Is political correctness becoming oppressing?

Question

What are your views on political correctness? Have some people gone 'too far' or is it needed to bring about fairness and equality to society?

Answer 1

Fairness and Equality is perused by liberals as the same fervor as crusades were done by crusaders. Obviously every one is not equal. My problem is when they boil everything DOWN to the lowest common denominater so that someone somewhere won't feel bad.
I feel bad sometimes. Everyone does! But we get over it. Surely if we lose sleep over the stupid offense, we ought to have our heads checked.

Answer 2

Oh dear comrade Louise - do you have nothing better to do.
By the way what is wrong with calling Bombay mix, Bombay Mix, another example of the minority trying to change the majority. Thousands of people know it as Bombay mix so lets leave it like that. As for the British subjugated another nation for 100 years - well they certainly got alto out of it - infrastructure for one, that's another argument and if you don't like the idea of the British Empire and being British then **** off and life in India then!
Your argument about noticing he was black first does not add up. That's like saying I noticed it was a red car - because it was red you prat. Because it stood out in a crowd - like it or leave it. Its a different colour car. Get used to it. It isn't oppressed now.
Personally, I feel it would make far more sense to pile on aggression and say stop being a soft **** and feeling sorry for you self and get a grip on life and then I will rip the piss abit more.
I can imagine that in the countries time of need you will not be on the front line saying 'count me in' but standing at the back with a chip on your shoulder saying I have been oppressed. If you don't like it get lost. I bet you work for the council as some kind of outreach worker and have a degree in socialogy.

Answer 3

Great question!

Political correctness is oppressive, it eliminates debate and polarizes people.

An issue it how to separate political correctness from just plain good manners, and civilized behavior.

The issues that come to mind are: evolution versus belief in a creator, abortion, same sex marriages, the oxymoron of limiting the free expression of religion, the war or terror versus the destruction of Iraq, the tragedy of social security, entitlement spending by the government, school vouchers, etc.

Many of these issues are polarized and are needing to find a common ground, not a position that must be adopted and applied regardless of what you think.

Abortion is a good example. If you believe in a creator and that you are a created being, then you will in most cases not be able to accept abortion, since you believe in the sanctity in human life. Why? Our human potential is set genetically at the moment of conception. Thus, abortion destroys the potential of a created human being.

However, if you believe we are random quirks of nature, then, life is meaningless in the grand scheme of nature, and, abortion does not matter.

Since God holds ultimate judgement, the people who believe they are created beings, ought to leave judgement to God. These people can and should make their views strongly known and not be silent about abortion. That is their right and duty. However, until the issue of evolution or a creator is resolved, judgement must be God's.

However, I would apply some consequences from a government standpoint.

1. In this sexual culture of today, contraceptives must be explained and made available.

2. Abstaining must be given more weight.

3. If a woman/girl gets pregnant, the man/boy/boys family must be financially responsible for the baby. Right now guys can leave a path of destruction without any accountability.

Answer 4

Alls fair in love, war, and politics.

Honestly, if you want a new gauge of where this country is heading, look at what the supporters say and what the people in office say. You have rappers saying "Vote or die." While it is no longer politcally correct to call illegal aliens what they are. Don't call them immigrants, it implys an aura of ligitimancy which doesnt belong there. It is all over the place, and it applys only to those who want to limit what is said.

Honestly... look at the wording... political correctness... theres an oxymoron if there ever was one... it's all stupid.

Answer 5

It's asinine. You can't even point out the obvious about many things without being labeled "racist" or something. We have become such a society running around on tippy-toe to avoid stepping on any toes that nothing gets done. Schools are infected by it. God forbid you actually tell Johnny's parents that he is falling behind and has social interaction problems. Better to just send him off to the next grade so he doesn't feel "left behind". Never mind the fact he'll leave high school unable to balance a checkbook.

Answer 6

Political correctness is a good thing if used properly but it can easily be misused.

