February 09, 2007

TBF: Political Correctness

Passive
By: A Perfect Circle

Dead as dead can be,
The Doctor tells me.
But I just can't believe him,
Ever the optimistic one,
I'm sure of your ability to become my perfect enemy...

So, wake up and face me,
Don't play dead cause maybe
Someday I will walk away and say,
"You disappoint me, Maybe you're better off this way".

Leaning over you here cold and catatonic,
I catch a brief reflection of what you could and might
have been,
It's your right and your ability to become my perfect enemy.

So, wake up and face me,
Don't play dead cause maybe
Someday I will walk away and say,
"You disappoint me, Maybe you're better off this way".

Maybe you're better off this way
Maybe you're better off this way

Maybe you're better off

So, wake up and face me,
Don't play dead cause maybe
Someday I will walk away and say,
"You fucking disappoint me, Maybe you're better off this way".

Go ahead and play dead,
I know that you can hear this,
Go ahead and play dead,
Why can't you turn and face me?,
Why can't you turn and face me?,
Why can't you turn and face me?,

You fucking disappoint me...

Passive aggressive bullshit
Passive aggressive bullshit
Passive aggressive bullshit


When someone excels at something, you would honor them for their accomplishments. Respecting someone for their abilities is simply what it is... showing respect to someone. Yet we live in a world where words have to be chosen carefully and that a person's background and beliefs have to be taken into consideration when you talk to/ about someone. So does being overly attentive to a person's background make you a better person when you speak of them? Or do you simply create insensitivity when there was none in the first place?

So let's find out as we tackle another grand social issue as we talk about this week on The Brian Factor: Political Correctness

Political Correctness (or PC) is a term used to describe language or behavior which is claimed to provide a minimum of offense, particularly to racial, cultural, or other identity groups.

A common misunderstanding is that PC is unique to a certain political party, special interest group, or language, when in reality it's been around for hundreds of years. In fact one of the earliest usage of the term was comes from the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), where it clearly means that the statement it refers to is not literally correct, owing to the political status of the United States as it was understood at that time:

"The states, rather than the People, for whose sakes the States exist, are frequently the objects which attract and arrest our principal attention [...]. Sentiments and expressions of this inaccurate kind prevail in our common, even in our convivial, language. Is a toast asked? 'The United States,' instead of the 'People of the United States,' is the toast given. This is not politically correct."

Ironically in the 1970's the term was re-appropriated as a satirical form of criticism, and was used by some on the Left to dismiss the views of other Leftists whom they deemed too doctrinaire and rigid. It was in this sense that the popular usage of the phrase in English derived.

But what really gave PC the full head of steam that we know it to be came about in the 1990's when conservatives brought about PC to challenge many colleges that refused certain historic events and figures. Believe it or not Former President George H. W. Bush spoke out against administrators and academics who would "declare certain topics off-limits, certain expressions off-limits, even certain gestures off-limits".

The creation of PC is based off of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis which states in lay man's terms that what we say will influence our thoughts and our actions, So to make sure we don't do or think anything stupid, it's suggested that we not say anything stupid to begin with... That's pretty stupid.

Like anything and everything there's both a positive and negative aspect to PC. It's often cited for substituting one title for another as well as attempting to undermine free speech by convincing people that only PC words would inspire peace between all of us... well...

MY TWO CENTS:

Before I rant on I should thank Harlean Carpenter for insipring this week's topic, four days ago I was chatting with H.C. and we were joking how I should label any links to the TBF site as "Crazy Mexican Rants" and H.C. told me that I have to say "Crazy Hispanic American Rants" so I wouldn't offend anyone and it kinda hit me right there at that moment: "I can't even be called what I am anymore?" You know, I'm all for giving respect to people and I'm even for peace, unity and whatever that thing was...uh... "Hands Across America", yeah I'm all for that but there IS a certain level of give and take...

And I'M MAD AS HECK AND I"M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!

Time for me to be real and here it is:

Two thirds of what you do, what you say, what you damn sure think and in essence two thirds of what you are as a being, offends someone. You think that taking a word and replacing it with another word will make me tingle with pride... UH..NO. First off if I have a tingling sensation, then I take my ass to the doctor's, not to a pride march. Secondly, they are words, they can only hurt so much but something tells me that a punch or a kick and the occasional burning
of a cross on your front lawn might hurt a little more than a word.

Respect isn't given in a word, it's given in an action.

What really bugs me is that how a person's accomplishments can't just be his accomplishments, they have to "represent the heart and soul of his people." Nah, that's just straight up bull shit right there. We are all different, we all know that, but really this whole PC thing seems to brand a group purely on it's successes of failures and nothing else.

I guess in the end, the real question you should ask is why we even need to labeled for what we are?

Why can't we just be people? Strip away the skin and everything is exactly the same, the only real difference is where we're from, what we believe and our skin color.

But you can't, can you? So you call us a name to generalize us and you can't even call us what we really are, so you make up a word that's more pleasant to your ears and that doesn't make you feel like you're lowering to "our level". Real strength is admitting who you are in all aspects: your beliefs, your hopes, your flaws and most importantly your legacy.

So let's stick with the basics of what you need to know:

1) Don't use labels, either PC or not, it does nothing to help anyone.

2) it's your experiences that make up who you are, not your color.

3) If you still can't figure out rules 1 and 2 then Darwin says you should die or lose the ability to reproduce... whichever one's easier.

I'm not ashamed of being a Mexican, but I don't want that to be what defines me and I don't aim to do great things in the name of my people. I aim to do great things period, being Mexican is that thing that makes me extra special. I don't want to be remembered as a great Mexican columnist, I want to be remembered as a great columnist... Enough said.

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