Politically Correct or Politically Bound?

[Moonracer]

Okay this was something that was brought up in another thread on accident and seemed to be something that could be discussed more deeply. Politically Correct is it really being kind and equal or just binding us in our free speech?

Many things are becoming "Politically Correct" for example it's no longer politically correct to call a Mailman just that a mailman apparently it is sexist now it is more "politically correct" to call them a Mailperson. My reply to this "WTF mate?" It has always been a mailman and should always be a mailman even if there are females doing it. Now they are dragging in holidays for example it is no longer Politically correct to wish a stranger a "Merry Christmas" after all they might be Jewish so now instead of wishing them this you either must wish them their proper holiday or there is the "Happy Holidays" or there is "Happy Christmahanakwanzika" *blinks* Like I even know how to say that last word there.

How is that even right? I mean I'm a pretty friendly person especially during December I like to wish stranger a "Merry Christmas" after all that's what I celebrate. However, this could get me in trouble and "Happy Holidays" just sounds so impersonable so unfriendly. However, I usually don't have the time to go up to some stranger and go, "Excuse me do you celebrate Christmas? Oh you do great then Merry Christmas!" Or "Excuse me do you celebrate Christmas? No? Well what do you celebrate? Oh I see you're Jewish? Wonderful then Happy Hanukkah!" I'm sorry I'm not going to do that for anyone. If I know them and know they are Jewish or celebrate the black holiday or the Catholic one then I'll wish them whatever their holiday is but a stranger I'm not going to be so detached that I wish them "Happy Holidays" it sounds so informal.

So really what's the point of being politically correct? So we don't offend the hard-asses that have a tree shoved so far up their arses they can't see that we're just trying to be friendly by wishing them a Merry Christmas? Maybe it's just me but if someone walked by and said, "Happy Hanukkah!" to me I'd probably smile and say, "Merry Christmas to you." I'd take it as they were Jewish and just wishing me a happy holiday so it's their holiday I'll wish them my own holiday. I wouldn't get mad about it, why should anyone really get mad about it?

Well that's just my two cents for now I'm sure I'll find more to add to this later but right now my brain is drawing a blank so I'm going to head off for now and give others a chance to speak their peace about it. Feel free there is no grudges held I'd like to hear other sides is there truly a good reason for this or is it just to make everyone happy?  

[purpleravenhawk]

Like many things, political correctness started out with a good purpose. It was meant to ensure that people didn't feel discriminated against or excluded. I agree that they take it too far, but people on both sides of this issue do the same thing. I don't think anyone should be required to say anything in particular, whether it's Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas. Think about it this way, tho: If the world was different and you celebrated Christmas but it wasn't the big holiday at this time of year, and all you ever heard was "Happy Hanukkah," you'd get pretty tired of it, maybe even a little upset that your holiday was always ignored.

I agree they go too far. The whole mailman thing is silly when you think about it. The suffix "man" is used in a lot of words to just mean someone who does something. Maybe centuries ago it was sexist, but now I think we can move on. But people who hate being politically correct go just as far. Is it really worth it getting upset anytime you hear the words Happy Holidays or mailperson? They're just words meant to include people, and there's nothing wrong with that. Just say whatever you feel like. If everyone did that, this wouldn't even be an issue.

I don't think Happy Holidays is detached or informal. After all, you don't have to know how old someone is to wish them a Happy Birthday. You wouldn't have a problem with telling someone to enjoy their summer. And you don't have to know what holiday someone celebrates to wish them a happy holiday season. I like your example of one person saying Happy Hanukkah and one saying Merry Christmas. That's exactly the sort of well-wishing we're attempting here. It doesn't matter what words you use, as long as the sentiment is clear. People on both sides of the fence get too focused on words and forget that it's all about the meaning. If you don't want to say Happy Holidays, don't. But don't criticize other people for using it. Being extremely APC (anti-politically correct) is just as bad as being extremely PC. 3nodding

And that's my two cents. 3nodding  

[Iakun]

I think things have gotten to a point where people are just too sensitive and nitpicky about the most trivial things. I really wouldn't care if someone said Happy Kwanza to me or something. You know their intent behind it is a kind one anyway and that's what matters.

What worries me more today is I find a lot of people use anti-PC sentiments as an excuse to abandon all courteous and more classy behavior. People feel entitled to act as freely as they want, calling others niggers and fags because "anything else would be PC", doesn't matter how that would affect anyone else.

I find that Political Correctness, like almost everything else these days is teetering on both extremes: over sensitivity and callousness. But oh well, the middle ground doesn't make anyone cool so why be more sensible right? xp

edit: Just a little disclaimer. The derogatory terms I used above have every right being there because this is a genuine discussion, not a hate post. Though it's funny that I'd probably get more in trouble (by gaian officials) for using the N word than I would the other word.  

[purpleravenhawk]

Totally agree. I'm a middle ground kind of person myself. Although, strangely, everybody seems to view me as the opposite extreme to whatever they are. confused Maybe I'm too neutral and end up looking like a blank slate, ready for someone else's bias.

And yeah, I really don't think that's fair, either. xp  

[Tybarious]

I agree with most of y'all that PC has gone too far. I feel that if we try to take too much meaning out of something then it loses its value and meaning just because one small group might get butt hurt about seeing or being told something they dont like or believe in. While at the sametime, I believe some words need to die like the n-word and that includes black people b/c if you dont like being referred to it then you shouldn't refer yourself to it ether.

I'm a big believer in traditions and it saddens me when they die. When people are too caught up with making everyone happy that then they start to lose their principles and balls. They won't stand up for what is right and wrong because they're worried about hurting someone's feelings or demenishing someone else's confidence.

