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Political Correctness - Mind Control?

Political correctness - Good or bad?


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Wake

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I am sure people know what political correctness. Is it bad for society, or good?

Should it be lessened? Increased?

Also, it'd be awesome if you could give examples of political correctness to support your beliefs.

Thank you.
 
It drives me crazy. I don't have any specific examples off the top of my head, but basically, if somebody has whined about it being offensive then it's supposedly inappropriate.
 
Political correctness is bad for society. Its basically bull **** thought control. Most of it is for deception.


An example of political correctness being used for deception is when pro-illegals use the terms "immigrant", "undocumented immigrant", "undocumented worker", "migrant workers" or "undocumented American" instead of "illegal", " illegal alien or "illegal immigrant" when talking about illegals. The purpose of this deception is so they can hide the fact these people they are trying to defend are here illegally in order to lump in trespassers/invaders/criminals in with people who have legal permission to be in the country so that they can falsely accuse people of being anti-immigrant or racist. Pro-illegals also love to call anti-illegal immigration laws anti-immigrant in order to falsely imply that these laws somehow target people who have legal permission to be here.
 
The question is way too simplistic. I try and be polite and not offend people. That is my choice. Forcing people to not offend others however is something else again.
 
The most recent example that comes to mind was Juan Williams getting fired from NPR when he said he felt uneasy about fellow airplane passengers who wear "Muslim garb". I tend to think political correctness hurts this country more than it helps.
 
I am sure people know what political correctness. Is it bad for society, or good?

Should it be lessened? Increased?

Also, it'd be awesome if you could give examples of political correctness to support your beliefs.

Thank you.

I think being PC is profoundly intellectually dishonest, bad for society, and bad for debate. It usually comes up when discussing demographics, people, and society, and it's like an over-reaction to bigotry to the point where saying anything that highlights a difference between peoples makes you a Nazi eugenecist.

Thing is, if we discussed these things honestly, perhaps we could actually change them for the better. No, pretending they don't exist is clearly a better option.

I got called "classist" a while ago. I was working at a fast food place (thanks recession!) and commented that there are basically two kinds of people there - people who are passing through, and people who are there for years or decades. I was commenting that the lifer's tend to be antagonistic towards the short-termer's and I suspect this is due to the difference in their skill set and thus their prospects.

Someone whinged at me for ages about it. I was working there too, dude. Obviously I'm not too good for it, and don't think I am, or I'd never have applied in the first place.

But in that case, the PC person is saying it's "classist" to observe that people with more skills have better prospects. The implication is that they're stuck there and they can't help it.

My position states that people can control that, and change that, if they wish to. I was living in New Zealand at the time, and vocational schools are often free.

So, in addition to being intellectually dishonest, the PC person is also assuming the people are inherently incapable, and too stupid to advance themselves.

My position assumes that betterment is possible, and people are capable.

I'm rather insulted by PC people, frankly.
 
Both good and bad.
 
I think it depends where I am and what I am doing. If I am in class or at work I tend to be PC because those are places that are serious. If I am hanging out with my friends then I say whatever the **** I want.
 
I think the good is obvious. Encouraging members of society to be considerate of the feelings and viewpoints of others is in itself good. To some extent the basic ideal of "political correctness" is positive.

On the other hand much of it gets tangled up with people's political worldviews with no regard for the worldviews of others (very ironically). For example people can very quickly be called racist by the standards and understanding of the one doing the judging, when in fact the one doing the judging is mistaken as to what the other person's actions mean in regards to what they believe. Oddly this is... ... insensitive.

But I suppose Fiddy can answer for himself. ;)
 
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Would you elaborate on the good, Fiddytree?

Sometimes the politically correct culture ends up creating an ends where people at least consciously try to be more fair, careful, or respectful (maybe even change their minds). It is hard to deny some of the positive aspects of politically correcting our race relations, or other minorities. The shunning of certain racial slurs has enabled us to self-censor words with far too much intentional baggage.

On the other hand, people can react negatively with the perception that they are being forced to adopt a mentality that they think they should not have to. It can also create an unfortunate backlash that was certainly not intended. Take, for instance, the well-intentioned people who try to remove the word "Retard" from public discourse. Now, their intention is to perhaps stop hearing that word used around their son or daughter who is mentally retarded, or that a teacher's students wouldn't have to hear it (or perhaps they are people from a distance who happen to agree that it is a bad word). In some cases, it does make people think twice about it, but on the other hand, it can create the opposite reaction entirely. People can react negatively toward "enforced kindness" and the effort to see people as "the same" ends up making them look even more different from the rest of society, who need not worry what words are used to describe them.
 
