Could Being Politically Correct Cause Psychological Damage and Mental Retardation?

reply to post by poloblack

Black people don't use that word, and it's not in any rap songs either. And another thing, referring to your previous post, about hubby being some badass. There's a time and place for everything, and I'd be willing to bet that hubby chooses wisely.

Oh please, spare me the BS, black people say that word all the time.
And yes, it's in some rap songs.
Along with "cracka killaz"......

As far as my husband goes, I wasn't referring to hate words. Why you have to think along those lines makes me wonder.
[For example, he says Merry Christmas with pride, not Happy Holidays which is the new PC term]

If you read my earlier comments, I was merely talking about every day words that are being singled out as politically incorrect and we think it's just plain stupid.

Don't slam my husband, you don't know him or me for that matter. You sure have an odd way of reading more into a person's comments than there is . You must try to pick up on negative stuff only.

We simply don't worry about which terminology we use, we're not politicians.

And I'm not talking about name calling, so don't even go there......

reply to post by Stormdancer777


Another example is not saying Christmas but rather Happy Holidays......

Not us...we will never ever stop saying Merry Christmas.

If some one doesn't like it, oh well.
It always has and always will be Christmas to me.

So, I happen to have brown skin and have never liked Obama as a person or his policies as a politician.

I also happen not to like people who are always saying insulting things to other people.

This political season in the US, I saw entirely too much of this for my liking. Namely from the "PC" people. They were going around saying anyone who disagreed with their point of view was "racist", "ignorant", etc. Then, when someone, like myself, who speaks up with factual rebuttals steps up to challenge their conjecture and rhetoric, they begin spewing some of the most awful language and insults I have ever heard in my life.

It is very difficult to manage a decent conversation with a personal attack entering the conversation as soon as one of these folks feels (spiritually? morally? politically?) threatened.

When I say what I need to say (unpopular viewpoint), the responses I get are all based around how I look. Or, rather, how they believe I am "supposed to" think based on their stereotypical prejudgment about me based on my physical appearance.

So, how, exactly, is that politically correct?

How, exactly, do these people not notice the hypocrisy of their behavior?

Well, this type of behavior is excused and lauded and celebrated by the media and all PC people I've ever spoken to. People feel justified in their bad behavior because it has been approved by the people they approve of. It is, literally, the correct way to act within their preferred political/social group.

I know what you are talking about, OP, there is definitely something wrong with the picture. When I think of this topic, I also think of zombies.

reply to post by darkbake


Most Liberals in the West nowadays suffer from mental illness or deep psychological problems. Arguing incessantly and vehemently against basic reason is utter proof of an imbalanced mind.

reply to post by darkbake


I agree with you 100%.
The situation is exactly the same here in Britain.

It is what I call a liberal dictatorship.

Originally posted by Nightwalk
reply to post by darkbake

 

Most Liberals in the West nowadays suffer from mental illness or deep psychological problems. Arguing incessantly and vehemently against basic reason is utter proof of an imbalanced mind.

Which is precisely why the Conservative candidate was defeated in the recent Federal election. At what point is abnormal defined as being out of the norm, cuz you folks may want to get a handle on that particular concept. Your values no longer define your country. Some call that growth.

Originally posted by snarky412
reply to post by Stormdancer777

 

Another example is not saying Christmas but rather Happy Holidays......

Not us...we will never ever stop saying Merry Christmas.

If some one doesn't like it, oh well.
It always has and always will be Christmas to me.

Some people say Happy Holidays because:

-not everyone celebrates Christmas. Would you like it if a Jew said Happy Hanukkah to you, etc.?

-they also may be referring to more than one holiday including New Year.

Saying Happy Holidays makes good sense if you are in contact with a diverse group of people. It will still offend some people who are miserable during the holidays or feel you should know what their preferred holiday greeting is. I have resorted to not using any form of holiday greeting and that seems to be the method that causes the least amount of social trouble. If someone says Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever to me, I will respond with "likewise".

When I met a PC nazi she was about 40,she used to make little "decorations " on our weekly memos like flowers in in the corners, unicorns and rainbows.she spent many after hours nights doing this.The first time she spoke to me like I was a second grader she pissed me off.I reminded her she was addressing an adult,not a child.She eventually railroaded me out of the job I had for 9 years by transferring me to day shift which I wasn't trained to do.when ever I made progress she stated she was looking at the "whole" picture.One of the first things she said to me was a verbal demand I remove a gun from the office,I had a 1/6 m60 Machine gun on my computer,as that was what I carried.If someone is offended talk and tell I'll make as much effort to help you as you help me.

