Damn straight I'm PC. Just ask the last person I gave a hard time.

Add - Just kidding of course.  

I'm anti-PC and agree with everything you've said.  Why do people have to be so worried about offending people on accident all the time?  I believe I know when a person has good intentions and when a person has bad intentions.  So it comes down to this: it doesn't matter what you say, it's what you meant by it that matters.  If you meant to hurt or insult a person, then it's wrong.  If you were just telling a silly joke or said something you didn't think was bad, then you shouldn't be in trouble or fired for it.

BTW - As someone who is 50% Arabic, 25% polish and 25% irish, I hear (and make) lots of jokes that I laugh at.  But one time someone I worked with said something I couldn't believe.... she said to a black girl "well I'd rather see you blacks moving to town then those arabs".  Offended us both in one shot!  We looked at each other and just had to laugh b/c it was so outrageous.  I don't think she knew I was arabic but even so she indicated that the black girl was only slightly better than the arabic people.

Nope. I work at a very, very lefty, PC organization, where I'm known as "the Capitalist." I also take way too much joy in the comedy of people like Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler to be considered PC. I feel the world would be a much better place if people would lighten the %$#*@ up, 90% of the time.

Telpher said…
Nope. I work at a very, very lefty, PC organization, where I'm known as "the Capitalist." I also take way too much joy in the comedy of people like Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler to be considered PC. I feel the world would be a much better place if people would lighten the %$#*@ up, 90% of the time.

---

I didn't know you workd where I do. lol.... I work in a preschool program, funded buy the government.  The one thing we have to battle every year is parents and staff complaining that we don't celebrate holidays.  But yet it's ok to give fmilies ideas for MLK day. 

Being in a supervisory position, I try to keep in mind who I'm talking to and I continuously have to remind some of my staff members to be mindful of not only what they say but how they say it.

On the other hand, my hubby is so not PC.  Sometimes I have to remind him to watch what he says in certain settings.

We all like to say that we're not PC but it is a disease we have all caught. If you went back 40 years, you would be shocked at the things people said in casual conversation, so we have all been sensitized about what is acceptable in certain situations. This is the essence of political correctness -- it's not what you say to your buddy over a beer. It's what you will say in a meeting at work.

If you are careful not to use certain language when talking to your mailman or a PTA meeting, then you are appropriately politically correct. Just because you use those words with a buddy when you're driving to the auto parts store doesn't make you any less PC.

I'll paddle upstream on this one and say that a healthy dose of political correctness is a good thing, maybe even a great thing. It has made us a helluva lot more understanding and willing to accept others. I don't see a downside with that.

--Bob

Sometimes common sense just comes into play. My workplace is a multicultural experience, which is cool. A few staff members are from Latin American countries, and they often speak to me in Spanish. I have no shame about being a Spanish speaker, and I certainly have shame about my ethnicity, but I was raised with the concept that it's rude to speak Spanish (or any language) if there are people in the room who don't know the language. The only language *everyone* in my workplace speaks is English. I always answer in English. Based on how I was raised, and what I believe, it's the polite, common sense thing to do. My co-workers view this as an indication that I am "not PC", that I'm down on the Spanish speaking population - which couldn't be further from the truth. I've actually had a very green, idealistic co-worker ask "If you're not willing to be PC, why did you get a job in this field?" My answer is pretty much that I don't believe the efforts to move towards equity should have ever been so confused with pandering to the unreasonable demands of a select few in the name of political correctness...or with the inability to exhibit a sense of humor.

PC is a very subjective terminology.  If your rude at the expense of someones feelings, it's not politically incorrect, your just a jerk.  If you sacrifice what you believe to be true for the sake of someone who's believes other than you, then you show disregard for those who believe as you, and for yourself.  That being said, there is often a price to pay for what you feel is honesty.  So I guess my answer would be no, I'm not politically correct.  My philosophy is to respect ones self, and respect others, and I do not define that within the parameters of political correctness.  Dammit.

I don't know. I don't go out of my way to insult others with labels that offend and I do tend to try to be sensitive to people of all races, religions, and even sexual preferences. However, I think we go overboard when it comes to trying to be PC sometimes. The Don Imus thing is one of those overboard things. This time. Last time was just dumb of him. This time, it's so nothing. Everyone is just waiting to be offended. I, like Vivasuzi, am one half Arab (I'm Irish and a touch of English too). I don't offend when people make jokes aimed at me because of it. My best friend calls me a towel head. He isn't being mean. Just joking. If I got mad every time someone said something just a tad off, I would be mad all the time.

I do, however, get upset when I see people going out of their way to insult a group of people or a person based on anything from race to a disability. I get more upset when I hear people call disabled people "gimps" or "retards" than I do when I hear a racial slur.

