Post by Bubba's Dad on Nov 15, 2008 12:23:57 GMT -5
I was thinking about political correctness and how things have changed just in my life, and I have a question, when did we give a small minority of elitist the right to redefine words and their meanings?
Here is a small example, some are funny, but most are insulting to folks like me.
Neocon - New Conservative, meant as an insult. Used by some to label those on the political right, and to scare little kids and old people at night.
Native American - We used to say Indian, or American Indian, until do gooders decided for the Indians that they needed a more proper label. Even though Indians themselves use the word Indian, such as in the "AIM" or the American Indian Movement, or "PIBRA" or professional Indian Bull Riders Association. And what about people like me, who are born in this Country, are we not native to this land too?
Girls - OK, my grandmother is in here 80s and she still calls herself and her friends "girls". Yet in some circles, you have to use proper labels. Most of the time, you should not even refer to a persons gender, unless they are trans gender or such, then it is OK. Bur under no circumstances should you refer to the female population as girls, even if some of them do. It is politically incorrect and some unidentified female types find it demeaning in some indescribably way.
African American - OK, this just blows me away. You can not be African American as there is no country called Africa, it is a continent. You can be American from African decent, but that is a lot to put on your voter registration card. What ever happen to the term "black"? After all, the descriptive term "white" is still on the Voter registration card. You see, the term black American is descriptive, just like short or fat, where as African American is a proper label and more divisive, and so it is more acceptable to the PC police who like to pidgin hole everyone. And why did Lindsy Lowhan catch so much grief for using the word "colored" to describe our next President, when the NAACP uses it on every business card and piece of paper they have?
When the defecation hits the rotary oscillator - We used to say, when the shit hits the fan, but I got to say, I like this one.
Anyhow, these are just a few, I am sure you know more, but my point is, when you let people dictate what is acceptable and unacceptable speech, then you give up that much more of your freedom. Any term that goes beyond descriptive, and becomes a social label, is always bad, because we should have one label in this country, and that is American, or US Citizen. And if people are OK with being called girls when they are well over 13, then why not?
Any thoughts?
Here is a small example, some are funny, but most are insulting to folks like me.
Neocon - New Conservative, meant as an insult. Used by some to label those on the political right, and to scare little kids and old people at night.
Native American - We used to say Indian, or American Indian, until do gooders decided for the Indians that they needed a more proper label. Even though Indians themselves use the word Indian, such as in the "AIM" or the American Indian Movement, or "PIBRA" or professional Indian Bull Riders Association. And what about people like me, who are born in this Country, are we not native to this land too?
Girls - OK, my grandmother is in here 80s and she still calls herself and her friends "girls". Yet in some circles, you have to use proper labels. Most of the time, you should not even refer to a persons gender, unless they are trans gender or such, then it is OK. Bur under no circumstances should you refer to the female population as girls, even if some of them do. It is politically incorrect and some unidentified female types find it demeaning in some indescribably way.
African American - OK, this just blows me away. You can not be African American as there is no country called Africa, it is a continent. You can be American from African decent, but that is a lot to put on your voter registration card. What ever happen to the term "black"? After all, the descriptive term "white" is still on the Voter registration card. You see, the term black American is descriptive, just like short or fat, where as African American is a proper label and more divisive, and so it is more acceptable to the PC police who like to pidgin hole everyone. And why did Lindsy Lowhan catch so much grief for using the word "colored" to describe our next President, when the NAACP uses it on every business card and piece of paper they have?
When the defecation hits the rotary oscillator - We used to say, when the shit hits the fan, but I got to say, I like this one.
Anyhow, these are just a few, I am sure you know more, but my point is, when you let people dictate what is acceptable and unacceptable speech, then you give up that much more of your freedom. Any term that goes beyond descriptive, and becomes a social label, is always bad, because we should have one label in this country, and that is American, or US Citizen. And if people are OK with being called girls when they are well over 13, then why not?
Any thoughts?
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