by Lee Deltoro
Louis CK has a joke about news anchors who say “the N-word”. The gist is that it’s not fair because “nigger” is being placed into your head without being said aloud. There is something unsettling about that. Any message you would like convey you should be bold enough to voice. As a nation, we are “N-wording” our way through the day. Plain speech is rare. There are too many euphemisms, too many signifiers, too many air quotes. Language has become defensive. There are more qualifiers than statements. We are less concerned with ideas and more with their delivery. Debates are being held in the abstract as opposed to the practical. Outright propaganda is even being phased out and replaced by something more nefarious. Inception? Strangely enough this language is not wielded by those we generally associate with the subjugation of minority cultures in America, but by those who would be seen as our champions.
In the early-to-mid 20th century, "politically correct" was a term lobbed at Communists by Socialists, mocking their dogmatic adherence to party doctrine as opposed to moral imperatives. “Politically correct” in our modern lexicon began as a right wing pejorative for liberal academics. It is defined as an attitude or policy of being careful not to offend or upset any group of people in society whom are believed to have a disadvantage.
The designation of “minority” in America is an admission by everyone that you are at a disadvantage, whether that is due to sex, race, religion, health, etc. The problem with political correctness begins here. Minorities are not upset and offended because of language, we are pissed off by the disadvantage.
What causes these disadvantages? Dependent on who you ask at what point in our history, you could receive innumerable answers. But the one word that could cover them all is prejudice. Every person who has ever been treated unfairly will claim that some level of prejudice is at work. Whether it be in a courtroom, a field of play or in the workplace, feeling as though there is a bias against you is infuriating. Prejudice usurps a bit of that agency that each of us cherishes so deeply.
We have always been enamored with the idea of individuality. It is the single greatest recurring theme in our culture. We all want to be “young, wild, and free”. So how did we get here? How is it that a nation of “individuals” has been turned into a pop culture lynch mob on a witch hunt? I believe it is simply the backlash. After generations of unfettered, demeaning and, too often, hateful speech by those in power, we have become ultra-sensitive to anything that may be construed as untoward. Political correctness is the settlement that allows the majority to admit no wrongdoing. It is the balance to keep the image of the self-made, boot strap-pulling, wild horn-wrangling American man intact.
America has a 500-year old addiction to prejudice. During the 60s and 70s we went through a cultural rehab and and now, in sobriety, political correctness has become our mantra. So whose party line are we carrying? Who benefits from burying the prejudice? Those whose ancestors built that prejudice. Prejudice warps the legend. It breaks all the funhouse mirrors through which we see our history. The admission of prejudice makes “manifest destiny”, genocide. How tall did I really stand If I was on another man’s back? Political correctness pours light on the “tolerance” of today, creating shadows that hide the darkness of our past.
Many in the majority say, “I’m not racist, sexist or homophobic, why should I pay for the sins of my fathers?” Well, my father is black and I pay for it every day.
Political correctness is a bandage over the scar of deep American prejudice. There is always a mistrust of the majority culture on the part of minorities; always the inkling of an apology or an insult just beneath the surface, but the courage for neither. Political correctness is frightening because we do not know how deep the prejudice runs. Are you uncomfortable around young black men simply because they may disrupt the mood of your date night, or because they may attack you and your wife? How will you respond? We are always on guard.
There is a reason that most minorities do not feel the need to be politically correct. It is cliche’d that gay men or foreigners or black women will “tell it like it is”. We do not need to hide our prejudices. We are not ashamed. (And in the not so distant past, that was true of white men as well.) The roots of our discontent are apparent to everyone. We are the “disadvantaged”. We have the right to offend whomever we choose. Rightly or wrongly, our biases are a part of our collective cultural identities.
Over the past 25 years, political correctness has become the law of the land and we are Draconian in its execution. Careers, fortunes and good reputations have been lost due to seemingly small transgressions. So it would stand to reason that if political correctness has become moral code, then there must be something immoral that we are being protected from. What is so insidious that it would cause us to forsake our favorite athletes, politicians, and movie stars? What is so uncomfortable about ghetto, handicapped, and Indian, that we have to replace them with urban, special needs, and Native American? Why?
The “what” is intention. Intention is the unknown factor in every interaction we have. Intention is the difference between a greeting amongst old friends and the instigation of a bar brawl. And it is not the intent of the communicator that is so important, it’s the perceived intention by the receiver. Intent is being ignored.
