Have you ever wondered why it is racist to talk about a group of "colored people" but not racist describe the same folks as a group of "people of color"? There has, of course, been a salutary move away from racial, religious and ethnic epithets which is a major plus for our society. Nevertheless, in the victimology of modern America, group names are constantly in flux as the forces of political correctness try to control the way people speak so that they can also control the way people think. The changes have been many.
1. Negroes became blacks.
2. Blacks became African Americans.
3. Colored people became people of color.
4. Orientals became Asians Americans.
5. Homosexuals and all the names for them became gays.
6. Girls became women if they were over the age of roughly 14. Of course, women can still be girls if they are over the age of 75.
7. Indians became Native Americans.
Then there are all the attempted changes that never took place. My favorite failed attempt was the move to change women into "gyno-Americans". There were many others.
I was thinking about this as a result of the media reports about the ad used by Dunkin Donuts of Thailand to advertise some sort of chocolate donut; the ad shows a Thai woman in blackface holding the donut. While the Dunkin Donuts in Thailand is not controlled by the American Dunkin Donuts, that company has been bombarded by outrage of the PC police for the ad. Obviously, no sane company should or would use blackface in an ad in the USA. I was struck, however, by the response in Thailand. The uproar in America has led to an increase in sales of the donuts in Thailand of more than 50%. The Thai people seem more amused by the American response than anything else. They see nothing wrong with the ad. Is the Thai response an indication that we have gone to far in America? Or, are we just the forward edge of evolution towards total political correctness.
Of course, the problem with political correctness is two fold. First, is the issue of who decides what is politically correct. In our society the tsars of political correctness all come from the far left. Their dictates get translated through the media and the pop culture until they get accepted (or rejected) by the mass of the American people. It is rare, however, for such a move to be rejected; it takes something as stupid as calling women gyno-Americans. This channel, however, allows the far left the chance to control language and thought to a much greater extent than most people realize. Look, for example, at what happened when the Tea Party burst on the scene in 2010. The Tea Party was and is a grass roots movement seeking control of spending, taxation, and federal government over-reach for the most part. The tsars of political correctness, however, labeled the Tea Party as racist, homophobic, extreme and dangerous even though there was nothing to indicate that any of that was true. Nevertheless, a big part of the effort by the tsars of political correctness made its way through the media and tarnished the image of the Tea Party for no valid reason at all.
The second main problem with political correctness is that its strictures limit the ability and the willingness of many people to tell the truth. Think of the example of Nidal Hassan, the army major who was just convicted of killing 13 at Fort Hood. He was a self proclaimed Islamic martyr willing to die in jihad, but, because he was a Moslem, his fellow officers did not report his beliefs for fear of crossing the politically correct line. This is just one example, but there are countless others. One big one is the constant scream of "racist" at any person who criticizes president Obama for anything.
America has freedom of speech. Americans should exercise that freedom. We need to worry less about the feelings of others and more about the truth of what is happening. No, I am not advocating the return of nasty or hateful epithets, so don't send me emails about that. I am, however, asking each of you to realize that the truth is more important than the possibility of hurt feelings. The full clash of ideas will bring better results than a stilted argument in which one side or another cannot speak fully for fear that it might offend one group or another.
1. Negroes became blacks.
2. Blacks became African Americans.
3. Colored people became people of color.
4. Orientals became Asians Americans.
5. Homosexuals and all the names for them became gays.
6. Girls became women if they were over the age of roughly 14. Of course, women can still be girls if they are over the age of 75.
7. Indians became Native Americans.
Then there are all the attempted changes that never took place. My favorite failed attempt was the move to change women into "gyno-Americans". There were many others.
I was thinking about this as a result of the media reports about the ad used by Dunkin Donuts of Thailand to advertise some sort of chocolate donut; the ad shows a Thai woman in blackface holding the donut. While the Dunkin Donuts in Thailand is not controlled by the American Dunkin Donuts, that company has been bombarded by outrage of the PC police for the ad. Obviously, no sane company should or would use blackface in an ad in the USA. I was struck, however, by the response in Thailand. The uproar in America has led to an increase in sales of the donuts in Thailand of more than 50%. The Thai people seem more amused by the American response than anything else. They see nothing wrong with the ad. Is the Thai response an indication that we have gone to far in America? Or, are we just the forward edge of evolution towards total political correctness.
Of course, the problem with political correctness is two fold. First, is the issue of who decides what is politically correct. In our society the tsars of political correctness all come from the far left. Their dictates get translated through the media and the pop culture until they get accepted (or rejected) by the mass of the American people. It is rare, however, for such a move to be rejected; it takes something as stupid as calling women gyno-Americans. This channel, however, allows the far left the chance to control language and thought to a much greater extent than most people realize. Look, for example, at what happened when the Tea Party burst on the scene in 2010. The Tea Party was and is a grass roots movement seeking control of spending, taxation, and federal government over-reach for the most part. The tsars of political correctness, however, labeled the Tea Party as racist, homophobic, extreme and dangerous even though there was nothing to indicate that any of that was true. Nevertheless, a big part of the effort by the tsars of political correctness made its way through the media and tarnished the image of the Tea Party for no valid reason at all.
The second main problem with political correctness is that its strictures limit the ability and the willingness of many people to tell the truth. Think of the example of Nidal Hassan, the army major who was just convicted of killing 13 at Fort Hood. He was a self proclaimed Islamic martyr willing to die in jihad, but, because he was a Moslem, his fellow officers did not report his beliefs for fear of crossing the politically correct line. This is just one example, but there are countless others. One big one is the constant scream of "racist" at any person who criticizes president Obama for anything.
America has freedom of speech. Americans should exercise that freedom. We need to worry less about the feelings of others and more about the truth of what is happening. No, I am not advocating the return of nasty or hateful epithets, so don't send me emails about that. I am, however, asking each of you to realize that the truth is more important than the possibility of hurt feelings. The full clash of ideas will bring better results than a stilted argument in which one side or another cannot speak fully for fear that it might offend one group or another.
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