So when does it stop being 'PC' and start being 'Common Decency'

[LordKiran]

So I'm going to throw the likes of Derec a bone here and give them that "political correctness" is a thing and is overall bad for public discourse.

So the question now becomes when is it being PC and when is it just not being a prick? Is there ever a given context where mocking someone for their physical differences is an acceptable part of public discourse? Does reprimanding people for mocking others for their physical differences automatically make you an SJW then? If so, then what is the alternative when faced with such language?

 

[ZiprHead]

I've always liked to think the root of the word political as being polite (while sticking a knife in the back of your opponent).

 

[credoconsolans]

 

[Elixir]

.... when is it just not being a prick?

When it's a racist or misogynist statement by a 'Murrikin trying to "Make America Great Again" it's just common decency to put up with it. But calling such patriots "deplorable" is out of bounds.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

PC was a term that invented by right-wingers to relabel what other people consider courtesy.

 

[DrZoidberg]

So I'm going to throw the likes of Derec a bone here and give them that "political correctness" is a thing and is overall bad for public discourse.

So the question now becomes when is it being PC and when is it just not being a prick? Is there ever a given context where mocking someone for their physical differences is an acceptable part of public discourse? Does reprimanding people for mocking others for their physical differences automatically make you an SJW then? If so, then what is the alternative when faced with such language?

It's not the act but the reaction that is the key to understanding PC. There's no difference between what a political correct person does and a normal decent person does. The criticism against political correctness is if the decency is enforced via various social pressures. Then the reason for acting decently is fear, and not because you're a decent person.

Another problem with enforced political correctness is that it shoots itself in the foot. Political correctness is usually about some groups issues not being taken seriously. Because, as it goes, it's made invisible in the normal narrative. But it's snobbery. It has zero understanding for those who (belonging to the norm) who are blind to it. It bashes normal people over the head for being normal.

News rooms are typically politically correct... and that is a good thing. They're not supposed to cause controversy. They're just supposed to deliver news straight. And governments are supposed to be politically correct, because they represent the whole population, even minorities. And should make an effort not to piss off other nations. School teachers should probably strive for political correctness.

But beyond that it shouldn't be enforced IMHO. What the world needs is more tolerance. Not more political correctness. Being offended has to stop being a reason to do anything. Getting offended is a right. Anybody given a shit about said offence is not.

 

[thebeave]

PC was a term that invented by right-wingers to relabel what other people consider courtesy.

By courtesy, do you mean being careful to not appear critical of the actions of an "oppressed minority"?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-28939089

Children as young as 11 were raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated, it said.

The report, commissioned by Rotherham Borough Council, revealed there had been three previous inquiries.

Council leader Roger Stone said he would step down with immediate effect.

Mr Stone, who has been the leader since 2003, said: "I believe it is only right that as leader I take responsibility for the historic failings described so clearly."

The inquiry team noted fears among council staff of being labelled "racist" if they focused on victims' descriptions of the majority of abusers as "Asian" men.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

By courtesy, do you mean being careful to not appear critical of the actions of an "oppressed minority"?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-28939089

Children as young as 11 were raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated, it said.

The report, commissioned by Rotherham Borough Council, revealed there had been three previous inquiries.

Council leader Roger Stone said he would step down with immediate effect.

Mr Stone, who has been the leader since 2003, said: "I believe it is only right that as leader I take responsibility for the historic failings described so clearly."

The inquiry team noted fears among council staff of being labelled "racist" if they focused on victims' descriptions of the majority of abusers as "Asian" men.

That would be a great example of how right-wingers try to frame "PC". Thanks for contributing.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

By courtesy, do you mean being careful to not appear critical of the actions of an "oppressed minority"?

As for me, no. There is a difference in saying that Asians are abusers verses that the majority of abusers in this incident were Asian men. You can still be PC and report the facts.

 

[DrZoidberg]

By courtesy, do you mean being careful to not appear critical of the actions of an "oppressed minority"?

As for me, no. There is a difference in saying that Asians are abusers verses that the majority of abusers in this incident were Asian men. You can still be PC and report the facts.

But most often complaints about PC has to do with that reality doesn't match the racist bias. You don't need to dig deep into the sources of news sources to realize that.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

It will blow the minds of the regressives here if they ever come to realize it, but the greatest liberal progress is often not politically correct, and it is quite possible to be politically correct and an asshole at the same time.

For example mixed race couples while the laws were enforcing segregation were very not politically correct. Nor is being an atheist in Iran, or standing up for the rights of men (including abused men) in domestic settings or family law today.

And regressives competing in the oppression Olympics seeking out tiny microaggressions to be offended by or to be offended by on behalf of others who never asked for their "help", seeking to prevent free speech, pushing identity politics instead of tolerance and understanding, etc, are very much assholes.

