Can somebody who isn’t a “minority” really understand being politically correct? What is my basis for righting this article? It is true that I personally don’t have racial slurs directed my way on a constant basis or anything like that. However I am a human and there is one thing that humans do really well and that is sympathize. How else could a movie like Wall-E, a movie about robots, become a success? So here is my attempt to understand being politically correct.
I am a WASP. A White Anglo Saxon Protestant like Emily Tsao mentions in her article. What is the politically correct term for me? White? European-American? Caucasian? Man? Boy? Does it really matter?
Emily Tsao explains that a lot of the correct PC (politically correct) language out there seems “pointless”. Instead of saying minority it is PC to say people of color. Emily says that most Asians find the term “yellow” more offensive than Oriental, which isn’t PC. She also argues that isn’t white a color?
In closing her article she says that she doesn’t want start a new PC revolution because how does changing the way the world speaks make her any better. I think she is trying to say that instead of worrying about being PC that we should worry about improving ourselves and to not care how other people describe us.
Here in America calling somebody fat is very rude and I would even say not PC. In my Spanish class I learned that many Spanish speaking cultures saying “gordo” (fat) is just a way to describe people and is not offensive. If only the same principle could be applied to ethnic backgrounds. When describing somebody you know wouldn’t it be cool if you could say that they are white or any other ethnic background with out it sounding bad.
Maybe we could come up with new terms that have positive connotations to describe race. If you come up and ask me what color I am wouldn’t it be cool if I answered cloudy. When describing my friend from the Marshall Islands it would be cool to say that he is mahogany. Before this can happen though as a people we need to decide that race is a good thing. We need to worry about who other people are at their core instead of what they look like on the outside.
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When I read this article, it made me think about how some black people—sorry, African Americans—called each other the “n” word and consider it unoffensive. “What up, Nigga!” My mind continued with other racial slurs, like “cracker” or “Oreo.” In all reality, the words themselves do not really matter, but the context and tone of their use does. Would it be any different if someone referenced another person as a “baby face,” “tube breath,” “crab cake,” or “sugar sweet?” Their meanings can vary from person to person, but their tone is the main thing that carries meaning. However, some people still take offense at just the reference itself. As for me, I’ll be chillin’ with my whorish crew in my pimp crib.
ReplyDeleteThis article reminded me of a book I read in 7th grade called The War Between the Classes. In this book the class of high schoolers are all in different classes in a very prejudice society. The teacher then gave all of the students a colored arm badge, each of the colors represented different classes in society. These new class that had been assigned were not them same, and in some cases were very different, from the classes they were a part of in real society. The students then had to act the part, not just in class, however, but everywhere they went. There were spies who followed some of them around and they were graded on how well they stayed true to there role. By the end of the semester, the students learned that behind the class title, everyone is living the same life with the same ultimate problems and challenges. As a class and society, this group of high schoolers learned to love one another and ignore the hateful titles society had given to them.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this article. Political correctness has always been so confusing to me. I don't mean to offend people, but it seems like the "PC" way to say things changes all the time. As little kids, we're taught about the pilgrims and the Indians. Then later we learn that "Native Americans" is the correct term. That made sense to me. But then when I was a little older I met a girl whose ancestors were from Africa (I'm not sure on the PC way to say this, as I'm going to demonstrate). She informed me that she doesn't like the term "African American" because she's never even been to Africa and she feels no loyalty to Africa. She's just American. She'd prefer to be called black. But still I have no idea if my words will offend people. I feel like political correctness is always evolving and changing until it becomes difficult to talk to people that aren't like you for fear that you'll offend them. Hopefully someday there will be no need for "PC" terms because we will just automatically treat everyone equally.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point Kaylee. I like your story about your American friend. I guess I've never really considered the fact that African Americans might not appreciate even that title. The word "American" works just as well. I've always stumbled around political correctness too. Maybe I'm naive, actually I know I am, but it was a revelation to me that "Latino" was more politically correct than "Hispanic." This article reminds me of the article "A World Not Neatly Divided." It is so easy to offend people by categorizing them or leaving them out of a group.
ReplyDeleteI did have to laugh at some of the PC terms though. According to PC, I am a freshwomyn. :)
On your interpretation of the comments about not worrying about changing the world because we could focus on more important matters like changing ourselves, I agree that this is a good use of time. However, I do not agree with Emily Tsao wholly because I think this world needs to change. It may not make us directly smarter, but it will bring the unity prophesied of in the scriptures when people need no longer take offense at descriptive adjectives. I agree with you, it would be a great thing if we could describe others and ourselves without hesitation. A great love could be formed among all today as we seek conversation, not offense. Why must color even be a matter of discussion? In my view, it is okay to call someone Asian or black. To me this is no insult. There is nothing wrong with the fact. I believe any offense taken shows one’s own self-doubt and shame at their situation. This is wrong. No longer should they hang their head in shame, for there is nothing to be ashamed of!!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this article. I enjoyed the author's honest tone. She was writing to a nationally-acclaimed newspaper, but she didn't change her opinion or writing style to please her audience. Her essay on political correctness was politically incorrect because she didn't cower or alter her views.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of PC in general, I agree with Tsao and some of the other commenters. It really is ridiculous for us to be so focused on labels and catagories that we completely lose individual improvement. Like Tsao said "Changing the world won't make [us] any smarter, humbler, or wiser."
This is the third time I have tried to post this response. Just thought you all should know.
ReplyDeleteSo basically I am conflicted about this article, because I sort of agree with it and I sort of don’t, and I don’t feel right pretending I agree with it completely—which I contemplated doing—just because it is easier, so here I go. On one hand, I hate political correctness a lot. I think it makes people act smug and superior for no reason. But on the other hand, I think that word choice really does subliminally affect how we view things. For all the talk about ‘men’ and ‘man’ representing everybody, I still always think of men when I hear those words, and never women. Is that significant? Does it equal sexism? I honestly am not sure.
So that’s all I have to say about that.
Um. I’m yellow. But I’m also white. I don’t really care what people call me. Lots of people think I look Hispanic; I’m not, but I don’t look half Chinese either (I am). I just look like a mix of something…just not white. I think people are far too sensitive when in comes to PC. It is weird to think that racism still exists today. PC seems like a way to tone it down a bit. I think part of it is rooted in stereotypes that seem to sneak out of people when they least expect it. If people were less focused on how people look, none of this would be an issue. That sounds so cliché but it has been an issue since the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this article, as she rightly pointed out, there are many instances where we seem to be fixated on being "PC." I hate those sheets on the AP tests that say race: white, hispanic, etc. I wouldn't describe my skin as "white." My ancestors were from Western Europe, so should I call myself a Western-European-American? That sounds ridiculous, but like Kaylee said about her friend, that's what we do when we say African-American.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has always bothered me about our culture is that there can be a latino club, a african-american club, an asian club. But what about the "white" people? If someone started a white club, it would be deemed racist and offensive. That is how backwards our perception of being politically correct has become. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with latino, or hispanic or asian clubs, that's totally fine. I just notice the discrepancy-there isn't a way to be proud of having a "white" heritage in the same way as other heritages, without being seen as racist. There are those wacko white-supremist groups who have all the wrong ideas, so it makes sense that we, as a culture, would be sensitive. But wouldn't it be so much better if we didn't have to identify ourselves by race? If we could just get rid of all of the charged historical terms to describe skin color. I could just be me.
I am pretty much the make-up of minority. I have a build of more than four races. As stated by jonainman, it all resides in the tone of speech. Back home I lived in a very diverse area. We literally had a county filled with about every race….from Pacific Islanders to Asians to Latin Americans to Chicanos/as to Europeans to African Americans and Americans. There were constant fights against races because areas of the intertwining cities were either heavily of one race or a mixture of races. These fights would break out over a word or two. Just because a Mexican called a Samoan a slang word they would fight. Because a Samoan would call a Black kid a Nigga, there would be another fight. Because the Blacks would call the Asians Chinks, there would go another fight and etc. My football team, including me, had a majority of Black kids. We never really took the word Nigga to offense from people of other races, but they would always say “Add the -ER, you go to the ER.” While people “joke” around in using these slang terms they need to watch how they say it and exactly who it is directed towards.
