The secret origins of political correctness

reply to post by ImaFungi


The absence of PC in decision-making would be a return to logic and true fairness. For one thing people would be judged by their actions, not majority/minority status.

ImaFungi

I guess a better way of putting my earlier questions; if PC was eliminated today, what would the nation appear like tomorrow?

Like the previous poster said, people would be judged for their actions, not their thoughts/opinions.

Society would become more meritocratic and therefore more prosperous overall and for-all.

Political distortions would be removed from Academic textbooks.

Differences in gender, race, income etc. would be seen as a source of fun and mutual learning rather than a threat.

There would be no more Taboo subjects pushed into the Underground and discourse would become open. With that would come an initial rise in tension but an overall long-term healing of long-held societal problems.


Those are a few off the top of my head, but Im sure there are hundreds more.

double post

OpenMindedRealist
If the PC trend is allowed to continue, maybe the next Al Capone will deal in illegal books and newspapers.

I could see this potentially happening. "They" already know what you are reading because its easy to track books you Download to your Kindle Device or Smartphone as well as books you order in the Internet.

Amazon has already banned extremists books. I wont protest the banning of books on how to build explosives, books on pedophilia, etc. But the moment they cross the line and start banning non-PC books, its time to start a secret stash. Come to think of it....they are already re-publishing some childrens books to conform to PC standards.

reply to post by Skyfloating


Is it not true that some people do have certain racial discrimination or gender discriminations or you are saying that is their right to have it? Like if the president of a university didnt come out and say it but refused to have black people in his school, that would be perfectly fine I guess. I guess your point is right, giving people complete freedom, while the majority and/or government is kind of trying to make everyone play nice, and thats your problem, this all imo is birthed from the harsh history of womens rights and civil rights and I dont think in a few generations all those problems have dissipated, but you are saying they are not problems, they are just the way things are and must be. The way I see it there have been great leaps and bounds in inter race societal relations and respect, and the whole women in the work place and stuff like that. I think this PC stuff stems from a time where even if a black was more capable he would not be permitted in the school, or even if a women was more capable and man would be hired. So since the opposite of those situations began to be desired 'for the betterment' of all, pretty much a policy of 'be nice', its kinda been a training wheels, and this is the problem you have, that a group of people, had such power on the climate of thought and opinion of generations of members of society, that people should feel bad for being biased and holding personal opinions even if they differ from the status quo. Idk know where I stand on this whole subject, its a problem that at once America is thought to be the peoples nation, that means yours and mine, and everyones, we are suppose to feel at home and like we belong, but at the same time, the collective nation (gov) must do certain general and blanket things that may make certain people feel as if their freedoms are taken away. Its interesting because it does still seem to be a segregated climate, and perhaps it is natural inclination. White neighborhood, spanish neighborhood, black neighborhood, asian etc. And they all have their schools where there is the majority and minority.

Your basic argument is that a person should not be told what he must do, and that power is dictated by immediate position; example if I was the headmaster of a school and I say for 100 years we havent had any black students and I want to keep it that way, because I am the headmaster and my position grants me the power to make major decisions that is completely appropriate and should not be questioned or challenged in any way, because the black student who wants to attend my school is not in the position of power I am, his minority of say should have no power over me and my ideals. And in a capitalistic sense like the whole restaurant having right to refuse service, there is always another restaurant and another college that will allow you, so this is the crux of your position I feel, the difference between individual rights and freedom, and government/collective ideas and thoughts and power over the individual.

That was a good read!

I agree with most of it, thanks for posting.

reply to post by ImaFungi


A free-market paradise would be great, but its unlikely to happen anytime soon. But lets speculate a little...Lets take the unlikely extreme that someone says "As the head of this Restaurant, blacks are not welcome here". It being his property and company, he should have the right to discriminate in that way. But I also have the right not to send him any of my clients, to boycott his restaurant. And a black guy would have the right to open a "blacks only" restaurant. Most Restaurants would be mixed because the majority of people never were racists, but some would be "women only", "men only", "homosexuals only", "asians only", "blacks only", "whites only", etc. And why not? Id be fascinated to see and sneak into all these exclusivist venues.By allowing for such freedom, people would naturally get tired of exclusivism and racism and eventually start mingling again. Thats just the nature of life...the Pendulum swings back and forth with ease and without excessive Government regulation.

However, long, long before such a scenario would be desired, the Government or the Collective could even just acknowledge that you cannot and should not legislate thoughts and opinions. EVEN JUST THAT would be a HUGE leap for individual liberty.

The main FALLACY of PC imo, is the idea that goodnesss and positive thought can be forced, made mandatory or legislated. Goodness should be a CHOICE, not something forced.

