stop the PC madness

[Exciteher]

........ the decisions are not being made for them by people who THINK they know what's best for them.

*steps down off soapbox to avoid stones and rotten tomatoes*

The problem I have with PC and some of its outright silly aspects, is that bean brains turn it into another of layer of language that fogs and muddles essential concepts. But in principle... I think a certain amount of it is necessary in this country. It is a social lubricant. Yes, it is over-used... because that is what we Americans do... we over-use things. We over label things too!

Just walk down the Arbat in Moscow.. no PC crap there, because it is a homoginized society. Same for Japan, China, England, France, etc. etc. etc. As the USA became more and more diverse, it HAD to become more and more PC. I am not sure if the people in this country really understand how diverse we are, no single religion, no single race, no single culture... not at all like it is in MOST other nations. Perhaps in some parts of this country it is less obvious that we are so diverse... but just go to LA, NY, any big urban center...

No "stones and rotten tomatoes? from this corner of the peanut gallery! lol!

The real problem has always been masogenism in IMHO. Masogenism was the father of feminism. Yeah, there was a bit of feminist "overshoot", the man-haters vs the woman-haters lol! But even at this late date, masogenist attitudes and forces far outweigh the feminist ones. I think this will be the case until we see "In the Dalai Lama we Trust" on our money...

 

[Nikasha]

And around we go

people have been moving to nix halloween because of some supposed devil/evil worship crap. screw that... let little johnny dress up as the tooth fairy or whatever and get some free snickers and shit. lighten up already.[/QUOTE]

Around here, they've taken to having Harvest Festivals instead of Halloween Parties, claiming that Halloween is just so darned PAGAN. I'm laughing my ass off, because as a Pagan, I celebrate Halloween as a harvest festival. Now, if I can just find a way to tell them about that Easter Bunny...

What ever happened to those wonderfully non-PC movies like Space Balls? Why are we so afraid to laugh at ourselves now? What would be the punishment for offending oneself???

 

[Nikasha]

Yeah, what she said

My favorites are those who want to make decisions about what I can do, without having the necessary equipment to make said decision. How's that for PC?

 

[Nikasha]

And one of these days I'll learn how to quote properly and not be such a noob. Sheesh.

 

[EJFan]

What ever happened to those wonderfully non-PC movies like Space Balls? Why are we so afraid to laugh at ourselves now? What would be the punishment for offending oneself???

oh my god... can you imagine anyone making "blazing saddles" today?

i watched a shirley temple movie (i hate her but it's a long story) many months ago. it was "the little colonel" with lionel barymore... it takes place during reconstruction (post civil war US) and his character refers to two black children as "pickininnies" in a very casual way. that was a common and accpetable term in the late 1800's.

so the movie was made in the 1930's and takes place in the 1870's using what we now commonly accept as a racial slur. even if it was TIME APPROPRIATE, no one would write that today... they wouldn't write "african american children" in its place but they wouldn't write "pickininnies" either.

 

[pupper]

And that's a good thing? Not to go off on a tangent or anything, but I think it's unfortunate that your wife's NOT a feminist. Because of all the bra-burning, man-hating fanatics out there, feminism has become something that women don't want to be associated with. That's not the way it was intended to be.

For the record, I AM a feminist and damn proud of it, though I'd be shunned by the bra-burning man-haters. Do you know what feminism means to me? It means that women's choices are expanded, not limited. They can choose to become a successful CEO, a doctor, a cop, a teacher, or a stripper. They can choose to stay at home with their children. They can choose to combine a career and a family. They can choose to have no children or several children. I could go on and on about this, but the point is, THEY are making the decisions; the decisions are not being made for them by people who THINK they know what's best for them.

*steps down off soapbox to avoid stones and rotten tomatoes*

Amen Eilan,I agree,this is america and anyone can be anything,I look at everyone as equal,thats what I'm saying.

 

[Fadeaway J]

For me, the PC madness came to a head the day i noticed an addendum to the little plaque on my bank's ATM with the Braille instructions...."These are instructions in Braille for our non-sighted customers" WTF??? "Non-sighted"?? Like its just some choice you make like when they ask you if you want to be seated in the Smoking or Non-Smoking section at a restaurant? Last time i checked, the word "blind" is a perfectly acceptable part of the English language and is not derogatory in any way.

The real amusing thing here is that the aforementioned ATM is of the DRIVE-UP variety.....and the Braille instructions are on the left (driver's) side of the drive-thru lane. Go Figure.

 

[bisexplicit]

EJ you always seem to start the longest lasting, many post threads.

 

[Quoll]

EJ you always seem to start the longest lasting, many post threads.

And you always seem to go off topic.



It`s nice to know some things in life are guaranteed.

 

[bisexplicit]

And you always seem to go off topic.



It`s nice to know some things in life are guaranteed.

Well, wouldn't you be disappointed if I didn't go off topic?

 

[Eilan]

For me, the PC madness came to a head the day i noticed an addendum to the little plaque on my bank's ATM with the Braille instructions...."These are instructions in Braille for our non-sighted customers" WTF??? "Non-sighted"?? Like its just some choice you make like when they ask you if you want to be seated in the Smoking or Non-Smoking section at a restaurant? Last time i checked, the word "blind" is a perfectly acceptable part of the English language and is not derogatory in any way.

The real amusing thing here is that the aforementioned ATM is of the DRIVE-UP variety.....and the Braille instructions are on the left (driver's) side of the drive-thru lane. Go Figure.

