The truth about "political correctness" is that it doesn't actually exist

[Kire]

Political correctness...is a "system of left-wing ideological repression" that threatens the "bedrock liberal ideal" of a "free political marketplace where we can reason together as individuals." He writes, "While politically less threatening than conservatism (the far right still commands far more power in American life), the p.c. left is actually more philosophically threatening. It is an undemocratic creed."

But political correctness isn't a "creed" at all. Rather it's a sort of catch-all term we apply to people who ask for more sensitivity to a particular cause than we're willing to give — a way to dismiss issues as frivolous in order to justify ignoring them. Worse, the charge of "political correctness" is often used by those in a position of privilege to silence debates raised by marginalized people — to say that their concerns don't deserve to be voiced, much less addressed.

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[uriel1972]

1. truly... nt

[merrily]

2. Seems to me that most who pride themselves on avoiding political correctness are

priding themselves on little more than their willingness, maybe even eagerness, to hurt people for no good reason. And the people hurt by lack of political correctness are usually women, minorities and the poor.

[unblock]

3. political correctness was once used within the context of liberalism only

as in, if you take your liberalism seriously, then you should always lick your plate clean. wasting food is hypocritical for a liberal and therefore is not politically correct (i was actually told this by a fellow liberal in college, oh, around 1982).

the concept was never meant to impose anything on non-liberals. it's not hypocritical for an authoritarian right-winger to be a sexist pig, so using sexist language that would not be politically correct for a liberal would not be politically incorrect for the right-winger.

but right-wingers, being in the habit of imposing their own private views on everyone else, or perhaps due to their incessant martyr complex, decided to take the concept as a personal attack on them for fun and profit.


now the term is only used by right-wingers to shut sensible people up, much as terms like "square" or "geek" have long been used to shut people up whenever they threaten use logic or facts.