What it's meant to be is a way to give everyone an equal chance without prejudice against them because of things that they are unable to control such as whether they are male or female, black or white, disabled or not disabled.

Obviously no one can say that giving everyone equal opportunities is wrong. If a certain group is given an advantage over others in the name of political correctness, it is no longer political correctness and is wrong.

Answer 7

Political correctness is turning our great country into a doormat for all. It is all brought about by insignificant want to be noticed no lifers. Local government up and down the country seems to be the only place they can get a job, why don,t they all climb back under their rocks and let the rest of us get on with our lives minus all this correctness shite.

Answer 8

Political correctness as far as I can see is basically a debate one what one should or shouldn't say. There seems to be a general impression that this "shouldn't say" is reinforced by some kind of Thought Police, who will pounce on you and humiliate you for calling a woman a "bird" for example. Personally, I've never seen a Thought Policeman and I suspect it may be a bugbear invented by the Daily Mail who wants to defend the right to free speech and free prejudice.

It's true that there is a growing awareness of certain words becoming off limits: such as n****r, b***h, poof, etc. In examples like this I think there is a growing consensus that we shouldn't use them because they are intolerant of social groups that have traditionally oppressed. Nobody is actually stopping you using those words, but the tide of fashion is shifting against them - and personally I think that if being tolerant is fashionable, that's a good thing! If you want to use this vocabulary and feel oppressed by it becoming taboo, the question is not "why won't they let you say it?" (I am still free to say what I want, but others are free to dispute my choice of words), but rather "why do you want to use this word in the first place?"

Examples such as "baa baa black sheep" do not seem to me to constitute genuine examples of political correctness but are invented by the hysterical mass media to ridicule the progressive ethos of political correctness through hyperbole. Oh and by the way, what's wrong with changing the name of Bombay Mix? After all, Bombay was a word the English invented because they couldn't be bothered to learn the local place names of the people they conquered and brutalised. Why shouldn't we use the word that the people who actually make the stuff use? Is using a new word really that much of a hardship for you? Do you think it compares to the hardship of being subjugated by a foreign nation for over 100 years?

People DON'T generally say of a black man "he has dark skin" just for no reason. But if you were describing someone you saw, you might say "he was black", whereas if you saw a white man you would probably start with "he has brown hair, he was tall". The question is why do you focus on that aspect of his appearance? Evidently because that was what you noticed about him, so then why was that the first thing you noticed? As for criticising Israeli action in Lebanon then being called anti-Semitic, it would be evident from what you were saying that you are criticising the historically specific actions of one group of people, rather than Jewishness per se, so I doubt anyone would even retort "anti Semitic" at you, and if they did, you could explain that what you were criticising was not their religion.

As for a judge calling you honey, if you don't feel offended by that, that's your call. Personally I WOULD feel patronised, since I'm sure that judge wouldn't be using diminutives to address men. So I would challenge his right to use that word to address me. Challenging is not the same as prohibiting! The people who criticse PC vocabulary as having to tip toe round hypersensitive people seem generally speaking to come from social groups that have not been oppressed through history. If someone who has been tells you that they feel insulted by the way you address them, wouldn't it be easier and kinder to try to address them in a way they do feel comfortable with, instead of piling on further aggression by telling them that they have no right to feel insulted?

Answer 9

Totally, people have gone too far, you can't relax in company anymore, be it the workplace, school, park, street, you name it there's always someone waiting to comment on the political correctness of something or other and accuse someone of something, these people are often the ones with loads of problems and no life, GO GET ONE!

Answer 10

If you say a black man has dark skin you are a obviously a racist for noticing. If you say the Jews are killing a disproportional number of innocent people in Lebanon, it is because you are anti-Semitic (even though the Arabs are also Semitic). If you say that men are better boxers than women, you are clearly a male chauvinist pig.

What is this world coming to? At this rate the only thing we will be allowed to call any one would be "white trash", which I saw in a Yahoo answer and no one objected!