Political correctness?

Question

does it annoy anyone else that this country UK is so PC that a light friendly slap results in to a police investergation and the priminister`s wife get a slap on the knuckles

Answer 1

Some years ago, a friend and I were well into our conversation in the faculty cafeteria, and a faculty member sat behind us; she stopped her meal and asked us what we were doing and I simply STARED at her. She wanted to know what WE were doing in the FACULTY cafeteria. I handed over my ID, she grabbed it and saw "Faculty" beneath my image and returned it. I simply said, "Next time, just mind you business!" We continued where we left off as I was explaining, "... so, she has very, very long, long dark black hair, with a few streaks or stands of brown hair... and man, she's got the prettiest tail you've every seen..." and my friend interrupted me and ask, "And she's really tiny?" and I said, "Yeah but let me tell you, she's an old lady! She's not young at all..." At this point, the lady got up and called over the Dean and told him how we were having a disgusting conversation and were describing some dark haired woman...! I told my friend, "Here, I'm so disgusted by people not minding their business... throw this out, won't you?" and I looked at the Dean and said, "I am going to let my friend answer that when he returns, but I don't want you to think that we got combined to b.s. you or anyone! This woman has been harassing me since she sat here. One of us needs to learn to mind her business!" My friend came over and I asked, "Scott, WHAT exactly were we talking about?" And he looks at me puzzled and said, "We were talking about your little black Persian cat, and her furry tail and how she was so tiny, she wakes you up to feed her..." I snatched my jacket and walked away, leaving the annoyed Dean and the woman to continue the conversation by themselves.

Sometimes political correctness goes a little too far when two people can't even describe a black Persian cat!

Answer 2

What is this country coming to?
No I am not talking about polictical correctness, I am talking about the fact that Patricia has managed to get through University and write about PC, but can't spell 'correctness'. And also raised the issue that the St George's flag, offended other 'religions'. Well for as long as I have known (all my life) I was never taught that being English was a religion.

As for my opinion on PC, I think there is a place for it sometimes, when it is very offence, but I also think it has gone too far. I personally don't agree that people from other religions find things like Christmas/Easter offensive. I think the media has a lot to do with hyping things up.

Answer 3

It seems to me that the PC brigade are slowly insuring that the general public have no respect for those in power. At times there is a place for a PC stance, but where has the need to be overtly dumb come from ? There used to be a thing called common sense, a method of living where respect was given to all that respected you. Maybe that is where the country is going wrong. By dictating to us all that we cannot have the freedom of speech that we were told was our right is effectively taking away that respect for those that elected them. Its no small wonder that kids these days do not respect their elders.
On the amusing side of this the lack of common sense has led to some hilarious labelling of goods:
Packets of Peanuts --- "Warning: Contains Nuts"
Hairdryer --- "Do not use while sleeping"
Sleeping Aid Pills --- "Warning: May cause drowsiness"
Childrens Superman Costume --- "Wearing of this Garment does not enable the wearer to fly"
Of course the whole PC thing annoys me, but the lack of basic common sense by what seems to be the entire country amazes me more.

Answer 4

My master degree was on political corectness.

The aim of political corectness is generally to stop offensive phrases being used in a commonplace manner, and to remove the discrimination implicit in some of our language.

Examples of "political corect: decisions:
- Some council's last year decided that people were not allowed to say Happy Christmas in case it upset people of other relgions and some other councils went as far as banning Father Christmas from making appearances at department stores.
- St Georges's Day... in the week leading up to it the government about trying to get the Cross banned from flags, schools, cars etc...due to the fact that it might upset other religions.

I have always wondered how often the government has actually "forced" political correctness on us? What exactly is wrong with ensuring that previously maligned groups are made to feel welcome by positive (i.e. active rather than passive) efforts? It's for them, not for us, and so usually doesn't affect us directly. It is in my opinion a not ignoble, if occasionally misguided attempt to try to cultivate a degree of social harmony through cultural compromise (interestingly, it is just compromise, quite often: I have yet to hear of a cultural institution being completely done away with for the sake of a minorities desires. This leads to ask earnestly, how "bad" this situation actually is).

The problem with the anti-PC people is that they would consider any bend to accommodate the sensebilities of minorities - not just ethnic minorities - to be political correctness, when, like I said, it's often just good manners. Now I also take issue with your and others' insistence that it must be bad because the government is "forcing" it on us. I disagree that they are forcing it on us, and even if they were, I might point you to the uproar that arose when the government first introduced universal education and health, the majority of people insisting that these were beyond a government's justified competence.

So even if governments to "force" certain aspects of policy on us, sometimes it is for a greater good. Another example of political correctness is St Paul's cathedral. When he had commenced its reconstruction, Sir Christopher Wren's original design was thwarted by no less an authority than the king due to it's excessively "catholic" undertones. He had to change the design. Political correctness and government intervention for political and social purposes is nothing new, why do we spend so much time moaning about it when in most cases it hardly affects you?

Political correctness is everywhere, but it is generally understood popularly (and erroneously) as encompassing only minority or non-powerful interests. Believing that the Queen should be treated with a specific kind of greeting is as much 'political correctness' as is the belief that we shouldn't call black people '******'. Think deeper - maybe start with some reading of Foucault and Gramsci - 'discourses' and 'hegemony' are two concepts to get to grips with if you're genuinely interested in what 'political correctness' really is about.

Answer 5

It is not so much political correctness as it is control. Take another look at it, this political correctness is more about control than it is politics. When an individual or group is accused of being politically incorrect why is the accuser always looking for a way to stop them with some form law or some form of control. The people accused of being political incorrect aren't incorrect, they are just finding out who controls what they say.

Answer 6

Political correctness is so way out of hand that it's unbelievable. It's that way in the U.S. also. I've read about a kindergarten child getting in trouble for sexual harassment for giving another student a little kiss on the cheek!! I have no idea who started this garbage, but it has to stop! Oh, I got so carried away I forgot to answer your question! Yes, it annoys me!!

Answer 7

Indeed the country is overrun by "intellectually challenged individuals", and the primeminister's "co-habiting partner" is paying the price for a culture of calling a spade a "gardening implement for a non-determined plot-size".

Answer 8

The more the liberal-type personality is allowed to operate unconstrained, the more "PC" will be imposed upon the populace. The tolerance of the normal or conservative individuals have only themselves to blame.

Answer 9

Yes it bothers me a lot in as much as Britain used to be a place of tolerance, high spirit and fierce independence. She has gone down the drain and lost her sense of humour. IT is terrible.

Answer 10

I agree; PC is a divisive plague on us. It inhibits language, so that one is often afraid of saying anything, in case some strident woman or ethnic uses an innocent comment as a weapon.