Political Correctness

[guywithashovel]

I'll admit, I used to scoff at anything that could be considered PC. However, over the years I've softened my position somewhat, though I still find some of it to be silly.

For example, a few years ago I worked at a camp for disabled children and adults. During the training week, they went over a list of ways of referring to certain phenomena we would be encountering during our time there, and this list provided "preferred terms" for these phenomena. For example, if a camper used a bib, we were encouraged to called it a "clothing cover" instead of a "bib." Likewise, we were to refer to "diapers" as "undergarments" (especially for older campers). Also, instead of saying that a person was "confined to a wheelchair," we were to say that the person "used a wheelchair to get around," and instead of saying that a person was "retarded," we were to say that the person "lived with mental retardation." There were others, but those are the only ones I can remember at the moment.

When I was going through this training, I actually was able to see a lot of sense in what was being taught, and whenever accusations of PC fanaticism are thrown around, I stop and think about this. To me, it seems that a nice "middle of the road" approach is best in this case. To some extent, I think we can be careful about how we word things so as to not be offensive. However, there is a deep end that many people go over, and it brings them to the point where a lot of innocuous things are made to be targets of outrage.

[fireheart17]

Some of the examples I see of political correctness out there just make me go "wtf"

Examples I can think of off the top of my head:

-Fairy penguins are now "little penguins" since apparaently "fairy" insults the homosexual population (supposedly).
-"Baa baa Black Sheep" is meant to be "Baa baa rainbow sheep." for diversity's sake.
-The remake of "E.T" with the guns changed to walkie talkies.

[insertNameHere]

Some of the examples I see of political correctness out there just make me go "wtf"

Examples I can think of off the top of my head:

-Fairy penguins are now "little penguins" since apparaently "fairy" insults the homosexual population (supposedly).
-"Baa baa Black Sheep" is meant to be "Baa baa rainbow sheep." for diversity's sake.
-The remake of "E.T" with the guns changed to walkie talkies.

Lets not forget star wars where Han shoots in self defense instead of being a straight up badass.

Just like I'm a Customer Service Representative and not a Cashier. I personally would prefer, Minimum wage whipping boy so at least I can tolerate the shit I get.

PC pisses me the fuck off. When I can't even say someone is stupid because they might have a disability, but nope they perfectly functioning except for their head being in their ass.

Handicappable not handicapped really annoys me, especially when they insist on the best parking

[Boozy]

-Fairy penguins are now "little penguins" since apparaently "fairy" insults the homosexual population (supposedly).

I'd bet my last dollar on that one being a strawman made up by anti-gay people.

[telecom_goddess]

I'm sorry but this pc bullshit annoys me ...I believe in calling something what it is and not prettyfying it for others. People need to get over themselves.

[Amanita]

Count me in as another one fed up with political correctness. It seems some people will never be happy, there's always something to be offended by.
I was reading an article the other day on halloween costumes and PC.
Dressing as anything outside your race or ethnicity is a horrible thing. Wearing dreadlocks as part of a costume is a horrible thing. I don't even mean dressing as a fake Rastafarian, even if you're a fairy or non-human, you're not supposed to do it. The article writer praised somebody for his pirate costume- I guess it was racially and ethnically correct, since the guy in it was white.
But then somebody a little further down in the comments said that we should not be glorifying pirates- dressing up as them and making movies like "Pirates of the Carribean" belittles the death and destruction caused by piracy, and makes fun of the plight of Somali pirates, who only do what they do out of desperation, the poor things.

It seems there's nothing to dress up as, which won't offend and piss off somebody somewhere. Say I do a kickass Shaolin monk outfit for halloween- I admire and respect them, and their traditional clothing looks really cool too. So it's a tribute. I don't paint my face yellow, tape my eyes so they're slanty or anything nasty like that. Nor do I run around all night screaming and whacking things or otherwise being an idiot. (Acting like an idiot would be out of character for a Shaolin monk anyway)
Well, in some people's eyes I'm a horrible person for dressing outside my race or culture.
Dress as a caucasian/european character? Even that's not guaranteed to avoid ruffling feathers. Dress up as a european warrior instead? Somebody might get upset that I am glorifying violence, or belittling the people those warriors killed, or glorifying the crusades.
Dress as something else, like a (non-slutty) maid, firefighter, or nurse? It's demeaning to those professions.
Really- any costume idea out there has the potential to offend or insult somebody, somewhere. Even dressing as an animal's not safe- "Ugh, a furry!" I'm pretty sure that somewhere, a real furry might get their shorts in a twist over a "non-furry" dressing up in an animal suit.

So what's left? Say "screw it" and stay home?

[jackfaire]

Lets not forget star wars where Han shoots in self defense instead of being a straight up badass.

"Han, Greedo, it doesn't matter we all know Mal shot first"

Anyway yeah I always thought the "chairman has to be chairperson" was ridiculous. I mean hell if Chairman is bad because it has the word man in it then isn't Chairperson bad because it has the word son in it really the word should be Chairperoffspring.