I think more than the words, it is the intent of the words that is offensive. I'm sick of everyone being offended by everything!

PattyTherre said…

I don't know. I don't go out of my way to insult others with labels that offend and I do tend to try to be sensitive to people of all races, religions, and even sexual preferences. However, I think we go overboard when it comes to trying to be PC sometimes. The Don Imus thing is one of those overboard things. This time. Last time was just dumb of him. This time, it's so nothing. Everyone is just waiting to be offended. I, like Vivasuzi, am one half Arab (I'm Irish and a touch of English too). I don't offend when people make jokes aimed at me because of it. My best friend calls me a towel head. He isn't being mean. Just joking. If I got mad every time someone said something just a tad off, I would be mad all the time.

I do, however, get upset when I see people going out of their way to insult a group of people or a person based on anything from race to a disability. I get more upset when I hear people call disabled people "gimps" or "retards" than I do when I hear a racial slur.

I think more than the words, it is the intent of the words that is offensive. I'm sick of everyone being offended by everything!

---

Yeah!  What she said!  That was my point.   I get really sick of people saying "Happy Holidays" because someone might be offended by "Merry Christmas". Oh, freakin' get over yourself!!

Bob, that's what I'm talking about.  I understand completely where you are coming from and there is a decorum we observe in a meeting at work that we don't having a beer with a buddy.  Agreed.  What I'm talking about though, is people who get offended if you do something an don't include them. You know, the ones who feel they have a right to be included in everything, like the mom who insists her little girl should be allowed in the Boy Scouts.   The atheist who doesn't want ANYONE  to pray at the sports event because they don't want to.  The person who plays the "race card" at every little percieved slight.  THOSE PC people, I object to.  If YOU don't want to pledge allegience to the flag, fine.  But don't take your big head down to the school board and insist NOBODY should be allowed to say the pledge because you don't want to.   Here's where I like to quote Mr Henley in regards to these folks, "I'd like to find your inner child and kick his little a@#"

Jeez. Last year I was corrected for using the term "Christmas shopping" by someone who preferred the term "holiday shopping." Um, I don't celebrate any holiday in December *except* Christmas, and, last I checked, most gift shopping being done in December in American cities wasn't for Kwaanza or Chanukuh or any other holiday, but Christmas. It's not *anti*-anything to state a simple fact and use the word "Christmas" in December. Sheesh.

For 8 years I worked in a university with international students, many significant others/friends in my life come form all walks.  I guess I am probably the least PC person I know.  I don't say certain things because 1) they show ignorance 2) they are intolerant and 3) grouping ANYONE is against my own personal ethics/morals/philosophy.  I think that in general people are just to caught up in grouping and as a result there are a great many misconceptions about any particular group, ethnicity, or gender.  So, my take on this is, I judge a book not by it's cover, but by the story inside it.  If everyone took a few more minutes to look beyond the cover and the title they too may find that there are more interesting things in the world that those 'groupings'  titles or categories.

Years ago, my very southern grandparents would refer to African Americans as N..... does this offend me? Yes, did I know why? No, I was a child but I did know enough that it "hurt" me to hear the tone of their voice when they said it. Am I being PC by saying African American? No, I don't think so, that is what they prefer and so that is what I say. Am I saying it to be correct? no, but to provide a level of respect and consciousness of what and how they feel.

For our Arabic friends, I have been on the recieving end, I look Palestian or Egyptian, my dress and speaking a little Arabic caused me no end of grief in some situations so realize both sides of the equation.  

IMHO, I say what I have to say, if someone is offended unintentionally by my saying Merry Christmas or whatever, I most humbly apologize. But it is their hang up not mine, The gift we have is to be kind and tolerant, to forget labels and judgments and just do what we do and say what we say. What is it they say.. .walk a mile in their shoes -- then decide if what you say is just correct or politically correct.

sorry, can you tell my minor was in cross cultural communication?  :-) I am off my soapbox.

The whole PC thing is just out of control....ooops, I'm sorry, did that offend you??? Shake it off already!  I'm sorry, but the Christmas thing really gets to me.  I will look you in the eye, and yes, I will wish you a Merry Christmas!  Don't like it??? TOO BAD! 

I lived in New York City for 38 years....there are 8 million people cramped into 5 little boroughs.  People from all over the world live there.  If you ask someone if they are Russian, you will be met with a brutal response of how they are Armenian. Sorry, I'm not a linguist and I wasn't rude...all I did was ask you a question.

