Mandated mediocrity: Political Correctness

[kraut-60 10]

Well, seeing as I am fresh from my most recent "loss" for my side in the closed topic of pregnant teenagers...I am already to shift the focus and fire of that discussion to the lefts favorite field leveler...PC, political correctness.

 

I see PC as little more than the strategy of the loser in an argument where fact is trumped by feelings of "this isnt fair"..."I'm offended by...", in other words, that truth and fact are all re-negotiable provided we get the result that suits our argument or purpose. Godwins Law is pure PC.

 

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the PC shells seem to land on the Right most of the time? I may be defined by my point of view and politics...but I will never invoke the PC POV in my beliefs and ideas...the biggest of which is the left has always represented a strictly socialist agenda that seeks to mandate mediocrity for all in the name of "fairness".

 

Political correctness at its extreme existance would likely resemble the Soviet Union of the late 1920s...one party, one leader, one class of people, health care for all, severe penaltys for any that refuse to join the utopian workers paradise...Communism...the cancer of the twentieth centurys largest failure in government...millions of lives snuffed out and millions of lives stunted in their spiritual growth as only "PC" thoughts and printed words were allowed.

 

History was also revisited by the soviets...people that were noted and prominent members of that society were jailed and/ or liquidated...simply on the whim of the leader. These people were literally airbrushed out of photographs...like they never even existed!

 

Familys and values meant little to such creatures that communists are and were...but PC mattered, it was after all the strategy of the lie that lent the socialists/communists the so-called validity they based their ideologies on...Think about it!

 

 

[Merlyn_LeRoy 72]

Godwin's law is not PC (and, by the way, I've argued with Mike Godwin). Here's Godwin's Law:

 

"As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."

 

And if I wanted to create "Merlyn's Law", mine would be "Any article that ends with 'think about it' is not worth thinking about."

[pixiewife 10]

I too, agree.

 

Think about it.

[evmori 11]

PCers' are all around. Conservative, liberal & anywhere in between.

[John-in-KC 311]

I count myself firmly conservative.

 

I agree with Ed.

 

I think the comment which caused the thread to be closed was out-of-line.

[NJCubScouter 1389]

Those who may be confused by Merlyn's quotation of Godwin's Law should know that what OGE invoked in the other thread is technically a corrolary of Godwin's Law. Wikipedia states that "there is a tradition in many newsgroups and other Internet discussion forums that once such a comparison is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically 'lost' whatever debate was in progress. This principle is itself frequently referred to as Godwin's Law."

 

Godwin's Law, as it is understood in this way, is not "PC". It is a principle designed to maintain at least some minimal standards of communication on Internet forums. I think the idea is, once you have called your political opponent a "Nazi" or have said he is like "Hitler", where do you go from there? The discussion is really over. That is exactly what kraut did in the other thread.

 

Of course, now, in this thread, it seems to me that kraut has analogized OGE and other enforcers of forum decorum, to the Soviet Communists of the last century. Is there a corrolary to Godwin's Law for that? Neither the Nazi analogy nor the Soviet Communist analogy seem well-designed to promoted reasoned debate and discussion.(This message has been edited by njcubscouter)

[OldGreyEagle 5]

Actually being the self-declared independent that I think I am I was happy someone called me liberal and left leaning as I thought most of my most recent posts were pretty right leaning and conducive to conservatives, this accusation should pull me back to the center

[NJCubScouter 1389]

OGE, I understand, but it was the last three paragraphs of the post, with all the stuff about Soviets and Communists and millions of lives snuffed out, etc. etc. that caught my eye.

[FScouter 24]

"I think the idea is, once you have called your political opponent a "Nazi" or have said he is like "Hitler", where do you go from there? The discussion is really over."

 

Yes I think that just about sums it, at least as far as carrying on any further intelligent discussion with that individual. If the rest of the participants would ignore that perverse brand of hyperbole, the discussion could continue.

[Gold Winger 9]

"PCers' are all around. Conservative, liberal & anywhere in between."

 

Can't say that I've ever met a conservative PCer unless he was doing it because of social compulsion.

 

Notice that it is okay to characterize Souther rural Americans as stupid rednecks but heaven help you is you say anything bad about welfare sucking, ghetto dwelling blacks. It ain't PC.

 

Far too many liberals spend their lives waiting for some comment that can be construed as an insult. And since we aren't supposed to insult people, PC was born. On the other hand, conservatives are too busy doing their jobs to worry about insults.

[acco40 95]

I guess Rush and his use of Femi-nazi proves once and for all that his mind is empty.

 

The term politically correct is pejorative. Initally such terms as "redman", "Indian" etc. were used and some whom were branded with such a label preferred adjectives such as Native American. Those with thick skulls, scoffed at such nonsense and labelled it as politcally correct. Now the term is used in a pejorative sense in a defensive manner by many. Some use words to inflame and incite. Some don't. I have contempt with those who seek to incite and inflame and then use PC as a defense.

 

Terms like "right wing nut jobs" believe, "flaming liberal tree huggers" believe and simply stating what "liberal democrats" or "conservative republicans" believe are inflamatory. Why not simply state an idea and then either defend it or debunk it? Reason, that would require thought!

 

I can argue with certain planks of the republican party platform or democratic platform - those are concrete things but to say "democrats believe" or "republicans believe" is usually the made by simpletons.

 

All democrats and all republicans believe ignoring sentence above in "tax and spend" and "gun control." The real question is how much. It just seems that far to few really want to discuss issues.(This message has been edited by acco40)

[evmori 11]

Is a Femi-nazi and a fem-bot the same thing, baby!

[Mr. Boyce 13]

My big problem with political correctness is when it butts up against individual civil liberties. This is happening with greater frequency, due to the wide-ranging uses and definitions of "hate crime."

 

I'm an old free-speech advocate, so PC stuff is Orwellian to me.

 

And the nub of the PC idea, being kind toward others, isn't so bad. MANDATING kindness is problematic, though.

[NJCubScouter 1389]

There is a difference between active suppression of speech by the "authorities" (whether it be the actual government or by an institution, such as a university), and the expression of the belief that certain words should not be used. People should be allowed to say what they want, but if they say something offensive, it is perfectly acceptable for someone else to point that out. I agree with what Acco said, too often "PC" is used by those who intentionally use offensive words, and when the inevitable reaction occurs, accuses the "audience" of being PC.

[Gold Winger 9]

"The term politically correct is pejorative. Initally such terms as "redman", "Indian" etc. were used and some whom were branded with such a label preferred adjectives such as Native American."

 

The funny thing is that the Indians I know prefer to be called Indians if they aren't refered to by the name of their nation (Cherokee, Navajo, etc.). Even the federal government calls them "American Indians," only the touchy-feely PC types don't want the the term Indian used. As for "red man," they call me "white man" and I'm about as white as they are red.

 

The nub of PC is looking for insults where none were intended.