[Fryk]

Of all the ones in the OP, I think the one that bothers me is "lives with mental retardation". "Retard" is still in there, FFS!!

[Bright Star]

They call the janitors at Sam's Club 'maintenance" as if giving us a fancy title is going to make cleaning a shit covered toilet more glamourous. They're starting to call the cart pushers "Lot Attendants". They still gotta sweat their asses off in the summer & freeze in the winter & will still be treated like bastard step-children by management.
Trying to NOT offend everyone is just going to offend someone who'll be offended that you're trying NOT to offend them...lol. I hope that made sense.

[blas87]

Toilet Paper has been "bath tissue" for the longest time, and it really chaps my ass. No one uses tissue while taking a bath.

[Plaidman]

Toilet Paper has been "bath tissue" for
the longest time, and it really chaps my ass. No one uses tissue while taking a bath.

XD Pun intended?? I love that. I must sig it if possible.

I belive in PC... within reason. People tend to jump the gun, both in terms of screaming insults that aren't even correct, and those that want to pc every little detailed.

Like, people call me retarded, or stupid because of the ways my eyes look. Hell, I once had a person thinking I had brain surgery because of my tumor.

Really, best thing to do is just keep your damn mouth shut on any outward appereance insults.

Though I'm in the minority on that.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Don't forget "Winterval"! That's the worst example of the PC brigade ruining everyone's fun.

Personally, I'm atheist and I don't give a toss if someone wishes me happy Christmas, Quanza or Hanakka; it's the thought that counts.

[infinitemonkies]

The problem with PC terminology is that you can change the words all you want, but the words aren't the problem in the first place.

You're not deaf, you're hearing impaired, but even if we called it 'acutely introverted on the level of auditory reception' giving you tickets to the symphony is probably not the best idea.

Changing the label has no effect on how people feel about it, nor does it change the understanding of the ignorant. In fact it makes it worse. Let's take some racist motherfucker who hates blacks. If you change the preferred term from black to african american, he's still gonna say 'n*gg*r' anyway. On the other hand, you've got a significant number of people who don't have any feelings of racism, but will now distance themselves from blacks not out of hatred but from fear of using the wrong pc term-du-jour and offending.
Back when 'colored' was the term perfered by colored folk, it was offensive to call them black. Then, when black people perferred to be called 'black' it was an insult to call them colored. The end result is that the racists are still racist, and the rest of us are confused.
I'm a Canadian. If I were black, and someone called me 'african american,' I'd be offended. My father's side of the family is Scottish, but no one in that line has been to Scotland in about 12 generations, (except maybe my grandfathers oldest brother, who went to Europe for WWI.) I'd be annoyed if someone insisted on calling me a scottish-canadian.

The word isn't the problem, it's the intent of the user behind it. Someone explain to me why it's socially acceptable to say 'crap' but not 'shit,' 'frick' but not 'fuck,' or 'visually impaired' but not 'blind.'

[KitterCat]

The medical PC drives me nuts.
Blind = visually impaired.
Mentally Retarded / retarded = mentally impaired, mentally stunted, and the one that gets my goat, “special people”. Forgive me but they are not “special” medically speaking they are deficient. And the term retarded is a medical term.
Amputee = Residual limb. Your still missing something. It may be a leg, arm or your pinkie toe, something’s still missing.
Fat - People of Mass or horizontally gifted or voluptuous. Your not voluptuous when your 5’2 and weight 350 pounds, your fat at that point. This is not a gift that I know anyone would want. Stop trying to make it sound like a gift that you want when all I get to hear from you is how much your legs hurt, your joints hurt, how its effecting your health.

Midget / Dwarf - Little People I actually know the difference between the two. Midget is a person who is small, but still in correct proportion. Dwarfs are small and have incorrect proportions to their body’s. Usually their arms and legs are shorter in proportion to their bodies. For example my grandmother is legally a midget, but not a dwarf.

And dear god, don’t even get me started on cultural terms, epically what to call Blacks. I personally will not call them African-Americans, since I find it demeaning that 1) they may not have originated from Africa, 2) I’ve yet to come across any person of such decent who can actually tell me what tribe/part of Africa their family originated from. 3) people who are white/caucasian in color cant use the term even if they were born in Africa. Different years I’m told that I shouldn’t call them colored, black, molasses in color, or darkie ( yes I did find out that was a racial insult, didn’t know at that time). I’ve yet to understand why colored’s can call each other “nigger”, but no one out side their race can. After all if its suppose to be insulting why would you want anyone to call you that? I don’t want to be called a wop even if its from family.

[HYHYBT]

"Toilet Paper...really chaps my ass."---Consider switching brands.

"No one uses tissue while taking a bath."---I don't think "bath tissue" really qualifies as a PC issue. Not all euphemisms do: the difference is that it's a way of referring to something you don't want to say explicitly, whereas political correctness is more about avoiding terms people think are degrading (whether they are or not.)