I bet that made you uncomfortable. Admit it.
This is what political correctness has done to us.
It’s a harmless phrase about calling something exactly what
it is. But since it includes the word
“spade” someone might interpret that word as a racist epithet.
I’ve had Maine Coon cats as pets. “Coon” makes us all wince,
too. So does “Negro,” even though that’s the Spanish word for black, and is an
accepted anthropological term.
For years the jingle for the Flintstones’ cartoon series
ended with “We’ll have a gay old time!” I’m sure years from now that will be
deemed unacceptable. Someone will find a hidden meaning.
We live in a time when silly old series like Dukes of
Hazzard are no longer shown simply because the car had a Confederate flag on
the roof and was called the General Lee.
Huckleberry Finn, Dr. Doolittle, and Little House on the Prairie are
being pulled from library shelves along with other classics either for being
racist or culturally insensitive.
Where does it end?
People actually search for sexist and racist innuendos in
the strangest places – like the ice cubes in a liquor ad, the bubbles in a cold
beer, and even Disney cartoons. TV ads
are scrutinized to ensure no one could possibly be offended.
Meanwhile, it’s perfectly okay to broadcast shows on basic
cable during prime time – when kids are watching – that offer up murder,
promiscuity, and gratuitous violence. These are sandwiched between commercials for
products to treat erectile dysfunction, yeast infections, and herpes
outbreaks. Switch over to premium cable
and the kids will miss the awkward-to-explain commercials but will be exposed
to far more graphic treatments of sex, physical abuse, drug use and more, along
with language that would make a sailor blush.
Don’t get me wrong – I am no puritan; far from it. But I’m
an adult.
How do you explain erectile dysfunction to a 10 year old?
Why should you have to? Why is it politically incorrect to allow children to
read stories written more than 100 years ago simply because the words used then
have now been deemed “harmful” to others?
To me, it’s far easier to explain “nigger” Jim – one of the
most important characters from Huck Finn, or Injun Joe from Tom Sawyer, in a
historical context than it is to explain a man’s inability to maintain an
erection, or what “if you have an erection that lasts more than four hours”
means.
And that is my fundamental problem with political
correctness. It’s solely in the eye of the beholder. The rules constantly change, depending on the
whims of a few.
If you read Huck Finn again today you’d probably flinch the
first time you encountered the word “nigger” on a page. But then you’d realize
the context was more important than the language used – a runaway child who
partners with a runaway slave to escape a physically abusive drunken father. In
many ways Huck and Jim are in equal straits. Jim and Huck are both treated like
property – Jim by his owner, Widow Douglas; Huck by his alcoholic father,
Pap.
It’s a great story, written in the vernacular of a different
time. Millions of kids read it without lasting psychological harm. If anything
it probably made them more sympathetic to the plight of black slaves and the
discrimination blacks faced.
And it’s just a story, after all.
What’s next? The Wizard of Oz was rereleased as The Wiz with
a black cast. The latest incarnation of Annie features a black Annie. The Honeymooners movie – a rip from the
Jackie Gleason classic TV show – recast Ralph Kramden with Cedric The
Entertainer.
Why?
I wonder what the reaction would be if someone re-released Porgy
and Bess with an all-white cast? Or the classic Cabin in the Sky? Should we ban Cinderella because it’s
sexist? What about Snow White – she can
only be awakened by the kiss from the male prince?
We’re all so sensitive now. We’re so afraid using a taboo
word or phrase.
Except, apparently, Donald Trump.
I think part of the appeal of Trump is a reaction to overbearing
political correctness. He has no filters
and a lot of people find that refreshing.
So when he talks about radical Islamic terrorists or illegal immigrants
it’s perfectly clear what he is saying – there’s no weasel wording about “radicalized
jihadists” or “undocumented workers.”
In a speech the other night he addressed African Americans
directly – something the Republican Establishment should have done for years
but hasn’t. He pointed out the very obvious: African Americans have been voting
for decades in virtual lockstep for Democrats, and what has it gotten
them? The inner cities run by Democrats are
only getting worse. Black unemployment
remains stubbornly high. School choice – which would offer an avenue out of
failing schools for black youth – is consistently blocked by Democrats and
their allies in the teachers unions.
Decades of support for Democrats – and even the election of
a black President – have done nothing to help blacks. Trump put it succinctly –
Democrats don’t really care about blacks; only their votes. He asked, what have
Obama and Democrats like Hillary really done for black Americans, except to
take their votes for granted?
Trump added that if black Americans want real change they
shouldn’t keep voting for the same people who’ve done nothing for them for
years.
That’s politically incorrect on so many levels – including criticizing
our first black President for doing essentially nothing for the black community
– but true.
He also took on political correctness about Islam and respect
for “multiculturalism” when he said:
“Anyone who believes Sharia law
supplants American law will not be given an immigrant visa. If you want to join
our society, then you must embrace our society, our values and our tolerant way
of life. Those who believe in oppressing women, gays, Hispanics, African-Americans
and people of different faiths are not welcome to join our country.”
Now, a lot of things Trump gets wrong. He’s loose with facts, and he has a bad
tendency to overreact to any criticism with low blows.
But one thing is absolutely certain: he doesn’t give a damn about
political correctness. I have to admit I like that about him.
In an era when safe spaces and microaggressions increasingly
dominate public discourse, and when books written in a different time and place
are suddenly being banned, there are a lot of us that, quite frankly, are fed
up with it all.
Our Constitution and its Amendments grant us many rights. But not the right to be protected from hurt feelings. You can't do that and maintain a free society. When you limit which words or phrases can be used -- or substitute euphemisms for otherwise factual descriptions -- you not only inhibit freedom of speech, but alter what's being expressed. When you attempt to censor or ban artistic works -- be they books, TV shows, movies or whatever from years ago -- simply because they might offend someone today, where does it stop? Who decides?
That’s the real danger of political correctness.
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