How PC are you..

[Drac]

So just how PC are you really?? Do you use the word challenged alot aka someone who is blind is visually challlenged or do you say blind?? You get my drift..I am not PC as much as I should be...I have been known to get into peoples faces when they refer to someone who cannot speak or hear as deaf and dumb, that REALLY honks me off..So where do you draw the line???

 

[Sukerkin]

Hmm. Interesting question.

I would say that I am not particularly PC as such but as I try my best to be as polite as possible under as many circumstances as possible then it is possible that I am perceived as being more Politically Correct than I am .

 

[Bob Hubbard]

"Politically Incorrect and Proud of It."

 

[terryl965]

I am like you Drac

 

[jks9199]

Functionally or tactfully PC.

There are times and places where certain phrases are just going to cause problems.

And there times and places where the argument that "I don't care about being PC" is just a way to justify some hatefule or nasty speech. A simple example: I once stopped my brother after he used the phrase "jew me out of..." when he meant "cheat me out of..." That's not being PC; it's stopping a pointless (and incorrect) stereotype.

 

[myusername]

I ticked "very PC" just because the other options don't really seem to fit my views. I would say that I am definately pro political correctness as I feel that at it's heart it is about treating people fairly and courteously and has made some much needed changes to our society by its existence.

An example of the benefits of PC is that in 1970's England our wonderful Conservative Party once ran an election campaign with the slogan "If you want a ****** for a neighbour, vote Liberal or Labour!" Can you imagine a disgusting slogan like that being allowed in a post political correct society? Political Correctness justifies its existence right there for me.

The problem with political correctness is that it is a bit vague and easily taken out of context. People have assumed offence where there isn't any such ordering a black coffee or not using the term "brainstorming" in case it offends epileptics! These incidents then get used as a campaigning tool for right wing political parties and the media and as such serve to undermine all the good work that political correctness has achieved. I also think political correctness is a terrible name! I prefer the term "good manners!"
What is also quite amusing, is that in England there is a huge amount of people who confuse political correctness for health and safety legislation!

 

[myusername]

Quite rightly the word in my above example of the benefits of PC has been blocked out. Just to say that it was a very unpleasant racist term.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I am not very PC. But I think you need to have some in certain situations.

There is a huge difference between "Hey Pig" and "Yes officer"

 

[theletch1]

Functionally or tactfully PC.

There are times and places where certain phrases are just going to cause problems.

And there times and places where the argument that "I don't care about being PC" is just a way to justify some hatefule or nasty speech. A simple example: I once stopped my brother after he used the phrase "jew me out of..." when he meant "cheat me out of..." That's not being PC; it's stopping a pointless (and incorrect) stereotype.

Yep. Great example. I think there is a difference in being PC and being tactful. Being tactful simply means actually treating the folks around you enough like human beings that you take their emotions into account. Being PC implies, at least to me, that if the person to whom you are speaking or referring is a part of some political special interest group or another you must use the politically approved word or phrase accepted by that group for the week...hence the political in political correctness. I abhor political correctness as it forces folks to curtail true debate on a regular basis simply because it generates a fear of being ostracized for not using the phrase of the week.

 

[Steve]

Based upon your definition, I'm pretty PC. My rule of thumb is to treat people, as much as possible, how they wish to be treated. So, if someone prefers to be called Stan and not Stanley, African American not black, or visually impaired instead of blind, it's easy to be polite and makes little difference to me.

My personal opinion is that the stories of PC taken to extremes are hyperbolic and largely the stuff of urban legend. Everyone seems to have heard about someone who knew someone who was the victim of some egregious act of political correctness. I also believe that where the kernels of these legends occur, it's more to do with an agenda than any real offense. People just looking for trouble.

Maybe things are worse in other parts of the world, but here in the Seattle area in what has been referred to as one of the capitals of rampant liberalism and political correctness, the worst thing I've personally witnessed were a few somewhat militant lesbians intentionally taking offense where none was intended because they were looking for a fight.

 

[dart68]

So just how PC are you really?? Do you use the word challenged alot aka someone who is blind is visually challlenged or do you say blind?? You get my drift..I am not PC as much as I should be...I have been known to get into peoples faces when they refer to someone who cannot speak or hear as deaf and dumb, that REALLY honks me off..So where do you draw the line???