Skyfloating
Have you ever heard of Lookism?. If you think one person is better looking than another, you are a bigotted "lookist", because you are discriminating instead of seeing everyone as the same/equal. How dare you say someone is good-looking but not another, you judgmental pig!

Have you heard of Ableism?. You are in ableist if you view disabled people as less able in some respects. You better let the guy in the wheelchair play on your football team so that they dont brand you an evil "ableist"!

Did you know that Genderism, i.e. seeing men and women as biologically different, is considered offensive by some? There are now Scandinavian Day Care centers who forbid giving children toys or clothing by gender. So if you prevent boys from wearing pink and give them a water-pistol instead of a pony, you may be a closed-minded "genderist", an enemy of the progress of humankind!

The way society thinks has been rapidly changing. Things considered obvious, such as the fact that gender is not only a "social construct" but a biological reality, are increasingly becoming Taboo. If current trends continue we will be living in a very different place and state of mind only a hundred years from now.

Did you know that "gender-neutral" restrooms are popping up around the world as not to "discriminate" against the transgendered? You wonder how women will feel sharing the restrooms with men or whether they might be afraid of that. But women are not being asked whether they felt "discriminated" by separate restrooms. The minority group of transgendered are more important than woman in general. Just like muslims were never asked whether they felt "discriminated" by the term "Merry Christmas" before it turned into "Happy Holiday". No poll was taken, it was simply "assumed" that "Merry Christmas" is "offensive" to anyone who does not celebrate Christmas.

Did you know that some schools have banned having "winners" during games and sports activities as not to "discriminate" against those who lost a game? This is all part of a new and emerging psychology that says that "competition" and "competitive sports" are old-fashioned remnants of "exploitative win-lose based systems", whatever that is supposed to mean. I guess the kids, who usually love competitive sports, were never asked.

All these examples and incremental changes are part of the larger movement of "political correctness" (PC). It is generally assumed that these social changes are not deliberately engineered, much less secretly. The public assumes they are indicative of "modern times" and some kind of natural progress toward a more open and tolerant society. And at first sight, it would appear that way. I however state, that PC is secretly engineered and has nothing at all to do with creating a more open and tolerant society, even if on the surface it appears that way. I believe that PC has secret origins and was developed in the 1920s by the Cheka (predecessor of the Soviet KGB) specifically to undermine The United States of America. In my view it is the most successful feat of clandestine psy-op social engineering of the Century. It was further developed by the Frankfurt School and other Neo-Marxist agendas and now the fruits of this old plan have only started manifesting in the last few decades.

In my view, this is what PC Progressivism purports to be:

And this is what it actually is:

PC is a Soviet mind-virus that has undermined Americas leading role as well as muddied its Politics (both Democrat and Republican). If you understand how this virus works, you will also understand why "Merry Christmas" turned into "Happy Holiday" but "Happy Hanukah" and countless other Holidays stayed the same. You begin to understand why "progressive" groups chant "Free Palestine" but never "Free Tibet" (because Communists rule there). Why Hillary Clinton is considered an example of female empowerment but never Margeret Thatcher. Why Obama is an example of Black Empowerment but never Colin Powell. Why ultra-conservative muslims are preferred over mildly-conservative Americans. Why racism, sexism and capitalism are fought almost exclusively in America, but not in other countries. You see, the goal of Soviet-KGB-installed "Progressivism" and "PC Culture" was not REALLY to battle racism, sexism and capitalism. Otherwise they`d have first battled sexism in Africa, battled racism in India, battled Capitalism in Western Europe. They'd have battled racism, sexism and capitalism (the three supposed enemies of progressivism) where they are most prevalent. But because Soviets goal was the destruction of American culture, primarily America was targeted.

PC was created in Soviet Russia for the purposes of the Cold War psy-war, not for the purposes of truly bringing about equality, black rights, womens rights, LGBT rights, etc. Civil rights were already well on their way without the Soviet propaganda.

George Orwell (who was a genuine liberal...not one of these "PC Progressives") predicted modern PC more than 50 years ago:

“Newspeak is a controlled language created by the totalitarian state as a tool to limit free thought, and concepts that pose a threat to the regime such as freedom, self-expression, individuality, peace, etc. Any form of thought alternative to the party’s construct is classified as ‘thoughtcrime.’”

*

The totalitarian arbiters of PC are not smart enough to realize that suppressing free thought does not get rid of unwanted thoughts, it amplifies them. For example, never once in my life have I considered using racial slurs or derogatory language toward women, the disabled, etc. That's because I was brought up to be respectful to all people. But the humorless total Taboo all such topics is making me think twice about it.

How about - Smartism? You can't be more intelligent or creative than someone else. dumb down the smart people. No more Einsteins!

EnPassant

How about - Smartism? You can't be more intelligent or creative than someone else. dumb down the smart people. No more Einsteins!

edit on 20-11-2013 by EnPassant because: (no reason given)

Unfortunately thats not a joke but the actual aim of meritocraphobes.When Pol Pot or Mao or Stalin came to power, the first thing they did was kill anyone who was above average educated, intelligent or successful...because they represented "being better" - the supposed enemy of ultra-egalitarianism.

StaffMember

Skyfloating, how does this all tie in with the obvious PC-ness being enforced here on ATS?

There is a difference between PC and TC. As a private company, ATS enforces T&C. Governments and Unspecified and Untargettable Collectives enforces P&C. Banning something within a specific framework or group is very different than attempting to ban something for the collective/whole.

Great thread!

I do wonder if this is not a gentling-along to get the public in different countries into one 'even' group simply for easier government. If you can get everyone to accept exactly the same values and obey those values without question, then you have a 'block' to manage and manipulate to yhour heart's desire.
A lot of what you write for the USA is applicable in Europe and especially the UK. Today we face a threat our forefathers who fought two WWs would be horrified by, the threat of our own governments to the public they govern.

I will be interested to see if some of the so-called sacred cows that have managed to get themselves sweet positions of no criticism or special treatment, might start to fall by the wayside and be pushed into the general public kicking and screaming until the PC works on them also. Perhaps them we will see the face of the meglomaniac whom is manipulating humanity into a mould. One should nevefr forget "slowly, slowly catchee monkey".

Shiloh7
One should nevefr forget "slowly, slowly catchee monkey".

Very slowly indeed. Its almost like whoever is socially engineering this is willing to wait several generations for its global manifestation.

I open doors for women. Young, old, pretty, ugly, nice, dirty, tall, short. . . .

it doesn't matter.

I open doors for women. I have never been scolded (by a woman) for doing this.

Yet isn't it gender discrimination?

An example, perhaps, of a behavior that is self-determined vs the indoctrination that goes on.

beezzer


I open doors for women.

You chauvinist, sexist, patriarchal, male-dominant, exploiting, abusive, mysogynist pig!!!!!

Skyfloating

beezzer


I open doors for women.

You chauvinist, sexist, patriarchal, male-dominant, exploiting, abusive, mysogynist pig!!!!!

That's actually on my resume'.

How odd!

'PC' is just something invented by the right to bash attempts at treating people fairly. Like "The OS" for truthers, it only exists for those who want to knock it.

Of course there are silly examples of over compensation (although they are routinely exaggerated and have been here), but it's absurd to say there's a conspiracy to enslave people by 'correct' language, or that being nice to disabled people is a bad idea.

JuniorDisco
'PC' is just something invented by the right to bash attempts at treating people fairly.

Then why do so many on the "left" oppose PC as well (even several in this very thread?)

JuniorDisco
'PC' is just something invented by the right to bash attempts at treating people fairly.

How do you define "fair"?

but it's absurd to say there's a conspiracy to enslave people by 'correct' language, or that being nice to disabled people is a bad idea.

Government enforced goodness is a bad idea because its not genuine goodness, nor goodness by choice. Actually then, its not goodness at all, its badness.

reply to post by Skyfloating

I agree bump, and there has been evidence recently posted on this forum by myself and others that proves this to be true.
No doubt in my mind.

reply to post by ImaFungi


I appreciate your post.

What PC has become, evolved into, is a reason to disregard legitimate protests of reverse sexism and racism. Its just old whitey whining.

Now some will deny it, but the ugly barrel of the PC cannon always ends up pointing at white males with anything that sound like conservative leanings. Its no longer something that "helps" whitey see the error of his ways but has become the pointed spearhead of the new radical feminist and race bating juggernaut.

PC has opened the door for all sorts of definitive white counter culture propaganda. Propaganda that really lumps whites together the same sort of way that the black complained about being stereotyped. Tags like "white privilege" for example are so clearly born out of the Marxist interpretation of economic and social strata that it shouldn't be seen as anything other than a tool of stereotype to exploit, manipulate and control the argument.

Skyfloating

Logarock


This may be the driving force behind an attempt to get wrestling dropped from the Olympics.

Marxists not only called Religion an "opiate of the masses", using the word "masses" as a derogatory in the sense of "dumb sheeple", but considered sports similarly. I bet that according to some of the PC minds ALL of those ghastly male-dominated, competitive win-lose based sports have to be removed.

If this sounds exaggerated to any reader out there, then watch the disgust with which social-sciences-feminists look upon boys playing rough games or sports.

Now in regards to Russia and their past position on religion and Putin's suddenly becoming just the opposite of what once was, what do you see?

Putin said he was concerned with “purposeful persecution of Christians and other religious minorities” by extremist groups in Syria. He said Russia hopes the Syrian government “will do everything possible to relieve the suffering of the civilian population and to restore the peace.”