Being Politically Correct

So after reading through some articles about the PC-ness of having Santa in schools, I wondered how much people are PC. PC means "term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, religious belief, disability, and age-related contexts" according to Wikipedia. Or in other words you are as correct as can politically be. Anyway so here are my questions:

How PC are you?
Do you think it's possible to be too PC. Explain why, if so.
What do you think of a person who is totally not PC and bordering on ignorance?

I at least like to think that I'm decently PC. When it comes to races, I'm more comfortable with the PC way of calling someone. When it comes to genders, I say each gender is equal (even though we really aren't). And so on and so on. As for being too PC, I don't know I've never seen it happen. I guess people these days don't care about PC-ness or are just goddamn lazy. Now when someone is very un-PC and borderline ignorant well then I steer clear from the person as I know that I would get into a fight with that person if I met him/her.

Well that's all, go ahead and discuss.

I'm about as far from being politically correct as possible. I get dirty looks all the time for 'offending' people.

[font=Verdana][color=green]Political Correctness strangles me. It's obviously meant for good intentions, but the current state of it in the UK is at ridiculous proportions. However, to try and change this stance politically would be Anti-PC, so we're screwed.

Before you ask, what I meant by "strangles me" is that I'm not refraining from being offensive to people of other races - in fact I have no qualms with that - it's just in some situations I feel that I can't make a perfectly reasonable comment due to PCness.

I will suffer no fools. i'll not lie to spare your feelings. i hate dealing with sheltered or prudish people. the world is a twisted shitty place. lying about it to your self or others can only make it worse.

How to be politically correct? PC is often frowned upon and political BS always gets away.

I make a show of being politically correct if I want to be sarcastic.

To the OP: I am an extremely lazy man who procrastinates as well as any person that has ever existed. However, I am not lazy when I am not being politically correct. I'd go so far as to say I'm the opposite; I'm intentionally not being politically correct. Not offending someone and respecting someone are not the same thing. Heck, sometimes they're even the opposite, albeit rarely.

PC is over rated.
1. It's merry Christmas not happy holidays. If you have a problem with that then piss off.( my religion celebrate the birth of jebus in September.)
2. Who care about a Christmas tree in a library or school it just a fucking tree with no socialization with a religion.
3. He black not African-American and there no fucking thing has a African- American or a Mexican- American. You were born in this country then you American.
4. Stop bitching about racism, sexism, racial polices and bigotry. Get off your ass and change it or just stand in line for with the whiny cock suckers with no life and still raw about they can't get a job, or a loan, or credit or get into a good school, because their black, or gay, or arab or what the fuck else don't matter in society today. If your qualify then you get a chance in America, and if the retard next to you gets the opportunity because he white or because he the same has the boss, then burn it down and piss on his skull.

I don't care I go my own way. If you have a problem with my views then take it up with me. I don't want to be rude and there is a difference from being a jerk and not being PC. I find that line and don't cross it.

I'm not hardly PC at all. It takes too much conscious effort and annoys the hell out of me.
There is such a thing as "overly PC" and it's a horrible, terrible thing that, in my mind, robs statements of any and all meaning.
When I see somebdy who is completely ignorant, I get annoyed at their ignorance and think of ways to alleviate it.

old topic on PC:

https://www.fakku.net/viewtopic.php?t=41016

I’m so not PC! The worst part is I’m taking a class where you get graded on 10 different subjects including interview so I always worry I will say something non PC! Any advice?

not very much so.I know it is important but i don't look into it much.

To me, being PC is just a form of politeness, otherwise known as "not being a fucking asshole." So yeah, I am PC--I generally don't use racist, sexist, ableist, etc. words unless I know the people I am talking to are ok with it (e.g. I'm ok with being called a slut, coz hey, sluts are fun). Is there such a thing as too PC? Well, is there such a thing as being too polite? Sure, but in this world, more politeness would not go amiss.

As for ignorant people, if they are truly ignorant, I try to educate them, but if they are willfully ignorant, I just ignore or avoid them, or if I'm feeling particularly frisky, I call them out on their behavior. People have to remember that free speech goes both ways--you can be a boorish non-PC idiot if you want to be, but I have the right to call you an asshat if you are acting like one.

I ultimately agree, but there is such a thing as being WAY too PC and taking things too far. (insert the Carlin spiel about a manhole being referred to as a "personhole cover")

My, My. I am very disappointed in people. To tolerate (and expect) politically correct language is just an attempt at censorship of ideas. Why do we purge our own language of certain words, simply because the terms we are trying to whitewash hurts someones feelings?

Can someone give me a reason why I should not call someone black as apposed to "African American"? I doubt anyone could offer a logical reason why one term should be used over another.

