Isn't 'Political Correctness' (oh how I dislike this phrase) just about being nice to each other?

crapsake

Hi there IIIuminattiness, Where are the days gone when most of us had respect for each others feelings? I was always brought up to believe that manners cost nothing.
It would seem that, in today's society all decency and respect has virtually gone. I also hate the term 'political correctness.' I believe that our 'nanny state' has socially constructed P.C. in an attempt to enforce us to have manners. However, alot of people abuse political correctness for their own means. It is sad that in contemporary society that the attitude now is anything goes, and in my book that leads to everything going.

coffeeshopnat

Polital Correctness isn't so much about being nice, as it is about being "non-offensive"

No - PC is not nice. Political Correctness deals in euphemisms. "Euphemisms are the substitution of mild, indirect, or vague expressions for ones thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt." (dictionary.com)

The problem with euphemisms and PC is that it is dishonesty dressed up as kindness.

Here's a real world example. The phrase "retarded" used to be used for those kids who had to ride the short bus to school (you know what I mean). It was not a harsh word it simply meant that their developement had been delayed - hence the use of "retard" which means delayed.

Kids being cruel used to call people "retarded" as an insult. Once the word "retarded" took on this negative meaning, the PC crowd attempted to eliminate it. Now they began calling these kids "developmentally challenged."

Of course one kid can insult another just as effectively by calling him/her "developmentally challenged."

Bottom line - PC distorts language and meaning by making it vague without actually changing what people think.

Anything that makes language less clear, while allowing people to disguise their true thoughts (dishonesty) is NOT a good thing. I would rather people be direct and think what they will. Honesty is better than the sophistry that political correctness represents.

sandyblondegirl

Being courteous is one thing, being "politically correct" is a bogus way of trying to say nasty things in a nice way. When I hear people using "politically correct" language I question their sincerity.

The way people are making up words, twisting phrases, and misusing still more words makes me wonder if even the speaker knows what they are saying. Much of the time they sound like idiots or liars.

MikeT

Political correctness is used to convey a message to REASONABLE people who know manners.

However, there are unreasonable people out there. That's why cops and judges must not and should not tiptoe around their feelings or they may become repeat offenders. Some people don't have a clue that they are self-absorbed and delusional. Being blunt is the only way to help them snap out of it.

But you have to be careful when you are blunt. Some people don't snap out of it. INSTEAD, THEY SIMPLY SNAP and go on a rampage. You have to leave it to the professionals or be a good judge of character before trying the drill sergeant way. I shudder to imagine how soft the military would become if POLITICAL CORRECTNESS creeps into the leadership.

d.saturday

Well instead of saying someone is fat you could be politically correct and say overweight...Still most average americans would just say someone is fat...Its a simple fact people dont always like to be nice...

triteamdan

Yup. That is exactly what it is. We used to call it "manners" or "etiquette"

Joan el guiri

I believe that political correctness is similar to when police officers in the US south ignored drugs in black areas in order to destabilise these areas.

PC is designed to annoy the majority about minor petty matters such as banning Christmas celebrations because this may upset muslims.
It makes us hate what is happening and blame the minority that seems to be destroying our culture.
It is a great way to make people hate minorities and is being used with dramatic success.

brianthesnailuk2002

Surely being nice to each other is also to be open and honest with each other, to tell people how it is rather than dress it up. How is effectively lieing (using the current methods) actually in the long-term being nice ? Call a spade a spade, ensure the wrong-doers are punished not molly-coddled just in case the police cause offence etc.

To me being nice, having equal opportunities, using etiquette, manners etc. is in fact just a genial method, a common-sense method if you like. Political correct methods are way out on a limb of their own and in no way use common sense to balance.

Sadly many have used the PC debate to accentuate the divide between various groups and this is why many hate even the thought of tip-toeing around with PC so lean to the complete opposite side, natural human reaction. What seems to be missing in the modern world is simply common sense.

averagebear

No, I disagree with you. It is not about being nice. It is about pretending to be nice when you're not. If you really want to be nice, don't replace 'fat' by some silly euphemism. Being nice is not saying anything at all about that person's weight.

MLaw

No. It is concealing the truth in order not to offend. Failing to tell the King he had no clothes on was politically correct.

Heinz M

No! It is pure B.S. ~
And most of the time it is dishonest as well. Used to be called white lies.

futureteacher0613

No, it's about distorting the truth...rewording history to make it sound like it's not mean...

Veritas

No, it is inventing Rights for minorities on the basis that you care more than most, so that you can use these rights's to control the majority population. It is basically about bullying and nannying, but done under the guise of caring. You will never find people who get involved in the politics of caring, working at the sharp end, eg. Care Homes. It is at the sharp end where you generally find the genuine people that actually care. Good manners is about being nice. Health and Safety is that other well known power base for the control freaks.

Also, you can't force people to be nice, it has to come from the heart. PC isn't about being nice, it is about control, and avoiding the truth in a rather patronising way. People who push this philosophy, think too much, and feel too little. Very dry and academic.

daljack -a girl

Thank you for saying that....and I hate that term too.

It's just treating all people with respect. It's what most of us were taught as children.

No parent taught their children it was OK to call a person a derogatory name.

Liam M

It's about not making judgements about people.

PSU840

thats exactly it.

though dont call the elderly "old"! They are chronically challenged

purplepants

it's not about being nice to each other. PC is about being too scared to offend one another.

runner1

Political Correctness is another way to say liberal.

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