Anyway...I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

I understand.  AND, being the epitomy of a "live and let live" person, I will never gripe about someone wanting to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, its their right and I served 20 years to defend that right.  BUT, for someone to get offended because I say "Merry Christmas", well, that is just the height of narcissm.  Sorry, it just is.  If you want to say Happy 25th of December I Worship Wood Allen Day!", I might think you are strange, but I'll keep that to myself and just smile politely.  After all you do have that right.  See, a lot of PC these days is people thinking "my way or the highway" and with no respect for others, instead, it's like the guy who shoots his girlfriend because, "If I can't have her, nobody can".  

I fully agree with you that we should be kind and tolerant, especially the "be kind".  We don't have to be tolerant of other folks' insincere BS, however.  People just need to lighten up and not think THEY  are the center of the universe.  None of us are!

MikeMaroon said…

Yeah!  What she said!  That was my point.   I get really sick of people saying "Happy Holidays" because someone might be offended by "Merry Christmas". Oh, freakin' get over yourself!!

---

You just hit a very sore subject for me there!  My husband works in retail and tells me stories of how customers come to him super ticked to him saying "your employee over there just said Merry Christmas to me".  COME ON!!!!  They act like people say Merry Christmas as a way to INSULT you!  And making them not use Christmas trees in stores, give me a break!

How about people who actively fight their city asking them to take down the Jesus display b/c it is offensive.  How is it offensive?????  How about asking them to put up a Menorah instead so that both religions can be happy? 

I just don't understand people who waste their lives PROTESTING something like that.  How does a Christmas Tree hurt you?  Does it come by and slap any non-christian on the head?  Does it speak racial slurs that only non-christians can hear?  I don't think so.

I decorate my house loud and proud every year :)  It's my right to do so and if my neighbor wants to put a large Menorah in the front yard, or something from another religion, I could care less.

I'm just waiting for the day when the Christmas tree lighting in major cities becomes the "Holiday tree" lighting.  Or when I go to Chicago in November and see Holiday lights and no santas b/c someone was offended.

In the end - I think companies have to stop making changes b/c one person or one small tiny group was offended.  I bet 95% of people don't care (100% of the ones I've spoken with of all religions don't care).  Yet 1 small group of 5% who have NO LIFE spends day in and day out protesting, and writing bad stuff about companies until they take down their Christmas tree.

Go spend your time protesting something worthwhile - like children dying around the world because of hunger - and stop worrying about that dang Christmas tree!

Ok, I have to get this off my chest. MikeMaroon, I'm deeply offended by the insensitivity you exhibit by mocking my religion. I refer, of course, to Church of Woody Allen. Believe it or not, fans of Manhattan and Annie Hall bleed when we're cut, just like you! To you, Sleeper may just be a movie...but to some of us, it's a lot more! Respect!

Respect?  Wasn't that Aretha???? Oh, and, That's deep! You're SO obviously influenced by McKuen.

Am I PC? No, I'm Mac.

And the BEAT goes on. Now, excuse me, it's my sabbath -  in my religion we eat nothing *but* bagels and lox until sundown.

Mac?  Mac Davis?  Mac Powell?  Big Mac?  Old MAC Donald?

Oh, and your soapbox is welcome here!  I'm always delighted to hear others views.  Sometimes I learn stuff!!!!

Telpher said…
And the BEAT goes on. Now, excuse me, it's my sabbath -  in my religion we eat nothing *but* bagels and lox until sundown.

---

Who are you going to BEAT??? Isn't that a violation of someone's civil rights????

MikeMaroon said…
Mac?  Mac Davis?  Mac Powell?  Big Mac?  Old MAC Donald?

---

Mac(k) the Knife

elvisdo said…

MikeMaroon said…
Mac?  Mac Davis?  Mac Powell?  Big Mac?  Old MAC Donald?

---

Mac(k) the Knife

---

My favorite song that is about murder and thugs! I love it. :)

I have had people wish me a happy Kwanzaa and I wasn't offended. They knew I didn't celebrate it but, hey, they were wishing me a happy something. How could I possibly be offended by that?

I do think that many groups get more offended by certain things than the group that is being "targeted" for lack of a better word. I know many white (er, "Caucasian") people who get really upset when other white people call African-Americans "black". I have a LOAD of black friends and they couldn't care less if I refer to them as black. Meanwhile, groups of PC white people are freaking out.

I respect the groups' preferences, NOT what other people THINK is their preference. If someone says to me, "I would prefer to be referred to as XXX", I will gladly do so. But I can't be scared every time I speak that I will offend someone. Heck. I probably do all the time but I sure don't mean it!

Is it fair to turn the situation around? My mother once said to me that being resentful was "like taking poison and expecting the other person to die."

I think she meant, and this is the way I took it, that the only thing we really can control in this world is our own behavior and attitudes.

If we get offended everytime someone says something inconsiderate, unkind or even mistaken, we are letting the bad guys control our lives.

Shame on us! Just shrug it off. It isn't worth the worry or hurt. And it just surrenders power to people who don't deserve it.