I try to not be nasty, but some PC'ness is just asinine. Someone who must wear corrective eyeware is visually challenged. Someone who cannot see is BLIND. There is nothing unPC about the term blind. On the other hand, someone who cannot hear is deaf but I don't know or care for the term "dumb". Not sure where that came from.

 

[grydth]

Hmm. Interesting question.

I would say that I am not particularly PC as such but as I try my best to be as polite as possible under as many circumstances as possible then it is possible that I am perceived as being more Politically Correct than I am .

I'm with you. I have always viewed Politikal Korrectness as an essentially fascist concept aimed at controlling what I can think and say... and, oddly enough, I have never seen much sensitivity exhibited towards certain groups: Christians, conservatives, white males, those with traditional values.....

Nevertheless, it is preferable to avoid needlessly insulting a person. Some of the old labels and terms did that, so I try to avoid using those and may opt for a newer term.

 

[Gordon Nore]

I voted "very PC," because that was the only option available. I'm not in the habit of correcting others' language. However, when I use a term that is considered PC, people sometimes challenge me or say, "How very PC of you."

You can be "PC" without correcting everyone's language. On the other hand, you can be "PIc," and correct everything everybody else says.

"PIc," in my belief, is sometimes a cover for vulgarity and nastiness. There are people in the world who will say the most vile things and then argue the nobility of being Politically Incorrect, suggesting that they are simply speaking freely, and PC'ers are folks who want to take that freedom away.

I believe Ann Coulter has called both Al Gore and John Edwards a "fag." I think that's a form of Political Incorrectness that most inteligent people would not want any part of.

 

[jks9199]

The concept of political correctness absolutely has the power to shape how we think and discuss matters. By way of an analogy, one of the courts in my area used to frequently plead shoplifters down to trespass, using an arcane reasoning that the shoplifter violated the terms under which they were permitted entry into the private property of the store. There's only one problem with that, in my opinion: You change the nature of the offense. You've got two applicants who come to you for a job. Both have 1 misdemeanor conviction, a few years ago. Both admit to the criminal history. One says he was convicted of trespass, and the other shoplifting (petit larceny). The job in question has some issues of trust, maybe responsibility for a petty cash fund or the like, with minimal supervision or checks. Think that criminal history might shape who you choose? Even though both actually stole something from a store?

Carried to the extreme, political correctness prevents us from discussing the underlying issue. I'll refer the reader to George Orwell's book 1984 for more...

 

[Gordon Nore]

...By way of an analogy, one of the courts in my area used to frequently plead shoplifters down to trespass, using an arcane reasoning that the shoplifter violated the terms under which they were permitted entry into the private property of the store. There's only one problem with that, in my opinion: You change the nature of the offense...

One says he was convicted of trespass, and the other shoplifting (petit larceny)...

That certainly is a matter of legal language, but I'm not sure it falls into a PC/PIc question. Different courts, different times, different outcomes. I think that's very common. When person acts to cause the death of another person, s/he can be convicted on a lesser charge than was initially made.

Carried to the extreme, political correctness prevents us from discussing the underlying issue...

If we are arguing over terminology and not issues, I agree absolutely. My point is that many PC'ers and PIc'ers do exactly that. It doesn't come down to one side causing all the fuss.

 

[MA-Caver]

I'm only PC when it's prudent to be polite... otherwise... I am like Carlin who thinks that the "soft language" or euphemisms that people have adopted has truly ruined the English language. If a person is deaf then I say they're deaf, if they're blind, I say they're blind, if they're crippled then so be it, they're crippled. As Carlin said: "There's no shame attached to the word cripple in any dictionary!"

(caution: language... -- pardon the pun).

It's like calling a Kenpoist a Karate person... not entirely correct... but not entirely wrong either is it? :lol:

Adding "challenged" to the end of an adjective is to me, implying failure. Get rid of the damn word will ya? Simple honest direct language.
Shell shock became battle fatigue which became operational exhaustion which became post traumatic stress disorder which is now gulf war syndrome ... unless I missed something they haven't given a euphemism to the soldiers returning home (shell shocked) from Iraq yet. Perhaps they should call it Bushed!

