Let me explain that I regard political correctness as worse than a lie.
A lie is a straightforward attempt to deceive a victim. It [is] almost honest by contrast. Political Correctness is a corrupt attempt to poison thought and speech, and to impose upon the nobility and courtesy of its victims to get them to deceive themselves. A frequent side effect of PC jargon is that it renders rational conversation difficult, indirect, or even impossible.
Innocent and well meaning people are actually fooled by this simple trick. Sad to say, most people think like magicians. They believe in the rule of true names. They think (or rather, they feel) that when they are calling one thing by another name, that the actual nature of reality changes. They put themselves in a position where they can no longer talk about real things. Words are severed from referents.
Quote of the Day
April 19, 2009 by Scott W.
Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man. I’m letting the children starve for lunch while I try to read that entire column. Must…tear…self…away..and get lunch.
This guy is _great_. Why have I never heard of him before? What a great column. I’ve gotta blog it elsewhere. It must be more widely read.
Btw, Eldest Daughter has had to mark “he or she” in her SAT prep several times already. She realizes that this is ridiculous, but all the other answers were worse. One time, with great distaste, she had to realize that “she” was the answer desired. Grrr. However, she plans to stick to her guns when writing papers in college. There at least you can talk to the grader. And “My mother is a philosopher with a published article on the evils of revisionist language” is a trump card most college students do not have.
You know, when people rail against political correctness it’s not about the ability to tell off color jokes. It’s about calling things as they actually are. Kind of like pro-choice and anti-abortion.
The winner of the nomenclature wars typically ends up being the winner.