Has Political Correctness become counter-productive?

Question

we've all got our own views, which may not all be exactly the same, but there's often a naturally produced concensus, a reasonable compromise.

but what if it's got to the point where every time just one member of a particular minority takes something offensively and throws a hissy-fit, everybody else justs stops listening to them, even about completey unrelated issues?

Stupid illustration: Yesterday a perfectly innocent question was posed: "Do you believe in Faeries?" - could that result in a violation "offensive to Gay people" because one person said he was upset. Does he speak for the whole group? have I just been politically incorrect by saying "he" rather than "he or she"?
Some would say yes, others, no. But it's not really important is it?

Are some individuals actually CREATING and MARGINALISING the minority for ALL the people who fit the description just because they're too sensitive?

We're all a member of one minority or another.

Answer 1

Dear Androgynous Humanoid Earth Dweller:

I believe you may be right.Unless you choose to be wrong.Both ways are acceptable.

Please Carry On.

No harm intended,please don't sue.

Answer 2

I think that arguments based on political correctness are the last bastion of the weak and defenseless. 30 years ago it wasn't called political correctness, it was simply called common courtesy and the community defined the value system by which people were judged. Now, in the absence of any constant community due to the continued diffusion of people around the country and globe has lead to the 'nanny state' imposing a set of undefined (to the greater extent) rules stating that you cannot make descisions based on peoples physical, sexual etc differences.

On one hand there is, for any minority, a greater feeling of security and protection due to these rules however they are counter-productive as they remove the individual's right and responsibility to make their own mind up and express their views. Therefore in the absence of any legal obligation (behind closed doors, in public - i.e. not in the media or the workplace etc.) the backlash against these rules will become more vehement due to people being alienated by being told - "you can't think that".

I think that we can all see to an extent what is happening in the UK with the religious alienation of the Muslim population due to the terrorist attacks and I think that this will gather more momentum once people have realised that they have been told for years to allow people into their country but not have an opinion on them. It is this kind of rule which the government has to be very careful about as if it goes wrong they will end up with the entire rule being overthrown, leading to the general persecution of all minority groups. I do not sanction any abuse/discrimination or harbour any great mistrust/dislike of any particular minority group but the removal of my rights to chose leaves me disenfranchised with the legal system. Hopefully it is not just me who thinks that!

Answer 3

Yes - I do think that, despite the best of intentions, it is counter productive. The Internet is full of anecdotes of 'Political Correctness gone mad' that sets up very negative perceptions of the whole concept.
My biggest gripe is that it has opened the door for people to revert to racist, sexist and homophobic behaviour and claim that they are somehow striking a blow for free speech. Appalling comics like Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson have in some quarters acquired a renewed fame based on the idea they are 'hitting back' against extreme Political correctness, when in fact they are just trotting out the same old garbage that I thought we had moved on from!

Answer 4

Political correctness... there's never been a more idiotic and even appalling notion. The truth should be told at all times but political correctness is there to create a barrier between what we want to say, and what other people want to hear, thus what we want to say cannot be said, even though it may well be a truthful comment. My personal opinion is that political correctness has gone too far and currently it is being used to censor people from speaking out.

Answer 5

Political Correctness is the most ridiculous thing that I met. I have no idea by what kind of rules they are working on and most of the time all that I can see that one person decided to be the most clever one and put meanings where it's no meanings at all. And we have to follow??! In UK it was something about put away Father Christmas because of Political Correctness... And it doesn't go from minorities - that's for sure

Answer 6

Yes, I think PC has gone too far. We should accept that there are people who do not share our views but we should still be allowed to express those views. I think it is ridiculous that stores in New York were told that their Christmas window displays shouldn't refer to Christ's birth, because that might offend non Christians. Non Christians should accept that for Christians Christmas is about Christ. Christians should accept that people of other faiths want to celebrate their festivals in their way. We are becoming over-sensitive. The fact that other people hold different views to our shouldn't be seen as a threat.

Answer 7

The do gooders of this world do the most harm. They will pull anyone up on any slight thing. I can't believe some rubbish I read. How about the Cherie Blair incident? You can't even have a laugh anymore without some jobsworth butting in an causing problems. It's the same on here, there's always one, usually several who clearly miss the point on questions and barge in with 'you're racist' or 'you're homophobic'. I hate the lot of them. Good point made here. Hope you lot are listening!