I could go on and on but I feel thats enough for my two cents  

[purpleravenhawk]

Sometimes the meaning itself is hurtful or bad, and sometimes the meaning is lost without anyone doing anything. Christmas is a perfect example of this. People like to say that it's about Christ and their belief in him and family and all that, but if you look at how it's celebrated, it's really about gifts and meaningless traditions that cause more stress and strife than anything. Political Correctness didn't do that; that started a long, long time ago and won't stop just because you tell someone to say "Merry Christmas."

I understand the need to hang onto traditions that are precious to you, but your traditions are not everyone else's. And I'm a big believer in telling the truth no matter what, but political correctness is not about telling the truth or covering it up; it's about including people and making everyone feel welcome. Right and wrong are relative; but if you're talking about the slightly more concrete moralities, like "murder is wrong," being PC won't hurt that. People take it too far, but people take everything too far. People have always been afraid to stand up for beliefs; that will never change.

But traditions change. That's unavoidable. The traditions we have today are not the same ones our grandparents or great-grandparents clung to. They're even a little different from the way your parents did things. How old does a tradition have to be before it's considered valuable and important enough to defend?  

[Moonracer]

I suppose everyone has a very valid statement through all of this and in all reality nothing will change we are a race...a creature if you will, of habit. One habit is to screw ourselves so very royally. sweatdrop

Meanings can be quite hurtful but you if you soften it then really you're hurting mostly the young. For example in schools we teach our young to play fair, to share, to be courteous (or try to), to get good grades and you will be rewarded, and other such positive ideals. Yet look at the real world. In a business setting or corporation or power struggle do they play fair? Just look at politics alone they don't play fair. Voting for a new President for example (for those of us in the U.S.) the candidates attack their opponents families and what that candidate did in the past and so on not what they are or are not going to do and so on that's not really fair. Also it's not fair if one candidate has more money because then they'll probably win because of more air time the nation will know that person while the other remains unknown or near it. Companies try and bury their opponents so they can have a "Monopoly" and get all the money from the consumers. Sharing...after a certain age who really shares? After all your supposed friends "lose" your favorite movie don't return games, and once you pass that and move to adulthood who really shares? Courteous...manners have practically gone straight out the window I should know old freakin ladies steeling stuff straight out of my hands! You do good and get reward how often have you done a damn fine job at work or just because it was the right thing to do and you got passed up for that promotion, that bonus money that could really help, or just a simple thank you? Yeah you don't get rewarded anymore for doing good or the right thing. So basically the schools are teaching kids positive ideals that once they hit the real world they're smacked hardcore with a reality check. That's not helpful that's not politically correct yet it can be considered that way.

Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying those against Politically correctness is right either. It's true they take it to far the other way after all as it has been said some things should seriously be forgotten or not said as the "N-word" has already been mentioned and like Ty said just because you're black doesn't give you a right to use the world.

That's one thing that gets me about things like this just because I'm that race it gives me a right to talk smack about it. Actually in my eyes that's still considered racist or is it just me? I mean just because a black person says the "N-word" it's okay? But if a white person says it OMG they're racist and so on! What's wrong with that picture? Anyway...

Seriously though there was a damn good reason to put Political Correctness in place and it has done good but now it's being taken to far one way and that seems to be our thing really. We take things to far one way then take them to far the other way it's like we're a pendulum.

The PC has really brought about some darker sides to the human nature talking about some jerks out there. However, they see it as no one knows who I really am I can get away with it and perhaps that is telling us something. We need something that can allow us to vent these violent or dark tendencies without hurting anyone really. Yet I don't think anyone has really picked up on this or either that something has come up and it's been considered wrong or banded because some mother who can't be bothered to raise her kid(s) and buys them whatever game they want and lets the T.V. raise them then gets pissed because their kid(s) go off and do things they deem wrong they blame the entertainment, games, books, and god knows what else. When in truth it should be the freakin parents that are blamed.

But then that can be taken to far the other way that if the kid does wrong and the parent is actually being a parent and "spanks" their kid to teach them and the kid calls child serves the parents now go to jail for "child abuse." I mean seriously? Child abuse for punishing your kid for doing wrong yet we can shut down a game company for making a violent video game that a kid played before he shot up a school? WTF mate!?

I suppose it is true the middle road just isn't cool enough so we'll continue to have the extremes of either side. As for Traditions...I think they should be at least remembered not forgotten. I mean after all the word "man" was to indicate anyone that you didn't know the sex of. If you saw someone coming down the road in the old day and didn't know who they were or if they were a man or woman it was called a "guy" once the sex was known then it was called whatever. It probably came from the fact that for a long time men worked, men were out and about doing things, it was a man's world so to speak it is only truthfully recently that the woman has entered the work force and left the house. So it might be sexist but in truth it was once considered manners to call them "guy" or "man" when the sex was unknown.

Okay I'm going to end my talk here before I start writing a freakin book.  

[Iakun]

I think traditions are fine as long as we haven't found a way to show how utterly harmful they can be. The era we live in right now especially I believe is starting to see this huge shift. A lot of tradition is being thrown by the wayside.

To the comment about how kids are being raised, well, at least here in north america we've created a society where both parents have to be working their asses off to have a comfortable life. They simply can't be at home anymore to actively raise their children. I think a lot of problems in society have very complex interconnected causes and it's a tangled web that no one wants to wake up and fix because of apathy and fear.

I don't think we should shut down companies that make violent games necessarily, but it's not right to claim (as many others do) those games don't influence kids. Everything in the world influences us to such a complex degree. Though we could also ask why, as an evolving race, do we even need to create such violent games.

I kinda feel like this thread's been steering somewhat offtopic. Isn't it about PC'ness? lol  

[purpleravenhawk]

It's true, nothing and no one will ever be truly fair. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

And yes, we've gone somewhat off-topic. xd