We continue, as a society, to try and sanitize our language until it is virtually meaningless. We disguise the serious nature of an issue behind softer language designed to moderate the intensity of the issue it describes. I find it amusing and ironic that at precisely the same time that we are using more and more politically correct language to hide the truth, we are using what used to be considered distasteful language more frequently and more casually than ever; language once thought too rude for general use.
The word fuck for example, once considered a terrible word and very much avoided in polite conversation is now so common that parents and their kids often use it in front of each other. I personally don't mind the word fuck. It's just a word and I believe words are harmless until someone misuses them. I still remember the one and only time my father let the Big "F" slip out in front of me. He was a big, tough guy but was so embarrassed by that moment, he apologised quite profusely. I also remember the time my baby sister, who was 18 at the time, told a joke at Sunday dinner with the word fuck in it. My father was so discombobulated, he fled the table.As I have written before, words in and of themselves cannot hurt us. They are simply labels to define things, actions, feeling, ideas and places amongst others. Intentions, on the other hand, can be very hurtful, even destructive. Changing the words to describe something does not change the intention. A good intention that is expressed using the word fuck is still a good intention. A bad or hurtful intention is still a bad or hurtful intention, regardless of the language used.
Foreign Food has been replaced by ethic cuisine
Toilet Paper was changed to bathroom tissue which while somewhat wimpy is still better than what my buddy Wratch called it back in our high school days. He referred to it as ass-wipe, a term that only gained local acceptance apparently.
Employees are now Human Resources; two words too take the place of one and a phrase that demotes people to nothing more than one more corporate resource to be used in as impersonal a manner as possible. It's small wonder it is so much easier to lay people off. They aren't people with lives and families anymore, they're just one more resource.
Toilet Paper was changed to bathroom tissue which while somewhat wimpy is still better than what my buddy Wratch called it back in our high school days. He referred to it as ass-wipe, a term that only gained local acceptance apparently.
Employees are now Human Resources; two words too take the place of one and a phrase that demotes people to nothing more than one more corporate resource to be used in as impersonal a manner as possible. It's small wonder it is so much easier to lay people off. They aren't people with lives and families anymore, they're just one more resource.
Founding Fathers has been replaced by The Founders because the original term is deemed too sexist despite the fact that the Founders of most countries were men.
Chairman became Chair Person which wasn't bad because it seemed, even to me, kind of silly to refer to a woman as Chairman. For some reason, that evolution wasn't sufficient, however, and we now use the term Chair. In less than a decade we have evolved to the point where a piece of furniture now moderates our meetings.
Chairman became Chair Person which wasn't bad because it seemed, even to me, kind of silly to refer to a woman as Chairman. For some reason, that evolution wasn't sufficient, however, and we now use the term Chair. In less than a decade we have evolved to the point where a piece of furniture now moderates our meetings.
Secretary has been replaced by Administrative or Executive Assistant which seems to me to be more demeaning than the original. We have Secretaries of State and corporate secretaries but believe that some office secretaries would rather be seen as little more than assistants than as independent achievers.
Steward and Stewardess were changed to Host and Hostess on a trial basis but that didn't quite achieve what the politically correct were seeking so they came up with flight attendants, whatever that means. Like Chair, a meaningless word that has the humanity stripped right out of it. When was the last time you saw a stewardess attend to the flight?
Shell Shock went through a number of evolutions until it became Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome, a term that downgrades the trauma to a mere disorder. It's small wonder so many veterans find it difficult to get assistance and support these days when they return from serving their countries in war zones.
Sex-change has been assigned a new term, Gender re-assignment. It makes you wonder who is handing out the original assignments and how they screwed it up in the first place.
Trailer Parks are now Mobile Home Communities despite the fact that most of the trailers, excuse me, mobile homes are not mobile and never go anywhere.
Janitors are now custodians which is just wrong messaging. Custodians have custody of something. Janitors clean buildings.
Indian was changed to Native (insert country of choice) then to Aboriginal, subsequently shortened to Native, then Indigenous Peoples and now is changed again to First Nations. I don't really care what term we use to describe the aboriginal community. I'm quite happy to leave it up to them to define themselves but let's get some consensus here and make a decision. At the rate this term is changing we'll become too confused to remember the correct term or will run out of terms to use. There are only about 400,000 words in the English language and more than a few have already been used and discarded in an attempt to find the most politically correct.
Homosexual is now gay, much to the delight of my late and very sexually repressed mother who thought it positively wonderful to see so many happy young men and women out together.
One of my personal favourites is a replacement for bald. No, I don't mean follicly challenged although that is pretty funny. But the one that cracked me up was when I actually heard someone refer to a bald man as 'too tall for his hair'.
One of my personal favourites is a replacement for bald. No, I don't mean follicly challenged although that is pretty funny. But the one that cracked me up was when I actually heard someone refer to a bald man as 'too tall for his hair'.
Political correctness is not only restricted to language, it has spread across all aspects of our society. Sesame Street, once the leader in televised learning for children has announced that it soon will introduce a new homeless Muppet on the show.I used to watch Sesame Street with my daughter when she was little (excuse me, age restricted) and thought they already had a homeless Muppet; Oscar who lives in a garbage can. Shouldn't they worry about finding Oscar a better place to live before bringing more homeless Muppet's on the show? I appreciate that they want to teach our children about poverty but shouldn't they really be teaching them about helping the poor? Find Oscar a decent home and then let's talk about a new homeless Muppet otherwise Sesame Street will start to take on the appearance of an Occupy encampment.
Of course, politically correct language only applies when you are criticizing the insensitivity of others. Whem the politically correct believe passionately in their cause be it the environment, free tuition, animal rights or anyone of a thousand other causes, then politically correct language doesn't apply. It is consider highly appropriate in those circumstances to call those you oppose: Nazi, fascist socialist, communist, 1% criminal, crook or anyone of a thousand other appellations that most sailors wouldn't use on a Saturday night in a bar room brawl.
The hypocrisy never stops.
It probably isn't politically correct to say it but more and more it seems that a proper synonym for political correctness would be stupidity. But then...you already knew that, didn't you? On the bright side, it will at least give them something to talk about on the bus as they are driven north. (refer to September post; Get On The Bus)
The hypocrisy never stops.
It probably isn't politically correct to say it but more and more it seems that a proper synonym for political correctness would be stupidity. But then...you already knew that, didn't you? On the bright side, it will at least give them something to talk about on the bus as they are driven north. (refer to September post; Get On The Bus)
RELATED
Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get More Stupid
http://bearsrant.blogspot.ca/2012/03/just-when-you-thought-it-couldnt-get.html
Get On The Bus
http://bearsrant.blogspot.ca/2011/09/get-on-bus.html
Some reference material for this post comes from
http://www.rickroot.com/humor.cfm?GetFileName=Politically_correct_dictionary.html
© 2011 Maggie's Bear
all rights reserved
If you are so inclined, you can follow me on Twitter @maggsbear. Follow me even though I'm not 100% sure of where I'm going....look on it as an adventure.
all rights reserved
If you are so inclined, you can follow me on Twitter @maggsbear. Follow me even though I'm not 100% sure of where I'm going....look on it as an adventure.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar