I listened to a programme on the radio about the history of 'political correctness' this morning. Well, I wasn't actually listening, as I was busy trying to work on my 'memoirs', which sounds a very pretentious thing to do, since why on earth would anyone want to read them? But, to be honest, I am writing them because it is easy. I don't need to invent any characters or think of a plot. And I hope they are better written than some of the ones you find on the shelves. At least it was really me who wrote them! And at least I am not still a teenager, so I might just have something interesting to remember.
Anyway, I thank political correctness for giving us all something to kick against.
I am puzzled. Can someone explain why the word 'Eskimos' was deemed incorrect? Who made this decision? When I say the word 'Eskimo', it is not to insult anyone. It is just a description of a person who lives in a very cold place near the North Pole. As far as I know, the replacement was Innuits? Or has that, too, gone out of favour? I am genuinely baffled. And it's hard to keep up.
Sure, there are names that give offence, were designed to give offence, or at least evolved to give offence. The word 'nigger' springs to mind. That is very definitely a 'no no' word.
When I was first married, Rob's father worked for the 'Spastics Society'. Now, the mention of the word 'spastic' causes a dramatic intake of horrified breath.
When is a name just that? A name. A description of a state of being. Something with a definition. Why should anyone who is deaf, oh sorry, 'aurally challenged', or blind 'visually impaired' or short 'vertically challenged', object to these words. To call them something else is to try to disguise what they actually are. Who decides they are insults?
I actually heard a, so called 'partially sighted' person, object to this label with something along the lines of: , "Look" (pardon my pun, totally unintended), "I am blind, so don't go patronising me by calling me 'partially sighted'". Bravo.
Sadly, some of the terms do stick and become part of our vocabulary and you start to forget what you would have said in the days before political correctness. Cousin to political correctness is the bastardisation of our language. I know all the arguments about language being an 'evolving' thing, but do we honestly have to use 'initialised' and 'I'm good' and things which clearly are grammatically wrong? But I digress. Back to pc.
One time when Josh was about a year and a half, I caught him swearing to himself in the garden. He was saying 'fuck, shit, fuck, shit' loudly enough for our neighbours to hear! I admonished him with a 'Those are rude words, you musn't say them' , realising immediately, of course, who he had picked them up from. Nevermind.
He looked at me, little face all innocent, and said, quite simply 'But they're only words mummy'. What could I say to the wisdom of a toddler?
So, whilst political correctness is apparently going out of fashion, I wish to thank those who started it for giving me so much to ridicule.
I know, we should, of course, 'embrace' and 'respect' people who carry the banner of political correctness for the good of humanity. I am a great believer in the virtue of tolerance. I just hate people who are intolerant.
Hmmmm. What does this make me?
About Me
- sandra stopford (nee Hartley)
- Spent the last 3 years trying to perfect my books and everytime I look at them, I spy more flaws. So I guess I'm on a hiding to nothing. But hopefully having an 'MA' after my name might get my brain in gear and impel me to write that elusive best seller.
2 comments:
Hmm, not sure I can let you get away with this, Stopford! Josh's protests may have been cute but they weren't wise. No word is just a word. The whole point of a word is that it has meaning! The way I see it, political correctness is just about not offending people. The reason we don't say Spastics Society any more is because the word spastic became a slang insult and most people, if they're referring to somebody with cerebral palsy, don't want to imply that connection. That's why we're shocked by the word nigger - it was commonly used as an insult so now we don't say it. And do you really know anyone who says "vertically challenged" outside of a conversation about political correctness gone mad? J x
I think I was really trying to say that political correctness has gone too far, as all these causes, which start off worthy, tend to do. It was ending up stifling free speech, because everyone was watching their backs in case they hadn't kept up with the latest 'politically correct' word or expression.
My attempt to be humorous just ended up sounding facetious!
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