Originally posted by darkbake
reply to post by Byrd

 

I agree with what you said, but read the post StormDancer wrote above yours. In my experience, you can still be extremely polite and be considered politically incorrect - and often the politeness level gets so high that a meaningful conversation cannot be had.

Having read many a scholarly article where academics argue with each other over a lot of sensitive topics, my experience does not correlate with your observation that "a meaningful conversation cannot be had." Let me reframe this -- if you had a dear friend who held opinions that were contrary (and in a touchy way) to yours, do you think you could still talk to this friend about the topic and not end up enemies?

It's a skill, and it starts with learning to consider how your words are viewed by others.

It might be a different situation altogether these days than the ones from your experience, perhaps. I wouldn't be complaining if it was just about being polite - but whole topics and viewpoints are off limits just because they are not politically correct, and it has nothing to do with being polite.

You'd be surprised how many of them can be discussed if you frame it correctly. I discuss all sorts of peculiar things, myself.

Check out George Lakoff's work on framing.

first t.v will do it way faster than being pc ever will, and two, this only effects those that try to be PC.

Originally posted by MisterMarbles
Some people say Happy Holidays because:
-not everyone celebrates Christmas. Would you like it if a Jew said Happy Hanukkah to you, etc.?

In my culture, which as a WASP is mainstream in Canada, the most sincere wishes that I can offer at this time of the season are for a "Merry Christmas"...so that is what I do. I made that case once when I hosted a union holiday lunch at my employ. It was a very culturally diverse audience, and I got a round of applause. Not for challenging my PC employers...but for my compliments of the season

At this question, I always fall back on the comments made by a Toronto Sun editor some years back. While I detest the Sun, these words ring true:

I’ve never understood busy-body bureaucrats and officious officials who want to ban the symbols of Christmas at this time of year for the sake of not offending “religious minorities.”

Um, which religious minorities? Be specific and don’t claim to speak for me or all sorts of other folks who aren’t Christians.

You know, for a member of a religious minority like myself, Canada is a pretty cool place.

It provided a safe haven to my late father and his family after they were smuggled out of Russia in the early 20th Century during an anti-Semitic pogrom, which, trust me on this, were a lot more dangerous to Jews than Christmas trees or carols.

Indeed, as one of the relatively few countries on Earth that guarantees religious freedom and uses the power of the state to protect minorities from religious persecution, Canada is all right by me.

And Christmas is a part of Canada. So Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, everyone. Jews like Christmas, too

Ditto!

Originally posted by Trustfund
The only people I see complaining about "political correctness" are people that are mad they can't go around saying bigoted things without intelligent backlash anymore.

edit on 23-11-2012 by Trustfund because: (no reason given)

That's pretty much what you would expect to hear from a backer of political correctness.
If you don't like the agenda you must be a bigot, racist, etc.

I've noticed that PC people are usually the first to insult and belittle others.

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck
Same here.

It's Christmas to me so I'll say 'Merry Christmas.' If anyone chooses to act offended by a positive sentiment it's really a problem they have and I'm not reqired to accommodate such a conceit or appease them.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck

And Christmas is a part of Canada. So Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, everyone. Jews like Christmas, too

My experience has been the opposite of yours which is not surprising since we live in different places. This is what I have heard from my Jewish friends and other people I know who are Jewish: the Jews "like" Christmas because they get time off from work or school and get to eat at the Chinese restaurant on Christmas day with a bunch of other Jews while most people are celebrating Christmas at home.

I have offended people of various faiths and even atheists who celebrate Christmas by saying Merry Christmas. I have offended people by saying Happy Holidays. When someone says Happy ______ to me, I'm never offended because I realize their intentions were good and they were just trying to be socially pleasant with a positive thought. Since I switched to not saying Happy anything and replying with a "likewise", I haven't offended anyone.

I don't know what political correctness is.
I do however know what being polite and thoughtful is mind you.

Some people see PC as some sort of freedom robbing assult on them personally...when its not.
Its really just an identifier as to who is of quality and who isn't.

I am not sure what the issue with being politically correct is actually...again, this may come from my not understanding the term, or its relevance towards society.

But, What I do tend to notice, is that the people whom most complain about PCness are also the same ones saying that kids today, and the world in general are rude self absorbed jerks with no respect or manners..aka, the world isn't politically correct enough towards them or some such.

I think its mostly reflection personally.

reply to post by darkbake

Could Being Politically Correct Cause Psychological Damage and Mental Retardation?

Can cause psychological damage as any other type of information/message, in this case the issue becomes the removal or shaping of the cultural context, to those unaware it is similar to propaganda intended to impose a new type of thinking. Classification of bad of good depends only on what side of the fence you are and how the reduction of information affects the target.

