading comprehension skills teaching reading.

now now, eilan: i was always taught never to contradict teachers in public...

ed

 

[Eilan]

now now, eilan: i was always taught never to contradict teachers in public...

I'll rap your knuckles, anyway. Just to keep you in line.

 

[EJFan]

I'll rap your knuckles, anyway. Just to keep you in line.

*blushes*
is anyone else turned on by this?

 

[silverwhisper]

just the knuckles?

[looks disappointed]



[scampers off, stage left]

ed

 

[Eilan]

*blushes*
is anyone else turned on by this?

*pop spew*