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Politically Correct

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In a world of speech that is predicated by its political correctness, have we gone too far?

Clearly it is not appropriate to slander others when real damage can be done, but that said, are we really so sensitive? Should we still be able to speak our mind on topics about immigration, sexism and other such topics that exist but are pushed into the backrooms for fear of getting overheard?
Does free speech actually exist or have we become so censored that to say anything will be inviting trouble?

Free speech as it is now known, involves saying as little as possible to as few people as possible.
Recently Queens University in Kingston Ontario has hired student facilitators to monitor conversations in classrooms, hallways, generally anywhere on campus. These monitors are to report any and all “improper” conversations to the dean of student affairs.

Their job as I understand it is to snitch on fellow students, should they happen to overhear (eavesdrop on) a private conversation that is not politically correct. Obviously this will cause problems, discourage conversation and kill the free exchange of ideas.

Political correctness gone wrong, or is it the same as book burning?


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Comments

noah counte 27. November 2008, 02:15

WTF happened to people choosing their words wisely? Now we have to choose their words for them?

I blame the cell phone - people think that they have personal space around them that really doesn't exist.

Esikhafan 27. November 2008, 11:15

Freedom just can't exist

noah counte 27. November 2008, 12:47

I love how we expand rights by limiting rights, though. WE're very Zen for a "Christian" nation.

erosan 27. November 2008, 15:34

lol noah...

All this "political correctness" BS makes people live in a place where they are afraid of saying "that is a nice BLACK car" because someone could hear black and get offended... that is no freedom. As long as you cannot be afraid of expresing what is on your mind, you cannot be free.

And now we dont even call things by its name...

But IMHO (and my humble opinion is top notch :wink: </sarcasm>), Carlin nailed it right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h67k9eEw9AY

themugs 29. November 2008, 02:30

Labels - you open your mouth and say something that someone may or may not like and you get slapped with a label.

Free speech is long dead.

noah counte 29. November 2008, 03:07

Labels are anti-democratic. They my be designed to make life easier, but they serve to limit.

themugs 29. November 2008, 03:10

I totally agree with that Matthew. At the same time I'll also admit to slapping a label on people myself. Often unintentional yet I recognize I do it.

noah counte 29. November 2008, 03:18

Oh, I do it, too. It's expedient. Unfortunately, the shortcuts we take in semantics (or to help us categorize and make sense of our world) often mean that others rely on our judgments and do not make their own judgments.

"Liberal" and "conservative" are two that bother me a great deal, lately.

themugs 29. November 2008, 03:27

Is there a difference between "Liberal" and "Conservative"? Those lines got blurred a long time ago as far as political types are concerned.

noah counte 29. November 2008, 03:53

The lines are blurred, except in the minds of people who listen to talk radio - for them, "liberal" and "conservative" are as different as "us" and "them."

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