I also think that sometimes, just sometimes, taking offense is opportunistic. It allows the offendee to get points up on the offender. How silly.

You can't possibly say anything that "offends" me. I may disagree with your point of view and I may attempt to counter it. But to claim offense is a waste of time and emotional energy.

I think Political Correctness is just the modern form of brain washing and thought control.  There has been a concerted effort by the people who got the PC movement started to suppress certain thoughts from being expressed.  It's ironic that in this day and age when so many taboos from the past have been cast aside by society in general that other thoughts that used to be considered ok are now taboo.  You can use just about any cuss word you want to in the media nowadays but you can't say Islam is evil without getting shouted down, for example.

I think being "PC" is rubbish.  Just say what you mean to say.  What used to be true still is true even if the PC police don't like it.

All these new terms that are supposed to be PC and replace the old terms are nonsense.  I especially get sick of the "gender neutral" stuff.  I'm not going to change the way I talk or write to please some feminist.  A person who puts out fires is a fireman.  A person who catches crooks is a policeman.  A representative on the city council is a councilman.  I'll say "Everyone should mind his own business" instead of saying "his or her own business" if I want to.

I've developed a thick skin over the years and I think way too many people are too thin skinned and allow themselves to get offended way too easily.  I'm a "white" (I'm really of Norman ancestry but that's never on the ethnicity lists), straight, Christian male who votes Republican most of the time and grew up raising livestock and hunting game.  I can barely breathe without offending some group or another.  According to a lot of minority and "special interest" groups, I and my ancestors are to blame for everything.

If I say things in my reviews or opinion pieces that are not PC, don't be surprised.  I don't like to hurt people's feelings either, but some of this worrying about what is the right thing to say or call something just goes way too far. 

Eyerater said…
Is it fair to turn the situation around? My mother once said to me that being resentful was "like taking poison and expecting the other person to die."

I think she meant, and this is the way I took it, that the only thing we really can control in this world is our own behavior and attitudes.

If we get offended everytime someone says something inconsiderate, unkind or even mistaken, we are letting the bad guys control our lives.

Shame on us! Just shrug it off. It isn't worth the worry or hurt. And it just surrenders power to people who don't deserve it.

I also think that sometimes, just sometimes, taking offense is opportunistic. It allows the offendee to get points up on the offender. How silly.

You can't possibly say anything that "offends" me. I may disagree with your point of view and I may attempt to counter it. But to claim offense is a waste of time and emotional energy.

---

I like you already!!!

Well I guess I am on the other side of the fence. Perhaps it's because I grew up up in a fairly racist home; perhaps it's because I grew up in the 60s/70s; perhaps its my training as a Social Worker; perhaps it is because I am politically liberal Yes I do try to be PC whenever possible which is 99% of the time. As a Jewish woman in the US that too could be a reason or maybe there are no reasons it is just me! Jo

Jo said…
Well I guess I am on the other side of the fence. Perhaps it's because I grew up up in a fairly racist home; perhaps it's because I grew up in the 60s/70s; perhaps its my training as a Social Worker; perhaps it is because I am politically liberal Yes I do try to be PC whenever possible which is 99% of the time. As a Jewish woman in the US that too could be a reason or maybe there are no reasons it is just me! Jo

---

And you know what?  There is nothing wrong with that.  The problem isn't people being PC as much as it is when they expect EVERYONE else to be their brand of PC.   Live and let live.  You be Jo and I be Mike and we will get along just fine, even if we disagree about some things.  I grew up in the 60s/70s and in a home where racism was, unfortunately, present.   I somehow manage to escape that without being a racist myself, probably partly due to my military experience, but partly because, while the rest of the family was racists, my mother was the one I listened to, and she hated racism.  Anyway, I do think ,while racism is out there, there are a few who hide behind it and use as a crutch.   That makes it tough for those who really ARE discriminated against.

When someone stereotypes an individual based on the racial or ethnic or other group with which they are identified, it's stooopid!

It says more about the poor critical thinking of the stereotyper than it says about the group being stereotyped .

But we all are susceptible to doing it.

If we are so busy being "politically correct," how can we think critically and encourage critical thinking in others?

Frankly, I care a whole lot less what you say about me than what you think of me.

Eyerater said…
When someone stereotypes an individual based on the racial or ethnic or other group with which they are identified, it's stooopid!

It says more about the poor critical thinking of the stereotyper than it says about the group being stereotyped .

But we all are susceptible to doing it.

If we are so busy being "politically correct," how can we think critically and encourage critical thinking in others?

Frankly, I care a whole lot less what you say about me than what you think of me.

---

Oh, I like the way you think and express those thoughts. I agree 100% with what you are saying! :)