In part one of this series, I dealt with the woke society. In this article, I will talk about the politically correct nonsense that has in fact, been around for some decades. Wokeness and political correctness have a certain similarity. They both invoke a climate where one is expected to follow certain rules with regard to the way we are supposed to view society and how we refer to people within society.
Advocates of the process of political correctness argue that our perception of other people, is greatly influenced by the language we hear used about them. The use of strictly politically correct language, they argue, helps to prevent marginalisation and social exclusion of various identity groups as a result of the use of careless or malicious language against them. This means that people, in today’s society, are now under stress, as they are worried about opening their mouths for fear of saying the wrong thing.
We who oppose this nonsense, do so primarily on the basis of freedom of speech. History tells us that a high price was paid on at least two occasions for this God-given right. As the education curriculum now contains very little of this history, it may be that the Millennials and Gen Z don’t appreciate this to the extent that ‘OK Boomers’ do. In England, rather than students being taught about English history, they might learn about ideas, beliefs and attitudes of people in the past from various social, cultural, ethnic and religious perspectives.
There are numerous examples of PC speech being taken to ridiculous lengths. It was very much in vogue in England twenty years ago when Greater Manchester Police were handed a document entitled The Power of Language. Words not to be used included accident black spot, policeman, fireman, chairman, manning the phone, and cripple. Instead of cripple, they were told to say disabled, although they were warned that even the word disabled might offend some people.
Today, even everyday words are fraught with danger. For example, using the word ‘marriage’ might offend people with a live-in partner. A woman complained to the BBC when she heard an announcer refer to a piece of music by Claude Debussy as “The Cakewalk”. Of course it’s “The Golliwogs Cakewalk”, but according to the BBC, in musical circles the shorter version was always used because it was quicker to say.
Then there’s the question of race and colour and religion to think about. If you’re white and Christian, you must be very careful before making a comment as more often than not, someone from one of those groups will be offended by it. (If it’s anti-Semitism though, that’s perfectly acceptable and anything goes).
Those, who we have to stress over accidentally offending when commenting, appear to be able to pass judgment without having to worry about culpability. Why? Is it because they are always seen as victims in society? Why do they put up with it? Why do they countenance the verbal claptrap that the likes of Swarbrick and Marvelly spout? The ‘follow us because we know best’ brigade. Instead of helping people, they’re achieving exactly the opposite. They’re ensuring that people stay where they are, in their little societal box, devoid of hope and aspiration.
Political correctness has also affected Western police forces. A uniformed PC (Police Constable) cannot execute his duties as he used to due to political correctness in society. A clip round the ear or a whack on the backside is no longer tolerated. Today it is more than likely that the PC will end up in the dock rather than the young offender. And here’s a classic. The Council for Awards in Children’s Care has declared that pre-schoolers should never be told that they are naughty or silly or bad. You address them by saying “I don’t like the way you’re doing that.” Presumably, this applies whether the child is kicking the dog, destroying the furniture or setting fire to grandma. All of this happened in England as far back as twenty years ago.
Discipline as we ‘OK Boomers’ knew it has been tossed onto the politically correct scrap heap, and who can say society is better for it. Instead of worrying about offending all and sundry it might be better to consider reinstating some of the things that have been discarded in the name of the madness that is political correctness. We might then get back to the more egalitarian society that we ‘OK Boomers’ grew up in. It wasn’t perfect, but in my view, it was a damn sight better than what we’ve got now.
The politically correct brigade needs to start treating everyone as equal on all levels of society and do their best to incentivise people to achieve a better lifestyle and standard of living. It’s high time these humourless people got a life and cheered themselves and others up as well. As I said in my previous post, by just viewing Question Time you don’t have to know which side the Left are sitting on. One just has to look at the faces.
My next post will cover climate change.