What is so bad about being politically correct?

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It isn't. That's a tabloid headline. I don't know if you have tabloids in the US as we generally only hear about your broadsheets, but think "Fox News" in print. Or watch this video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI[/youtube]
It's still "black sheep", but a newspaper journalist made up a story about one private nursery in a posh part of the country changing it to "happy sheep" or "green sheep". The nursery denies it, but of course the "IT'S POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD! What is this country coming to?" brigade trot it out every time a similar story is made up or exaggerated.

My speculation is about why people aren't so fond of PC is they think you are being PC intentionally because they think you think they be offended with things you'd say so they tell you to stop.

Another issue is being PC causes censorship like books get banned or TV shows or movies or things get edited out of movies because people got so offended. Like in The Rescuers Down Under, the Disney villain used to sing his own version of Home on the Range song about killing animals and it's been edited out and people on youtube mentioned how it was PCness. That made me mad and hate sensitive people even more. So that is an example of why PC is so bad. I hope that was a legend too or a theory people made up. But the Disney Company really did edit out that song.


I think chalkboard sounds more appropriate because there are blackboards and greenboards so should they call them green boards too? So chalkboard is a lot easier. I had a choir teacher who kept calling the white board the chalkboard because it was a habit she had. She was used to using chalk than writing with markers. This was when we moved into the new choir room in the new school and she had all these white boards to draw her music notes on. In the old choir room, she had the chalkboard. So chalkboard kept people out of the habit of calling them by the wrong color since some were green and some were black.



@ the walrus, we do get tabloids here.

Too soft-hearted; care too much about being offensive and they feel that everyone has the right to never be offended, it seems.

I hate political correctness because it's tantamount to guilt based censorship. I refuse to alter my speech because it might offend someone. I don't use racist, sexist, or hate inspired speech, not because I have to, but because I choose to speak using proper English. If the proper term "a black person is a black person. Not an African American." offends someone, I don't care. Get over yourself.

I thought you would have done, otherwise there'd be a massive gap in the market!

That's one of my favourite YouTube videos.

I agree - a lot of the political correctness stories are made up by the media. We also have to suffer all the "new EU laws" stories as well:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acSh15Uw7Vo[/youtube]

Taking off for a doctor's appointment.

But if I choose not to offend someone, do you have a problem with that?

League_Girl, would you be upset if someone didn't like an offensive film, but chose not to watch and it didn't it banned?

No I wouldn't be upset. I hate it when they shove it down other peoples throats. I was peeved about people being upset about the use of the R word in that one movie whatever it was called and I was thinking "Get over it." Luckily the movie didn't get banned. It would suck if they edited the word out for those people.

Okay what is going to happen when a movie company decides to make a movie that takes place in the 90's or the 80's and they use "ret*d" because that is what they called it then? Not use that word and use "intellectual" or "Cognitive disabled" instead? Then the movie be inaccurate. People just have to deal with it and realize that is what they called it back then just like I am not going to get upset if I watch any movie that takes places in the 30's and the handicapped person is being labeled a moron or an idiot or stupid or imbecile by the doctors. That is what they were called then because moron was a medical word back then to describe low intelligence. I did however read a book called Petey and he was called an idiot in it. I found it offensive but I didn't know then it was a medical word. I did read in it that they didn't understand back then so I thought people were just narrow minded then so they thought they were stupid over having a disability. But no that wasn't it, it was a medical word then, it didn't mean what I thought it meant. But should they ban the book if too many people complained about the word? I understood then the author was going by how things were back then so it wasn't like he really thought people with cerebral palsy were morons. He was just going by facts and what words were used then. It is a fact that children and mentally disabled people were labeled morons, stupid, idiots, and imbeciles back then. So it's going to be in movies and books that take place back in those days and should they PC them by making them all inaccurate by not using those words and using the words we use now?

Perhaps the back of the book or in one of the pages explaining why the character being labeled an idiot in it was PC because they didn't want people to get all upset and angry with that word being used because they didn't realize that is what they used back then for people with CP because they didn't understand back then either. I see nothing wrong with that explanation. Just saves the author lot of trouble from getting angry letters about the word and hearing life stories from parents about how they have a kid with autism or a child with Down's syndrome, etc. and people protesting about the book and trying to get it banned from schools and all.

Actually that is being politically correct. Doesn't matter if it's because you hate it yourself so you refuse to use it but it's still being PC.

I read it's wrong now just to call someone deaf or blind. Those aren't bad words, they just mean the person can't see or hear. You're supposed to say visually impaired or hearing impaired. Give me a break, who has time to say all that in one sentence?

Can you imagine what Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would be like if it were written in this day and age? It's probably be called "Snow Caucasian and the Seven Little People." Dopey would be called "Mentally Handi-capable Little Person".

And Christmas songs would have titles like Have Yourself A Merry Little Winter. Only it's summer during the holidays below the equator, so it would still be "wrong"!

I think being racist, sexist, or homophobic is cruel and horrible, however. However in Canada I think it's still acceptable to call someone black, but the natives who live up north prefer to be called Inuits. And yet Americans still call them Eskimos. I don't get it. They also don't live in igloos any more, and I think they like fish better when it's cooked.

It's not bad to be politically correct, but sometimes the words or phrases sound pretentious or stupid. Plus it becomes a problem (like others said) if it's used to censor or dampen thought or opinion to make it 'correct' so it becomes bland or palatable, out of the fear that somebody somewhere at someplace in time, will get offended.

There are times it is good, but there are a lot of other times it gets out of hand. When it's used to censor or make something bland and palatable so it doesn't 'offend,' then where is it really getting us? We get a thin skin and forget how to agree to disagree, or even not take things personally. Truth to be told, not everyone is going to want to be PC (I certainly don't) because sometimes we just don't.

I always thought that being "politically correct" meant that you used words intended to convey respect and sensitivity and understanding for people and their experiences without actually having any respect or understanding for them or actually caring about their feelings or well-being at all..... that, basically, a person being "politically correct" is just saying stuff to look good or avoid controversy, rather than because it reflects what they actually think or believe or feel or care about.

So a homophobic politician might never publicly refer to gay people using a derogatory word like f***ots because they need to make sure that they look good in the public eye and don't lose votes -- but in private, f***ots could be the only word they ever use to refer to gay people and they really couldn't care less what gay people want to be called.

An ordinary homophobic person might avoid using derogatory words like f***ot in certain social situations purely for personal benefit (e.g. at work to avoid being fired, with acquaintances or more tolerant friends to avoid getting into a fight or being socially excluded) but in private or around other homophobic people, f***ot could be the only word they ever use to refer to a gay person and, like the homophobic politician, they couldn't care less what gay people want to be called.

With the meaning that I give to "politically correct" it's a bad thing because it's about dishonesty and manipulating people. But a lot of people seem to use the word "politically correct" with other meaning(s) and so the whole thing with people getting upset about the use of respectful terms or the request for people to use them is confusing to me.

That's the most common situation in which I've seen people complain about someone else's "political correctness". In my view, it's a euphemistic way to say, "Be racist, sexist or go otherwise out of your way to be hateful towards some group of people. I want you to offend someone so you get in trouble, and, if you don't, I'll be your enemy so you can't have peace anyway", with the convenient implication that you're a hypocrite---and a coward---because everyone is racist, sexist and whatnot, so their denial of being so necessarily means they're lying.

It's clearly not a position meant to be debatable, since you start by telling your opponent what their ideas actually are. It's meant so their only options are to agree with you and be racist, sexist or whatever, or to get into a personal conflict with you. It's probably wise to avoid this technique when talking to someone more powerful than you.