Answer 8

Before we can say whether or not it is counter-productive, we should comment on what it was suppossed to be doing in th first place. Then we should see if it is in fact doing what it should be doing. If it's not doing what it should be doing then it's a safe bet that it's being counter-productive.

First, what's the point of PC? PC is meant to elevate the disenfanchzed. It's intended to bring more voiceds to the table where deciasions are made. PC's goal is to treat everyone with respect for differences in style, race, gender, age, disabiliity, sexuality, political affiliations, and religion. It's point is not to penalize and stall forward motion of society, but rather to edcuate and demonstrate inclusive and progressive thought. Am I close so far?

Second, does current PC manage to accomplish those goal? Sometimes. For instance, my 5 year-old son watches Star Trek, Star Wars and Lilo & Stitch.with me. He had a friend over yesterday who was very uncomfortable looking at Stitche's friends (all cutesy little aliens), but even Lilo (stich's cute Hawain friend. My son's friend was uneasy, not just about Stititch's friends with greeen skin or one eye, but also about the cute little Hawaiian Lilo. My son was able to explain that it didn't matter what people looked like, what lnaguage they spoke (or what planet they were from), but they could all be friends if they worked together to the solve the problem they all had. By the time they were watching Start Trek he had even taught his freiedn the Vulcan wave. So there are places in our society where PC is good.

When PC gets in the way of other important considerations than a valu-judgment must be made. For instance, as we went into medical school I had entry level applications and test results equal to my best friend's. But I also had some background in the humanities that he did not have and some drive to complete an MA/MD program, which had never been done before at our school. Nevertheless, I graduated with $150,000 of debt ($100,000 payable by services rendered over a 4-year contract). He received grants and scholarships (to which we both applied) so he left with $0 debt so long as he served in a designated are for four years. He also had a monthly stipend that was not included in the debt, so he came out very well considering the cost of our circumsatnaces. Josue, man, if you're reading this, you know you're cool. Su es mi amigo (sorry for the grammar). I am your brother for always. The PC point of the story is that while in am a WASP, my brother Josue is a lady-killer, love-song-writing, Bible-preaching Ricki Richardo of the new millenium. He got a free ride. I've got a 30-year fixed loan. I'm happy for him, but that's PC gone wrong. I'm not saying I should have got all that and he got nothing, but since we were both equally qualified, why not share? Better yet, decrease everybody's tuition and share the whatever scholarships individuals got.

Third, there are times when it is actually counter-productive. But you need to be real careful when referencing who it is counter-productive for and for how long. For instance, to trash PC and the afirmative action corollary would be to send a message to my Latino, Asian and Black friends that I think they ought to stay opporessed in our society. I would not approve of this. Rather, let's tlak seriuosly amongst all the effected groups to see how this can be solved. Affirmative action, when it can get equally qualified minority students into a school or a part of that school to which they had been excluded becasue of gender, race or orientation is what PC is all about. It's about realzing that everybody has an opinion. Each minoriity person has a persoanl opinoin. Each majority persoan has a persoanl opinion. PC cannot be about "What you said when you were telling about yourself, how you got here and how you felt -- some of this very offensive to me. I'm mad. I'm not going to be your friend. I'm going to go slash your tires. That's not PC; that's self-indulgent anarchy. PC is when I say what I am really thinking so that you can understand me better and you say, "Thank-you for sharing your story. We share similar frustrations. Maybe you did not know this, but in this block we prefer to be called African Americans instead of Blacks." "I'd say Great! Thanks for helping me to understand you better.

That's PC; anything that goes by tthe label PC, but does not act PC is simple selfishness.

Answer 9

To a point, yes. But there is a difference in being 'politically correct' and not being a rude jackass who insults or harms people just because they don't share the same views (something that far too many people nowadays do just because they can).

Answer 10

By the way, no one is going to arrest you if you say anything ( I mean besides "Fire" or "Bomb" if not true). Feel Free, that's why there is freedom of Speech.
However, if someone feels offended, then they have also the right to protest and let you know that what you said offended them. You can either ignore it and stand by your words, explain what you meant or apologize.
What's offensive to you or me could not be offensive to someone else.
You choose how you go about it.
I personally don't care if I burp and pick my nose in public...it's natural, why should people get offended ..............
?
Where do you draw the line?