Found at Big Hollywood, this to-the-point and very effective take on Political Correctness ...
Political Correctness ...
1. It's censorship: point blank, that's what it is. It's used mainly by people on the left to attack people on the right, but not the other way around. When Miss California, Carrie Prejean, politely said she thought marriage should be between a man and a woman, the PC thugs proceeded to try to destroy her life. But when Obama said it, he was elected president. It's used to accuse people of racism even when there is no racism involved, It's not only a scare tactic, but also a career-destroying move. And it's a thuggish weapon of intimidation.
2. It's bigotry disguised as manners: you may think all those touchy-feely names they come up with for various special interest groups are more sensitive and empowering than the "mean" names of the past, but most of them are patronizing and they segregating.
When you separate people into classes, it's creating a kind of caste system. History has shown us that caste systems are used to suppress and marginalise people by putting them in special groups. The insidious thing about PC is it claims to treat people better when it really does the opposite. It implies that people in these groups are somehow lesser and weaker and must be "protected", presumably by the government, and then implies that they are not being treated well by other groups (namely white males) which is an inherently racist argument.
3. It's an attempt at mind control: the goal of PC always has been to segregate people into classes, destroy the family by marginalising and polarising people from traditional values and culture. It also tries to rebrand things to force people to think along a different path. You might think that's a good thing if it makes people more tolerant. While our culture is more tolerant than it was in the past, there is no proof or evidence PC had anything to do with it. The fact is, lying to people (which PC does) and trying to destroy a culture by effectively brainwashing people is downright …
4. Evil: the textbook definition of evil is that which is wilfully and maliciously harmful to others. What else do you call something that is used to commit so much harm against people and a society as a whole? It has become a rampant monster that destroys lives, careers, and society. It's used by creepy, selfish people to hurt others. Race-baiters we all know and despise, have been using PC for years to try to extort money from business and government by making up racist claims. That's nothing but extortion.
5. Why should we do what some faceless creeps tell us? All too often we are told what the new term for something is.
In the '60s we were told “Negro” was not acceptable any more. We should say “black” even though “Negro” is merely the Spanish word for black. Then in the '70s we were told to use "Afro-American" then later "African-American" even though that term is not only a mouthful but makes no sense. A lot of black Americans are simply Americans, many others are from the Caribbean. Or they are mixed race like our president.
Who makes up these lame terms and why should we start using them? Because "we're supposed to" isn't a reason, it's more of a threat. Who says we have to? Why shouldn't we say “steward” or “stewardess” instead of “flight attendant”? Because "they" say so?
Why should we take directions from faceless entities who tell us what we can say? Why can't we say whatever we want? Most of the terms these people come up with are retarded mentally-challenged. See, they hyphenate you to separate you from the rest of us. We're all part of the same country, but they want to make you feel aggrieved. Angry and unhappy people are easier to sway with propaganda.
And some of these readers' comments are remarkably perceptive ...
It impedes our ability to solve society's problems by not allowing us to discuss issues that are too "sensitive" or that "marginalize historically disadvantaged groups." Larry Summers suggests that if one is looking at disparities between the numbers of women and men getting advanced degrees in mathematics, one should discuss - in addition to many other factors - whether there is a genetic factor that is more common in men than women. He lost his job just for bringing it up. Bill Cosby says we need to address thug culture and the plague of fatherlessness as part of the problem of the black community, and he is reviled.
PC demands that if women are not as good at maths, it is because white men are oppressing them. If Blacks have higher rates of violence, drug use, crime, and incarceration ... it's because white men are oppressing them. No other possibility may be discussed.
Posted by: Gregory of Yardale
The whole point of PC is to shame us out of uttering the truths which would undermine the lies on which liberal philosophy is based. If reality can't be ignored, it can at least be suppressed.
Posted by: Physically-challenged Chemically-dependent Native-American
I share James Hudnall's sense of outrage. I suspect that most people do -- at least those who have chosen to remain on this side of the Looking Glass.
Censorship, bigotry, mind-control, evil: yes, Political Correctness is all those things. But wherein lies its core? Here I think:
Our élites (élitists, actually) have largely known only a life of security, opportunity and plenty, where thoughts of survival have rarely intruded. Nature – the leading cause of death – is romanticized. Human and animal predations exist for them mostly in the abstract. When, by chance, they are directly confronted with evil they see it as so exceptional as to be easily dismissed.
Political Correctness is neither more nor less than cowardice masquerading as comity and good will. That cowardice is expressed in the fear of acknowledging unpleasant or threatening realities and the failure of will to recognize and deal with the world as it is.
PC, as wilful self-delusion, corrupts intellect, perception and the resolve to act in ways that ensure prosperity and survival. That it is quickly becoming the orthodoxy of the West represents a true, existential peril.
Posted by: Phaedo
It is not politically correct to try to be politically correct. The right thing to do is to stay the hell away from anybody that might be different enough from you to take offence at your existence. It is best to look right through them, to turn and go the other way when you see them, and never to say anything in their presence with any content that may have a nuance of opinion.
Or of course you could say, "The hell with it!" And live your life as a free person with your own life and rights as an American citizen.
Posted by: SnowSnake
1960: "Tokenism" - hiring someone based on his/her ethnic group. Tokenism is considered wrong, hypocritical and the tool of bigots and "phoney liberals" (lowercase "l").
1970: "Affirmative Action" - hiring someone based on his/her ethnic group. Affirmative Action is considered necessary, progressive, good and empowering and is the tool of Liberals (capital "L") and governments.
Posted by: KHarn
PC is a consistent way of undercutting anything that the majority of society sees as having value. The resultant deracination makes people more dependent and easier to control, indeed eager for some authority that would approve of them.
Posted by: Michael J Kubat
In the final analysis, political correctness is a lens through which all reality must be filtered, cleansed of unpleasant truths and accepted without question by all. In short, an attempt to correlate reality and theory by altering reality. And thus, political correctness is nothing more than a form of mental illness.
Posted by: GP
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