Politically correctness.

[QUOTE=InTheGenes;I see no reason why - if I had a mentally handicapped sibling - I should go around introducing him to people as "my brother, the retard". I find the term highly offensive, and even if he could be clinically diagnosed with mental retardation, I still would never be comfortable using such terminology.

This is exactly why I hate PC and labels. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'd rather be thought of as a *person* first.
 
gnulinuxman said:
I mostly agree with what you said.

However, I resent what you said about goths being atheist. My girlfriend and I are goths and we're Christians. Most goths I know are Christians, and the one in my avatar is Jewish.
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I never said all goths were atheist, please don't misunderstand me. I was using a label as a catalyst to enforce a point. I've seen atheists dress like preps before.

Dennis- You just did state facts. It's who we are, what we are. Trying to soften the blow is equal to patronizing. It's a reality that people should face and realize their own weaknesses and acknowledge them, become stronger through knowing them. Political correctness is nice on the outside. It's like a poison that taste like candy. It tries to find a neutrality and equate it for all people regardless of race, gender, creed, religion blah blah- but in the end in alot of cases it's choking the life out of us, who we truely are and making us weaker.

I will NEVER see political correctness as a good or effective social tool. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
 
I agree with you. Nowadays, you can't be perfect without anyone complaining that you're doing it wrong or out of disrespect.

There was one episode of South Park called Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo from Season 1 Episode 10. During the show, the school was preparing a Christmas play. Suddenly, Kyle's mom (Jewish) objected to this play for it was considered offensive to her Jewish religion. At the mayor's request, the school agreed to change the play. Suddenly, everyone else in town started complaining about everything. The play ended up being something with a bunch of kids wearing dark-colored leotards and singing "Happy Happy Happy, Everybody Happy". :roll:
 
Hear Again said:
This is exactly why I hate PC and labels. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'd rather be thought of as a *person* first.
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On that, I absolutey agree with you. I believe that people *should* be thought of as people first, rather than "the deaf guy", or "the gay guy", or "the black guy", etc.

Unfortunately, it seems to be human nature to attach labels to things; there seems to be a strong desire to mentally categorize people and things. For the shallow, they will choose the simplest labels, and won't delve very far to get to know someone well enough to be able to describe them as anything but that one label.

So, with that said... if the necessity arises to describe someone to someone else, and labels need to be used... then I'd rather use ones that, at the very least, respect the person I'm describing, and also remain true. And usually, as a cue, I'll go with how the person describes themself, or how the people close to them describe them.
 
Dark-Half said:
Trying to soften the blow is equal to patronizing. It's a reality that people should face and realize their own weaknesses and acknowledge them, become stronger through knowing them. Political correctness is nice on the outside. It's like a poison that taste like candy. It tries to find a neutrality and equate it for all people regardless of race, gender, creed, religion blah blah- but in the end in alot of cases it's choking the life out of us, who we truely are and making us weaker.

I will NEVER see political correctness as a good or effective social tool. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
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I think your candy analogy is a good one. There are those who sugarcoat things to the extreme, and will be thought of as "sweet". There are those who are blunt and prickly, and who will be thought of as "bitter".

I guess it's all in how you want to taste to other people. :)

As for my going to hell because I strive to have good intentions... I suppose if I believed in heaven or hell, that comment would mean something to me. Since I don't, as I'm an Atheist (not a goth, incidentally :P), I guess I'll have to cross my fingers, and take my chances.

As for "trying to soften the blow" eqating to patronizing, I'll have to disagree, at least for myself. (And for the sake of reference, I define patronizing as: To treat in a condescending manner.) I suppose intent is one half of the equation, and perception is the other half. For my part, if and when I choose to "soften the blow", as you say, there is no condescension on my part, at all. We might also disagree on this point (I suspect we will), but I think it's possible to want to spare someone's feelings without thinking of yourself as morally superior in the process. As for perception, there's often little one can do to change someone's perception, once they've drawn their own conclusions.

I do find this an interesting topic, however (LOL, obviously!). There are definitely some cultures where being blunt and forthright is the norm, and people from that culture are seen as "obnoxious" and/or "rude". My mother's family is Dutch, and by and large, they can be a pragmatic and practical people. Many of my relatives are very blunt, and sugarcoat nothing, as that is "their way". All in all, we're fairly tolerant of our differences, though.

As I said in my first response to this thread, I absolutely am aware that PCness can (and often does) get out of hand, to the point of being silly. VamPyroX's South Park story is but one example.
 
InTheGenes said:
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I think, perhaps, the crux of our "argument" (where you and I don't see eye to eye) is how one defines "blatantly offensive". Which takes me back to my previous post, where I say: some people take offense to what you nonchalantly coin as "calling a spade a spade", and some don't.

For my part, I err on the side of caution. For your part, it would seem that you feel no such compulsion. More power to ya, brother.
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Yea, that is always a problem in deciding what the limit is (the blatantly offensive part) and it is never easy. That is mainly the reason I get rather irritated when the pendulum goes too far. It is far too much like building a prison for one's self just to satisfy the rest of the world.

Don't worry we are cool and different opinions make the world go 'round.
 
The quote "the path to hell is paved with good intentions" is subjective to specific scenarios. It is a way of saying, even if you have good intentions (political correctness is supposedly one) it won't always be what's good and best. In a certian light political correctness just might turn us all into zombies without our own opinions.

I don't think the problem is the fact everyone has different opinions. I think it's the fact that those who have different opinions do not know how to tolerate other peoples opinions. They are so hellbent that their own opinion should be the only one. I think people NEED to learn tolerance for others opinions then political correctness wouldn't even need to exist. People should have a choice of how they want to greet others in workplaces or school and others should respect their opinion and right, but no. It's not like that. That's the key for a peaceful existence with other people who are different than us-- tolerance!
 
On Christmas Day, we want to watch the tv and there's nothing on tv and no Christmas special show other than Disney Christmas Parade. I asked my husband if he knows why it didn't show any Christmas shows. He says,"F*** political correct!" What does Hanukkah and Kwanza have to do with Christmas?? I know Hanukkah celebrates Jewish and Kwanza celebrates black inheritage but what does had to with Christmas? Happy Holidays??? I'm lost here.
 
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