Friday, August 28, 2015

Stop saying you hate the term PC!

Having said that, I hate the term PC.

But not for the reason that you hear most people saying they hate it. 

You’ve got Ben Carson saying that political correctness is keeping us from performing our God-given duty to torture people.

Jeb! is all pissed off at the PC police for calling him out on his use of the term “anchor babies,” first talking about Mexicans and then clarifying that no-no-no, he meant Asians. Much better! 

There are yahoos who think that people telling them that they shouldn’t fly a Confederate flag is just those goddamn PC elites taking away their right to free speech and disrespecting their “southern heritage.” 

Most recently, we’ve got Curt Schilling equating all Muslims with ISIS and/or Nazis, and when he was rightfully suspended by ESPN, Princess Dumbass of the Northwoods (Charlie Pierce’s term, not mine...I wish I could take credit for it!) took to her Bookface page and chastised ESPN for being politically correct, bad journalists, blah di fucking blah. 

They are using the anti-PC rhetoric to justify their own hateful words.

But the current Anti-PC Grand Poobah is Donald Trump, who says what he wants, consequences be damned! He frequently says that we are too politically correct in this country, and he’s going to keep right on saying what he wants. His supporters seem to be diggin’ it big time, like this woman at a recent Trump rally in South Carolina:

"I love his tone! It doesn't bother me at all. It makes me very happy," Christie Wilbanks of Simpsonville gushed. "I like to see somebody that speaks their mind, that isn't politically correct. I'm sick of political correctness. He should be able to say what he wants to say. The left has just really got us in a fix because of words, and it's ridiculous." (via NPR)

Sure. We’re “in a fix” because of the left’s penchant for objecting to generalizations about gender, race, religion, and orientation. Thanks for clearing that up, Christie.

Without a doubt, there have been times that it is taken too far, but those are exceptions. What I see in this anti-PC backlash is people getting pissed off about being called out on their bigotry and racism. No one is infringing upon your right to free speech, but you have to understand that there are consequences. If I hear you casually drop the N-word or make sexist remarks or say that all Muslims are out to kill us, I’m going to push back. I am also going to think less of you. I am not, nor have I ever been, a card-carrying member of the PC Police, but I understand basic human decency and realize that it’s wrong to condemn people for their nationality or orientation or religion, or whatever. It is not being overly zealous with political correctness, it is pointing out an offensive remark. Free speech is not an excuse to spout whatever nasty bigotry you harbor in your heart and then expect the rest of us to keep quiet about it.

Trump seems to be tapping the root of white anger with his rhetoric, and it is resonating with people to an alarming degree. “He says what he thinks, but he’s still a successful businessman and even a billionaire! Hey, maybe if I say what I think, I’ll be a billionaire, too!” No. No, you won’t. You will just be shunned by those of us who are disgusted by your words, and there are a lot more of us than there are of you.

It is not okay to say whatever you want and then get pissed off at the consequences you face. Have a little empathy and try to comprehend that not everyone looks, thinks, or believes the way you do. We’re all on this planet together and need to find a way to coexist and solve problems, not divide and sow discord and hatred.

It’s the humanly correct thing to do.

2 comments:

  1. ... you should coin that phrase and start a campaign to substitute "Human" for "Political" and see if it catches... giving someone respect is the humanly thing to do..!

    ReplyDelete

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