As for mental retardation to the emitter no, since it involves not only keeping in mind the reason behind the particular shaping of the message but also the intention. To the receiver it does not cause mental retardation but keeps information to be fully precessed, leading even to the deterioration of meaning of words over time, the damage resides only on the removal of full information. In a social context it exacerbates and directs an effect akin to the process of self censure.

liberals are very totalitarian

By definition liberals are less totalitarian, in any case in the context of you exposed view political correctness is supported by group think, like a private code that becomes self imposed in the group and in its relation to other groups as a way to shape the message.

fire people for the political beliefs

The adoption of the rules of the collective is necessary as not the be excluded, most people learn this during their period of socialization as children.

People need to be free to speak whatever the hell they want to say, because that is an important part of processing information. Even if you don't agree with something, you should be free to talk about it, in order to process it, and understand both sides of an issue.

That is an hard sell, as a general rule it is an impossibility if you wish to live in a society. It would be like if people would be prevented to lie. Take of instance the rules regarding freedom of expression. It is a gray are that needs to be navigated you should only speak frankly and openly when you can take the repercussions from doing so, sadly this involves accepting the power of the majority in the context of a power structure. In an egalitarian structure you are more free to speak as you like (see above about liberals)...

By ignoring important issues, not only are you keeping yourself from understanding the other viewpoint, but you are keeping yourself from understanding your OWN viewpoint

Those adopting political correctness are not ignoring issues just reducing their visibility to the receptors of the messages. Now there is a risk that by continued exposition to incomplete message the full message context starts to change, in some regards this can be good in other bad, again depending on what side you support and the ultimate goal. It works very similarly to any type of propaganda, it shapes dialog.

THIS ISN'T ALL - if everyone goes around afraid to talk to each other, we are all going to end up a bunch of idiots who never had the chance to learn how to socialize, connect to people or understand EITHER of the two political parties because ALL WE ARE DOING ARE BEING MIMICS.

The issues I see regarding political correctness is the use of the methodology by power structures, where challenging or non adherence can result in not only exclusion but retaliatory action, resulting in a position of submission.

States/Governments tend to use propaganda as a way of control, political correctness is just a subsection of the process. Infantilization of the population is one of the goals, people that are easily distracted and managed are preferable in most forms of power structures. Consider the process of how humans selected species for domestication and how we impacted those species evolution.

See The Trap

The Trap - 1 - F*k You Buddy


The Trap - 2 - The Lonely Robot


The Trap - 3 - We Will Force U 2 Be Free

reply to post by Panic2k11


Thanks, that was really great. And the videos will be awesome to watch.

Originally posted by MisterMarbles

Originally posted by snarky412
reply to post by Stormdancer777

 

Another example is not saying Christmas but rather Happy Holidays......

Not us...we will never ever stop saying Merry Christmas.

If some one doesn't like it, oh well.
It always has and always will be Christmas to me.

Some people say Happy Holidays because:

-not everyone celebrates Christmas. Would you like it if a Jew said Happy Hanukkah to you, etc.?

-they also may be referring to more than one holiday including New Year.

Saying Happy Holidays makes good sense if you are in contact with a diverse group of people. It will still offend some people who are miserable during the holidays or feel you should know what their preferred holiday greeting is. I have resorted to not using any form of holiday greeting and that seems to be the method that causes the least amount of social trouble. If someone says Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever to me, I will respond with "likewise".

edit on 11/25/2012 by MisterMarbles because: raptor jesus

To each their own.......

The point I was trying to make was we are not going to be forced into switching how we word some thing because some one says to.

The attack on "Christmas" just started a few years ago. It hasn't always been that way.

That was just one example I used but there are many more simple every day words/sayings that are slowly being labeled as "politically incorrect".

That's why I posted the videos of George Carlin a few pages back. [page 4]
He says it all very nicely.

Originally posted by Kandinsky
reply to post by JohnnyCanuck

 

Same here.

It's Christmas to me so I'll say 'Merry Christmas.' If anyone chooses to act offended by a positive sentiment it's really a problem they have and I'm not reqired to accommodate such a conceit or appease them.

Thank you to the both of you.....that's exactly how I feel.

Much respect~~
snarky

reply to post by MisterMarbles

I have resorted to not using any form of holiday greeting and that seems to be the method that causes the least amount of social trouble.

and that ^^^ in a nutshell is exactly what PC was designed to do

personally, i prefer Merry Christmas during Dec (it's an American thing), Happy Holidays from Halloween until Easter cause there is at least one holiday per month.
(whether or not i celebrate it)