I find PC to be counter-productive to the concept of “tolerance”. I don’t have to like what you say, I don’t have to believe it, but I will fight for your right to speak your mind. Politically correct language does not teach tolerance. In fact it institutes intolerance, intolerance of words or ideas that don't fit a cultural norm. This ultimately would lead to a corruption of society. You are probably wondering how this would occur. It leads to hatred or disdain of opposing ideas by setting a homogeneous societal norm in which everyone must abide otherwise face shunning, ridicule or even dismissal. This has occurred most in the realm of science. Scientists are people who simply find answers to questions and by their very nature should accept any logical conclusion or theory. Now, if someone offers opposing theories to the given "norm" such as global warming or evolution then the community strikes this stray thought down with the fury of an inquisition rather than debate the nature of the opposing findings.

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem to those who think alike than those who think differently."

It's not censorship--no one is legally stopping you from using those terms at all. You have every right to call someone a faggot or say Merry Christmas or whatever shit. It's not illegal to hurt someone's feelings. I just reserve the right to complain about your language and call you a douche if you are being one. I think we pretty much agree on this point.

That reminds me that most of the people I hear complaining about PC-ness are asshats who don't like being called asshats, lol.

Actually, it is censorship. I suggest you find your nearest dictionary and look up the definition before you come back. There are legal ramifications for simply saying words like "faggot, queer, Nigger, spic,etc in public as one can and usually is charged with a hate crime. So while I may be safe from the Ministry of Love carrying me off in the dead of night, there are ramifications for utilizing the first amendment to a classical Liberal standard in this country.

The PC culture of politicians in this country has already extended to trying to take people such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck off the radio by one of two methods. Either by setting up the radio "airway" as "belonging to the people" rather than belonging to the own of the radio station who broadcasts on a certain frequency. Another example is by politicians attempting to reinstate the "Fairness doctrine" and "equal-time" rule.

Political correctness extends beyond simply words but, to ideas. Take for instance the example about science I pointed out. Those who step outside this accepted "norm" are scorned, ridiculed and can even face problems getting grants for other projects. Why? Not because their idea fell short on merit but, because the scientist offered an explanation that didn't fit the already accepted norm. That is very counter productive for our society when scientists start refusing ideas based entirely on where it fits into their norm.

Agreed. This will be especially fun outside America. Should we use "African African" in Africa?

And, of course, it'll get interesting in other languages. In my language, Estonian, the word "neeger" has never had a negative meaning. If I'd call them "black", though... The word "must" in Estonian means both "black" and "dirty". Now which is the more insulting choice?

Being politically correct isn't about censorship or limiting ideas - it is about protecting people from harassment and preventing abuse. Calling things by their appropriate names prevents people from feeling ostracized or trodden upon, and to anyone who doesn't care about that, you obviously never been discriminated against. Calling some a fag or racial slur is deragatory and promotes discrimination. It is also a form of slander - something the first amendment doesn't protect you for.

You can go over board with it (ex. fireperson, flight deck instead of cockpit), but being politically correct boils down to just plain manners. Always imagine the roles reversed - it would suck if your work sent a gift home to every gay person's romantic partner, but not yours because you were a guy dating a woman and you boss thought that was wrong.

It sucks being treated different, and if it is some way limiting in ideologies to be PC, the only ideologies it is limiting are hateful ones.

Legally, no, it is not censorship. In fact, the recently passed Matthew Shepard act specifically states that the act will not prohibit any activity protected under the First Amendment (see Rule of Construction). So yes, you can still call a person a spic, nigger, etc. Scream it out your window to try--I highly doubt that you'd get more than dirty looks or angry retorts. Churches can still say that gays will go to hell. The KKK can still hold white power rallies. The hate crime part only comes in when the speech was intended to incite violence against a person/group, or if it is slander/libel because this type of speech is not protected under the First Amendment.

Colloquially speaking, sure, being PC is a form of censorship. However, all places practice some form of censorship or the other. Fakku does not allow loli, guro, etc. and that is a form of censorship. Your boss can fire you if you swear too much in the workplace. TV stations can reject advertisements or cancel shows they find objectionable. Truth is, there are a lot of things we can and cannot say, depending on the environment. Free speech doesn't necessarily mean your speech will be free of consequences.

To apply this to your science example, yes, you can still deny global warming, but if you do, be prepared to have your science (or lack thereof) thoroughly dissected and ridiculed by the scientific community. Quite honestly, scientists refuse the idea not because it doesn't fit the norm but because it is wrong, and has been proven wrong over and over. If someone DOES put out a paper that disproves global warming and has solid methodology, it would cause resistance at first, but not necessarily ridicule. Same for evolution-denying, or insisting that vaccines cause autism.

Edit: even if your science fits the norm, it is still reviewed rigorously by other scientists. Before an article is published, it goes through several stages of peer review where every little detail is criticized.