Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Is there a boundary to Political Correctness?

And since when can "Political" even have a "correct"? Ditionary.com defines political correctness as:
Showing an effort to make broad social and political changes to redress injustices caused by prejudice. It often involves changing or avoiding language that might offend anyone, especially with respect to gender, race, or ethnic background.
A question to educated people: Where in the constitution of the United States of America does it say anywhere that protecting people from being offended is a good thing? We have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Notice this does not say we have a "right to happiness" or "right to never be offended". Nobody can give another person happiness, or for that matter, with life and liberty, nobody can take away the happiness of a person who has it.

There are two typs of offense. One is when someone is being offensive. The other is when a person is offended. Both of these can exist without the other, and while it may seem like a good idea to try and protect people from being offended, anything that could ever succeed at doing that would be keeping people from interacting with one another in any way, shape, or form. Liberty: Goodbye

Power gained by silencing opposition is nothing more than smokescreen for weakness... A refuge for a feeble mind. The effect this has on a person's mind and soul is similar to what happens to a person's body if they sit on the couch and have all their food brought to them. Stagnation. Atrophe. Decay. Shielding a person or group from all opposition does several things: One, it displays contempt. The message is clear, "I have decided you are not able to take care of yourself. You are too fragile to be on your own. I will protect you". Not only is this insulting and degrading, but forces that person or group into a state of burden for their fellows. Not only now do people have to worry about their own problems, they have to double time to pick up the scraps of the "victims" of their saviors.

Second, it creates a self-centered, narcissistic class of victims who can think only of how they are deprived, discriminated against, or how they deserve more. More than what? They already get preferential treatment in the sense that everyone rushes to protect them from the "evil" aggressors. Deserve to...do less work? Alright, that's been done, it's called Affirmative Action.

Third, it strips the victims of thier individuality and all concept of personal responsibility or accomplishment. Examples are everywhere with people demanding money from corporations because they are flat out stupid. Or people deciding that because their skin is a certain color that everyone else must be racist. Anything bad that happens cannot be the individual's responsibility, after all, they are oppressed, and therefore not responsible for their actions -- someone made them do it.

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