For years deaf people have fought against the "dumb" label that was attached to only part of their *ahem* impairment... because it was (and rightly so) a gross mislabel of what they actually can do. Many deaf people can speak and many do speak well enough to be understood. Their voices or pronunciation may not be crisp or clear but then again whose is? Not many I'll tell ya that. Kinda like the typos that several people here on MT are well known for. (j/k folks)
Dumb actually does refer to the inability to speak, as in struck dumb but then dumb also appears in most people's vocabularies as stupid or PC would say... ignorant, which by itself really doesn't mean the same thing. Ignorance is simply "not knowing or unaware"... just because you don't know something doesn't necessarily make you stupid. It's when you can't learn something that makes you stupid.

PC has truly ruined our language to where there are unexploded ordinances of politically incorrect land-mines all over the place when we speak/write.
We need to get over it, we need to not be so thin-skinned and just face facts. We are who we are and we are what we are.

By the way... never, never refer to me as anything other than a Caver... A Martial Arts Caver to be sure but never as a Martial Arts Spelunker...

 

[Steve]

I agree with most of you. Words and labels have power. Death Tax is much more offensive than Estate Tax, because of the connotations involved. Everyone dies while the word "Estate" tends to connote wealth. So, when conservatives want to get poor people behind ending the Estate Tax, they imply that it disadvantages everyone.

There are tons of examples of this in politics, and that's where I think people often lose the concept. It's "Political" correctness because it's political, and once again, used to persuade people to an agenda, often using specious logic.

Grydth, I think it's interesting that you chose to use the word "fascist." Liberals and the left are often accused by conservatives of wielding political correctness as a weapon, but I agree with you that this is often a right-wing tactic. Hopefully, with a new president in the white house, we can move away from this era of fascism in our government.

 

[Gordon Nore]

I'm only PC when it's prudent to be polite... otherwise... I am like Carlin who thinks that the "soft language" or euphemisms that people have adopted has truly ruined the English language. If a person is deaf then I say they're deaf, if they're blind, I say they're blind, if they're crippled then so be it, they're crippled. As Carlin said: "There's no shame attached to the word cripple in any dictionary!"

(caution: language... -- pardon the pun).

I love Carlin, and I love that clip, especially where he talks about the progression from "shell shock" to "battle fatigue" to "operational malfunction" to "PTSD." He is right, but he is also talking about euphemisms employed by bureaucracies to hide truth. This kind language -- I'm thinking of examples of militaryspeak from the first Gulf War: incontinent ordinance, surgical strike, sortie, and so forth -- is not only used by governments and military, it is immediately adopted by the press and shoveled into the minds of news readers and TV viewers. Before long, you're not even talking about a war with blood and guts.

That's the PC debate we should be having. Instead, one person chastises another for saying "Black," instead of "African Heritage." Somebody whines about not being 'allowed' to call somebody else 'blind.' A favourite anti-PC comment of mine: "We're not even allowed to call them such-n-such anymore." I'm not sure that anything has been sacrificed because people with intellectual disabilities would prefer not to be called "retards" or "retarded." I think that might be progress, and I think individuals have a right to self-identify.

 

[Tez3]

I try to not be nasty, but some PC'ness is just asinine. Someone who must wear corrective eyeware is visually challenged. Someone who cannot see is BLIND. There is nothing unPC about the term blind. On the other hand, someone who cannot hear is deaf but I don't know or care for the term "dumb". Not sure where that came from.

It came originally from the fact that many deaf people hadn't been taught to speak and were therefore dumb. I think dumb in American is used more as a word for stupid as opposed to being unable to speak. It was never meant to be derogatory just descriptive in bygone times.
The word bushed here means to be exhausted, tired or knackered (that also means broken).

The RAF has long been known for it's slang, a plane didn't crash it pranged, pilots didn't die, they bought it. You can't be someone on the frontline and keep your sanity for long unless you have these euphemisms, you can't dwell on death if you are a soldier and have to remain functioning. That the media and the politicians use this euphemism is not the same thing, they have no excuse to hide behind these words.

 

[Gordon Nore]

The RAF has long been known for it's slang, a plane didn't crash it pranged, pilots didn't die, they bought it. You can't be someone on the frontline and keep your sanity for long unless you have these euphemisms...

But at least this slang has a certain sharpness to it -- kind of like whistling past the graveyard. "Buying it" is remarkably more truthful than "non-operative personnel."

See below:

http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/29/mediawar/resources.htm