I remember readiing something about "hearing-impaired" vs. "deaf," but I can't remember which one is considered to be PC.

I wear contacts/glasses, and I can remember seeing my doctor write "well adolescent with visual defect" on my chart when I went for a high-school sports physical. I've never given much thought to my "defect," considering that my vision's correctable to 20/20.

My 83-year-old grandmother is legally blind because of macular degeneration. I've heard of "visually impaired," but not "non-sighted." I tend to just use "blind" myself when I'm referring to my grandma's condition. It's not derogatory; it's just a statement of fact.

 

[Quoll]

Well, wouldn't you be disappointed if I didn't go off topic?

Damn straight.
Wow I must be tired, I could have sworn your av was a pony

 

[bisexplicit]

Damn straight.
Wow I must be tired, I could have sworn your av was a pony

Yeah, I've always used self avs, but I decided that I felt like using a pony instead.

 

[EJFan]

..."hearing-impaired" vs. "deaf," ... "well adolescent with visual defect" ... "defect," ... "visually impaired," ... "non-sighted."

i like "vertically challenged" for short people. of course, in high school we always called people who pumped gas, "petroleum transfer technicians."

when you're getting away from things that could hurt someone's feelings (awwww) a lot of this kind of thing is an attempt to show off vocabulary skills and/or to make things sound more important than they really are.

we've just gotten far too verbose in our society.

 

[Nikasha]

My SO works at an independent video store (aka NOT Blockbuster). He calls the majority of his customers "socially challenged."

He wrote up a note for his boss that said
"Providing quality family time without awkward conversation for over 20 years." Gods forbid you should actually SPEAK with your family!

 

[Nikasha]

oh my god... can you imagine anyone making "blazing saddles" today?

One of my newer favorites is called "PC U" It's got every possible stereotype in it. As well as George Clinton and the P Funk

 

[EJFan]

"Providing quality family time without awkward conversation for over 20 years."

LMAO!

George Clinton and the P Funk

last time i saw them was on some concert with a bunch o' funk bands and the p-funk looked a lot like a real life (non-animated) justice league of america cast photo. lol.

 

[Nikasha]

LMAO!



last time i saw them was on some concert with a bunch o' funk bands and the p-funk looked a lot like a real life (non-animated) justice league of america cast photo. lol.

Who is that guy in the Justice League who doesn't have a face??? And what is his story? Suit, hat, no face... and lots of horrified screaming.

 

[Eilan]

One of my newer favorites is called "PC U" It's got every possible stereotype in it. As well as George Clinton and the P Funk

Now THERE'S a movie I'd forgotten about!

 

[Eilan]

Hijack?

This may be a bit off-topic (if so, I'll offer a half-assed apology), but does anyone else out there believe that there's a connection between political correctness and zero-tolerance policies? Or is it just that both of them seem NOT to be grounded in common sense? Or is it just me?

 

[silverwhisper]

i wanna hear the half-assed apology!

yes, there's overlap, b/c the extent to which the concept of PC-ness has been hijacked by "you can't offend me...you asshole!" idiots is IMHO strongly related to the entire "if we make enough stupid policies, it absolves me as an administrator of having to rely on judgment calls" thing. of course, that's entirely a reaction to the litigation-happy atmosphere in which this country is awash. i swear, it's as if liability claims were the new big jackpot and everyone wants to buy a sheet of tickets...

ed

 

[Eilan]

i wanna hear the half-assed apology!

*mumbles incoherently*

yes, there's overlap, b/c the extent to which the concept of PC-ness has been hijacked by "you can't offend me...you asshole!" idiots is IMHO strongly related to the entire "if we make enough stupid policies, it absolves me as an administrator of having to rely on judgment calls" thing. of course, that's entirely a reaction to the litigation-happy atmosphere in which this country is awash. i swear, it's as if liability claims were the new big jackpot and everyone wants to buy a sheet of tickets...

A retired teacher acquaintance of mine has an interesting story about her former school district's zero-tolerance tobacco policy, which states that students are not to possess tobacco products or anything RESEMBLING tobacco products. It seems that one day a kindergartner brought candy cigarettes to school. The substitute teacher, not really knowing what to do, contacted the principal AND the central office. The kid got three days out of school suspension, and she didn't even understand why.

Just seems a little much to me, particularly for a five-year-old. Can't we protect kids without being overzealous?

 

[silverwhisper]

ah, eilan...surely as a mother yourself you know that one person's overzealousness is another person's irresponsibility?

ed

 

[Eilan]

ah, eilan...surely as a mother yourself you know that one person's overzealousness is another person's irresponsibility?

*nods*

My problem, and this has almost always been the case, is that I'm not easily offended, so I'm not a reliable gauge of what's overzealous and what's irresponsible. I also like to give people the benefit of the doubt before crucifying them, and zero-tolerance doesn't allow for that. But it DOES keep people from having to THINK about their decisions.

Of course, I actually read my kids' student handbook, so they probably won't be the kids violating the weapons/tobacco/drug policies.

 

[silverwhisper]

grand snarkmeister eilan quoth
it does keep people from having to think about their decisions.

b/c evidently teachers themselves are too damned stupid to be trusted to such decisions? gah! my mother-in-law is an administrator after having spent 2+ decades as a teacher herself and she's a smart lady, but i swear, she must be an awfully unusual specimen...

ed