Political Correctness

[ejderha]

What do you think about 'political correctness'? It's a foreign concept for me. Something I got used to by interacting Western people. I also read that it's actually not something old in West either. As far as I understand, people mean different things while trying to be politically correct.

Is it right down hypocrisy or carries any nuance?

In what sort of positions you catch yourself being politically correct?

What's the opposite of political correctness? Surely, it's not plain 'tactless' or 'blunt'.

Here, some little general findings on the definition:

*Avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to exclude or marginalize or insult people who are socially disadvantaged or ...

*Political correctness (adjectivally, politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) is a term applied to language, ideas, policies ...


*The concept that one has to shape their statements (if not their opinions)

*According to a certain political dogma, i.e. to be politically correct; The result or product of being politically correct


*Describes the attempted erection of boundaries or limits to language, the range of acceptable public debate, and conduct.


*Is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense.


*Suppressing the expression of certain attitudes and the use of certain terms in the belief that they are too offensive or controversial.

*A trend that wants to make everything fair, equal and just to all by suppressing thought, speech and practice in order to achieve that goal.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=defineolitical+correctness&ei=TRvKSrGoBY21sgbU1tjrDg&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title


A funny trivial note:

The following is the winning entry in an annual contest at Texas A&M University calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term: This year's term was Political Correctness.

The winner wrote: "Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

http://wearesc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41926

 

[S.A.M.]

What do you think about 'political correctness'? It's a foreign concept for me. Something I got used to by interacting Western people. I also read that it's actually not something old in West either. As far as I understand, people mean different things while trying to be politically correct.

Its a difficult concept to understand for people who are used to hyperbole in language rather than understatement as a figure of speech.

As I understand, the idea is that one can make something less offensive by calling it something else. Thats the dummies version of it.

PS This should probably be in linguistics?

 

[ejderha]

Its a difficult concept to understand for people who are used to hyperbole in language rather than understatement as a figure of speech.

Didn't think of that way. So it could be natural that it's a relatively a new concept.
Wiki:

Early usages
During the First World War, British Ministry of Information official Arnold Bennett used the expression politically correct in vetting language for “appropriateness”.[4] The Liberian stateswoman Ruth Perry traces the term from Mao Zedong’s Little Red Book (1964). In the 1960s, the radical Left adopted the term, initially seriously, then ironically, in self-criticism of dogmatic attitudes. In the 1990s, because of the term’s association with radical left-wing politics and Communist censorship, the US Right applied it to discredit the Old Left and the New Left. [1]

 

[ejderha]

I tried to say, overstatement is more and more gets in the use by new generations.

 

[S.A.M.]

Do you think so? Think about it. Not very familiar with old Turkish, but its been common in old Indian languages to use fantastic and exaggerated analogies to make a point. Everything is a matter of life and death, nothing can be recovered from unless you make excessive compensation or penance. Old stories are full of difficult voyages, monsters fought and defeated, golden treasures won, lives sacrificed, all in the name of simple ideology.

Nowadays everything is made commonplace. Everything is brought to its lowest common denominator, nothing is worthwhile unless it is easy, cheap and common. Its hip to wear the most popular brand. Its progressive to think everyone is the same or should be.

 

[ejderha]

Do you think so? Think about it. Not very familiar with old Turkish, but its been common in old Indian languages to use fantastic and exaggerated analogies to make a point. Everything is a matter of life and death, nothing can be recovered from unless you make excessive compensation or penance. Old stories are full of difficult voyages, monsters fought and defeated, golden treasures won, lives sacrificed, all in the name of simple ideology.

Nowadays everything is made commonplace. Everything is brought to its lowest common denominator, nothing is worthwhile unless it is easy, cheap and common. Its hip to wear the most popular brand. Its progressive to think everyone is the same or should be.

Yes, I think so. But there is a difference between what you and I mean, caused by my bad expression.

It's the same in old Turkish stories of that impossible quests. But also in present day, 'things' are pushed to extreme by different means. In those legends there is only life and death told in face of love. But today we use some words in language, in a different way than it's used before. Words are changing. Well, they are not changing the usage changes. Now, when something is beautiful and nice, now, it's 'awesome' or 'fabulous'. Isn't it? Does it make any sense?

 

[S.A.M.]

Can you think of any old stories where something that was terrible was minimised?

Where hundreds and thousands of people being killed was of no consequence?

Where identifying someone by their ethnicity or origin was offensive?

 

[ejderha]

Can you think of any old stories where something that was terrible was minimised?

Where hundreds and thousands of people being killed was of no consequence?

Where identifying someone by their ethnicity or origin was offensive?

History. All of it.

Wait, do you mean a Turkish story that I can't recall at the moment?