I see this term thrown about a great deal, but I'm not sure what it really means. Help me out and please resist the urge use hyperbole or go off on rants - just be straightforward.
2007-12-04 23:56:11 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
One must go back to the origins of political correctness to understand it - in the 1960s, academics were searching for inoffensive terms to address large classrooms full of diverse students. Women objected to being called "girls" (or "chicks"), while some African Americans objected to being called "Negroes" (among other names),.and we have generally adapted to a more respectful choice of terms for some groups. Other groups found it expedient to make similar demands, and the situation got a little ridiculous, at least to the less sensitive folks who didn't see the difference a word makes, and perhaps to those with good intentions who simply couldn't keep it all straight in their lexicons. Some of the rapid changes, like from "Mexican" to "latino," "chicano," and "Hispanic," came too quickly to keep up with, even for me, and I really don't suffer from a lot of bias like many of my peers: 'Nam vets, goobers, and right-wing wackos being among the worst offenders. But as Orwell, Chomsky and others have pointed out, a battle is being waged for control of our language, and most everyone has tried to seize power by redefining the battlefield itself. Bush the Elder came up with "the L-word" for liberals, and we still haven't recovered from that one. The fight is by no means over - for example, are they "illegal aliens" or "undocumented workers?" Some cities have passed ordinances against the "use of fighting words," including ethnic slurs, but does this extend to gays and "football jocks?" Easiest is to ask a person what they prefer to be called, if it comes up, and if they offend you in some way, try pointing out that you would prefer a different term be used, before filing a lawsuit...
2007-12-05 00:53:45 · answer #1 · answered by Who Else? 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A term used as a way to speak and act that will not offend ANYONE.
Now there are exceptions to this. You do not have to be politically correct to someone that you believe is not being politically correct. You don't have to worry about that white supremists feelings since he/she doesn't care about others. However, this isn't set in stone as we should respect cultures that treat women less than livestock and must be politically correct with them.
Confused yet? It gets better. Politcal correctness also goes with nation's policies as well. If the USA does something for it's own sake it is selfish. However, if ANY other country does the exact same thing....we should understand the back drop of the situation.
If you want the most simple answer, it is this. ANYTHING that makes you, the US citizen, feel guilty is politically correct.
2007-12-05 00:12:21 · answer #2 · answered by emp 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋
political correctness is just government and society peer pressure to conform to what special interest groups and minorities want.
2016-05-28 06:46:35 · answer #3 · answered by lara 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A form of speech censorship that removes all possible chance of sensibly confronting a problem. It deletes any term of reference that is comprehensible to such a degree that people are actually unable to communicate.
I will give an example- We are indeed in a conflict with Radical Islamo fascists but because of PC we are not allowed to call them what they are so with that term removed the impression is given that our enemy is identified as Islam itself or all Muslims. That many refuse to follow PC is all that allows our ability to differentiate between those who would harm us and those we are seeking to aid.
We also face extreme problems with gang violence in this country but PC keeps us from rightfully identifying the proponents of the violence because we would have to identify them by race. Because we can not do that we are unable to deal properly with the root of the problem and are stuck with nebular responses that have to date been ineffective.
It is a real factor that is ill defined and broadly applied . In order to cope with a threat you must first be able to identify it and name it so that others can identify it also. When you remove the ability to identify a problem you have insured not only it's survival but it's growth.
2007-12-05 00:00:09 · answer #4 · answered by Locutus1of1 5 · 1⤊ 4⤋
meddlesome, misguided, interfering costly in
mostly made up jobs that are not needed,
sticking their oar in where its not wanted or needed,
the sort of people that would ban punishment but scream their heads of if they were the victims, nick someone for parking on a yellow line, but let a murderer escape with 2 years for manslaughter, I could go on buy might end up in a rant
hope this helps.
2007-12-05 00:32:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
It is not good to make jokes about someones religion, sex, or origin of country.
It is not good to make any kind of judgment against anyone base on sex, religion, origin of country, or criminal background
Expection being White male Christian from the US than all is fair game.
2007-12-05 00:29:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Officially and politically polite.
2007-12-05 00:01:19 · answer #7 · answered by Mitchell 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
fellow the wig ahh fallow the wig big wig bigger wig bigister wig oh wig fell in love=0 points in tennis
2007-12-05 00:39:20 · answer #8 · answered by WordBarker/singlething 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
It limits people's ability to hurl racial, gender, religous, and sexual orientation slurs.
2007-12-04 23:59:09 · answer #9 · answered by alphabetsoup2 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Courtesy and good manners.
2007-12-05 00:34:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