The reason why is Jim Crow and the Trail of Tears and internment camps, and the immigration experiences of the Irish, Italians, Germans and Jews. It is every off-color joke you’ve ever told or heard or overheard. It’s every injustice you’ve ever witnessed, whether it be on your block, or on CNN, or on your timeline. Everything around you is screaming that things are not ok, that something needs to change. But how do you change a man’s heart?
The existence of political correctness suggests we have identified our prejudice problem. We just refuse to do the work to rebuild. Instead, it’s as if we are contractors landscaping a garden as the remedy for a home with a cracked foundation, or a mechanic who discovers faulty brakes and suggests a new subwoofer to drown out the sound.
Political correctness is the language of passive aggression. It is a safe zone. Political correctness insulates your ideas from condemnation. It does not take into account intent, good or bad. Political correctness is doggedly ambiguous. We have created a culture in which we are constantly questioning each other's intentions, forever asking, "What'd you just say?"
We have always been enamored with the idea of individuality. It is the single greatest recurring theme in our culture. We all want to be “young, wild, and free”. So how did we get here? How is it that a nation of “individuals” has been turned into a pop culture lynch mob on a witch hunt? I believe it is simply the backlash. After generations of unfettered, demeaning and, too often, hateful speech by those in power, we have become ultra-sensitive to anything that may be construed as untoward. Political correctness is the settlement that allows the majority to admit no wrongdoing. It is the balance to keep the image of the self-made, boot strap-pulling, wild horn-wrangling American man intact.
America has a 500-year old addiction to prejudice. During the 60s and 70s we went through a cultural rehab and and now, in sobriety, political correctness has become our mantra. So whose party line are we carrying? Who benefits from burying the prejudice? Those whose ancestors built that prejudice. Prejudice warps the legend. It breaks all the funhouse mirrors through which we see our history. The admission of prejudice makes “manifest destiny”, genocide. How tall did I really stand If I was on another man’s back? Political correctness pours light on the “tolerance” of today, creating shadows that hide the darkness of our past.
Many in the majority say, “I’m not racist, sexist or homophobic, why should I pay for the sins of my fathers?” Well, my father is black and I pay for it every day.
Political correctness is a bandage over the scar of deep American prejudice. There is always a mistrust of the majority culture on the part of minorities; always the inkling of an apology or an insult just beneath the surface, but the courage for neither. Political correctness is frightening because we do not know how deep the prejudice runs. Are you uncomfortable around young black men simply because they may disrupt the mood of your date night, or because they may attack you and your wife? How will you respond? We are always on guard.
There is a reason that most minorities do not feel the need to be politically correct. It is cliche’d that gay men or foreigners or black women will “tell it like it is”. We do not need to hide our prejudices. We are not ashamed. (And in the not so distant past, that was true of white men as well.) The roots of our discontent are apparent to everyone. We are the “disadvantaged”. We have the right to offend whomever we choose. Rightly or wrongly, our biases are a part of our collective cultural identities.
Over the past 25 years, political correctness has become the law of the land and we are Draconian in its execution. Careers, fortunes and good reputations have been lost due to seemingly small transgressions. So it would stand to reason that if political correctness has become moral code, then there must be something immoral that we are being protected from. What is so insidious that it would cause us to forsake our favorite athletes, politicians, and movie stars? What is so uncomfortable about ghetto, handicapped, and Indian, that we have to replace them with urban, special needs, and Native American? Why?
The “what” is intention. Intention is the unknown factor in every interaction we have. Intention is the difference between a greeting amongst old friends and the instigation of a bar brawl. And it is not the intent of the communicator that is so important, it’s the perceived intention by the receiver. Intent is being ignored.
The reason why is Jim Crow and the Trail of Tears and internment camps, and the immigration experiences of the Irish, Italians, Germans and Jews. It is every off-color joke you’ve ever told or heard or overheard. It’s every injustice you’ve ever witnessed, whether it be on your block, or on CNN, or on your timeline. Everything around you is screaming that things are not ok, that something needs to change. But how do you change a man’s heart?
The existence of political correctness suggests we have identified our prejudice problem. We just refuse to do the work to rebuild. Instead, it’s as if we are contractors landscaping a garden as the remedy for a home with a cracked foundation, or a mechanic who discovers faulty brakes and suggests a new subwoofer to drown out the sound.
Political correctness is the language of passive aggression. It is a safe zone. Political correctness insulates your ideas from condemnation. It does not take into account intent, good or bad. Political correctness is doggedly ambiguous. We have created a culture in which we are constantly questioning each other's intentions, forever asking, "What'd you just say?"
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