I think that it's good to try to be polite and not intentionally offend people. However, we often take it too far, and it's absolutely a bad thing when people are punished (losing their job, being fined, etc.) for saying something offensive.

Remember, no one has a right to not be offended.
 
it is a very needed thing and very good for the country
but like many good things there are individuals that abuse it and take it too far
 
On the other hand, people can react negatively with the perception that they are being forced to adopt a mentality that they think they should not have to. It can also create an unfortunate backlash that was certainly not intended.

That is my problem with it. If you don't like what I say or how I act just stop dealing with me. Telling me what do is not going to get a kind response from me. Just go away baby!
 
That is my problem with it. If you don't like what I say or how I act just stop dealing with me. Telling me what do is not going to get a kind response from me. Just go away baby!

yes but this is only true in personal life, not commercial, not public, or educational or political etc etc
 
we have become a society of potential victims just looking for the reason to claim our status. The most recent stupid example was when Mitt Romney said he was joining to hang jimmy carters misery index around obama neck, seriously? that is enough to get some on the left all riled up? Hyper vigilance especially when used to achieve a perceived partisan gain weaken those who have a legitimate cases of racism because they get lost in the noise of those who cry wolf. I demand full bore free speech I dont want ed shultz fired it is good to know where he stands, nor do I tar the left with this one mans vile comments, but I do tar the left who have a well oiled political correct police for their silence on those comments. The cult of victimihood is bipartisan, though far more prevalent on the left, Palins problems have little to do with the press. While I am sure the press played "GOTCHA" with palin and played up her "57 states" moments she has shown she lacks the ability to manage her own mouth let alone a country
 
Political correctness is simply a very subtle form of control. It attempts to make the expression of certain opinion “offensive” simply by expressing that point of view. For example…

…for years the word “homophobe” (for someone who has “homophobia”) has been thrown around as an epithet for anyone who expressed a view contrary to any pro-homosexual view. The word literally means “fear of the same” and not “fear of gays” as many believe that it does.

Regardless, some dictionaries have gone so far as to change the definition of “homophobia” as someone who is prejudiced against gay folks.

While some may argue this is simply a natural evolution of language (and I don’t believe that it is) I have noticed that there is no word--at all--for someone who does not agree that homosexuality is “normal” and yet isn’t “afraid” of gay folks.

Of course, such a belief is not "politically correct" and so it must not be allowed to exist.


 
And while I'm thinking about it, it does occur to me that hate crimes (thought crimes) are a natural progression of political correctness.
 
Political correctness? You mean like controlling the meaning of language? "Marriage is between a man and a women". /thread.
 
The most recent example that comes to mind was Juan Williams getting fired from NPR when he said he felt uneasy about fellow airplane passengers who wear "Muslim garb". I tend to think political correctness hurts this country more than it helps.

That's a perfect example. Since it's politically incorrect to admit to feeling even a bit anxious when boarding a plane with muslims, it shuts down all dialogue. If it was out there, and talked about maybe there would be more understanding from both sides of the issue. When you can't even talk about a feeling you get, that you don't have any control over, without being called a bigot, things have gone to far.
 
it is a very needed thing and very good for the country
but like many good things there are individuals that abuse it and take it too far

How about if we didn't have any political correctness? Suppose everyone who was racist and hated black people could still say the N word. Wouldn't that make it a hec of a lot easier to spot the assholes so we knew who to associate with right off the bat. :)
 
Political Correctness is Neo-Marxism, more dangerously as nukes and is about to destroy the Western Civilization.

political-correctness_submission.jpg
 
I am sure people know what political correctness. Is it bad for society, or good?

Should it be lessened? Increased?

Also, it'd be awesome if you could give examples of political correctness to support your beliefs.

Thank you.

Please define political correctness.
 
*Bump*

Any news related to political correctness?
 
I think there's a small but unsubtle difference between trying to use accurate terminology, and promoting political correctness.

But yes, some forms of political correctness are basically milder forms of 1984 Newspeak.
 
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