It is politically incorrect on this board to say all lives matter, to criticize no matter how politely theories of rape culture, or to present facts on particular cases as Derec has, or to even be ApostateAbe who I understand is only allowed to post science related topics in "pseudoscience" no matter how much actual science they may involve.

Yes, cries of PC can be just an excuse for a racist to be an asshole, but those who always equate not being PC with being an asshole are not behaving much better.

 

[Elixir]

By courtesy, do you mean being careful to not appear critical of the actions of an "oppressed minority"?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-28939089

That would be a great example of how right-wingers try to frame "PC". Thanks for contributing.

Would've been fine if he had simply called them "slants".

 

[KeepTalking]

That would be a great example of how right-wingers try to frame "PC". Thanks for contributing.

Would've been fine if he had simply called them "slants".

I think "chink" is the more PC term these days. Please adjust your Liberal Lexicon accordingly.

 

[skepticalbip]

That would be a great example of how right-wingers try to frame "PC". Thanks for contributing.

Would've been fine if he had simply called them "slants".

I think you are in the wrong part of Asia. "Slants" or "Slopes" are East Asians. I believe the report was about culprits from the Middle East.

 

[KeepTalking]

Would've been fine if he had simply called them "slants".

I think you are in the wrong part of Asia. "Slants" or "Slopes" are East Asians. I believe the report was about culprits from the Middle East.

Well, it's a good thing they didn't describe them as "Asian men" then, if they were, in fact, Middle Eastern men, because Asian men and Middle Eastern men look nothing alike. It's not PC, it's just common fucking sense.

Of course, anyone actually reading the article would not come to the conclusion that the men were Middle Eastern because there is absolutely nothing in the article that indicates the men were Middle Eastern.

 

[skepticalbip]

I think you are in the wrong part of Asia. "Slants" or "Slopes" are East Asians. I believe the report was about culprits from the Middle East.

Well, it's a good thing they didn't describe them as "Asian men" then, if they were, in fact, Middle Eastern men, because Asian men and Middle Eastern men look nothing alike. It's not PC, it's just common fucking sense.

Of course, anyone actually reading the article would not come to the conclusion that the men were Middle Eastern because there is absolutely nothing in the article that indicates the men were Middle Eastern.

Maybe those in the US wouldn't get that impression but, in Europe, they properly refer to anyone from Asia as Asians. The Middle East is in Asia so Middle Easterners (as we call them in the US) are correctly called Asians by Europeans.

 

[dismal]

I think you are in the wrong part of Asia. "Slants" or "Slopes" are East Asians. I believe the report was about culprits from the Middle East.

Well, it's a good thing they didn't describe them as "Asian men" then, if they were, in fact, Middle Eastern men, because Asian men and Middle Eastern men look nothing alike. It's not PC, it's just common fucking sense.

Of course, anyone actually reading the article would not come to the conclusion that the men were Middle Eastern because there is absolutely nothing in the article that indicates the men were Middle Eastern.

In Politically Correct maps is the Middle East not part of Asia? Because in regular maps I find online it is. But those maps may not have sufficient decency.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Being non-PC as saying something you know is taboo in your culture, and expecting it to be met not with reasoned analysis and response, but with knee jerk accusations and insults.

Look at many of the reactions to reasoned analysis by Sam Harris on Islam or to Karen Straughan on men's rights and you will quickly learn what Political Correctness is.

 

[dismal]

Being non-PC as saying something you know is taboo in your culture, and expecting it to be met not with reasoned analysis and response, but with knee jerk accusations and insults.

Look at many of the reactions to reasoned analysis by Sam Harris on Islam or to Karen Straughan on men's rights and you will quickly learn what Political Correctness is.

Yeah, i was thinking something on the lines of: PC may feel the same as "decency" when you do it, but when you rail against others for not doing it feels more like "assholery".

 

[KeepTalking]

Well, it's a good thing they didn't describe them as "Asian men" then, if they were, in fact, Middle Eastern men, because Asian men and Middle Eastern men look nothing alike. It's not PC, it's just common fucking sense.

Of course, anyone actually reading the article would not come to the conclusion that the men were Middle Eastern because there is absolutely nothing in the article that indicates the men were Middle Eastern.

In Politically Correct maps is the Middle East not part of Asia? Because in regular maps I find online it is. But those maps may not have sufficient decency.

Well, that's extremely helpful, because Russia is also in Asia, and we all know that Russians, Chinese, and Saudis all look alike. We have a term for describing people from the Middle East, it is "Middle Eastern", not "Asians". I suppose you could say "Asians of Middle Eastern descent", but that just takes too fucking long to say.

Fortunately, my PC map is correct enough that it marks Texas with a big, puckered sphincter, as we all know that Texas is the asshole of North America.