ReplyDeleteRace is a good thing. As members of the Church, race shows us where we’ve come from. With this knowledge we are able to see how we’ve progressed or fallen short over the course of the world. I live in the South where racism is still very prominent. I’m not one of the hicks that judge people based on their skin color, and it drives me crazy to see other people who do. I understand that most people see things that way because of how they were raised and how society was when they were younger, but it still upsets me. Just because someone’s skin is different than yours doesn’t mean they think so much differently than you do or that they have bad intentions. It just means that their skin is a different color than yours. That’s it. All people are still people.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I grew up in a home that was polite, but didn't particularly care if what was being said was "PC" or not. I've always had the opinion that you are what you are so if you're offended when it's brought to your attention that's a personal problem. If someone called me a cracker I would have to agree. I didn't choose to be white anymore than anyone else chose to be black or mexican or asian, so I'm not gonna feel guilty for being in the majority just because society tells me to be. Unfortunately I have seen the racial stereotypes confirmed too many times to say that they don't have possess any general cultural descriptions, but I think people often live up to what you expect out of them, so by having these stereotypes ingrained in our society it's like training people to fit those molds. And it doesn't sit with me that society is trying to discount these cultural descriptions because they are there and what, do we want everyone to act white? Making fun of someone's culture is wrong, but it isn't wrong to acknowledge that it's different and appreciate it for that. People want to say that everyone's the same, no matter what race, and that is true on a basic level, but there are differences and we shouldn't try to erase those and pretend like everyone's white.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have always been taught to be polite, but I've never really been absolutely "politically correct." Let me make myself perfectly clear--racial slurs and other demeaning references to those of different skin color are not acceptable, but I think people get a little overly concerned with being "PC" and go a bit overboard. Political correctness rightly desires that all people be treated with equal respect, but they defeat this purpose in the use of terms that attempt to eradicate all references to race and gender and other such factors that would even have the most remote possibility of perhaps offending someone somewhere at any point in time. The majority of the populace is not as hyper-sensitive as "PC" people believe them to be, tensed and ready to strike at the slightest slip of the tongue. True, there are some who are, but they are the minority.
ReplyDeleteWe are all human. We are equal in that we all have natural God-given rights as individuals. But we are not all the same. IT IS OKAY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE DIFFERENT. As long as those terms we use to acknowledge our differences are respectful, let us by all means use them.
I thought this article was very interesting. I have never really been one to get offended. If they say that I am really skinny, then I am not offended, because it is true. If my dad says that I am getting fatter, I am not offended because it is true. I have gained weight. I have been told that I kind of look asian (I'm not exactly sure why a 5' 11" blonde, blue eyed, white girl looks asian, but I guess I do), I do not get offended. Actually, I kind of find it flattering. I guess I am not a minority, but personally, I think it would be kinda cool to be a minority. I think this because then I would be different. Everyone desires to be unique, and races are a sure way of making certain people unique. Own up to it and love it. Do not get offended if someone calls you black. So what, you are. That is how you describe people. I dislike this whole political correctness. I think no matter how people describe you, you can always find a way to be offended. So stop being offended, and then people won't have to worry about being politically correct all the time.
ReplyDeleteI agree in that seriously, it's all just words. Nobody cares what the word is or means, just what the person saying it was trying to make us feel when they said it. I find the entire thing of people letting how others think about them affect how they feel inside a little sad. It's a hard thing that will take time to get over, but I want to choose not to be offended from what others say to me.
ReplyDeleteI have a sort of interesting expereince about racial prefference. I have a half-asian sister who was sorta adopted. We both applied for college and scholarships at the same time. I'm a little older, we had very similair grades and SAT scores (I was prob a little higher, but I can't remember :), and while my sister was accepted rigth away and awarded a full-ride scholarship, I was accepted later without any aid. Funny thing. Same family, same abilities, same circumstances, but different skin color, so different result.
In the name of being sensative to minorities, people keep worrying about it too much. I long for the day when a person is judged by the quality of their character and not by the color of their skin, in other words, when people are fair enough that their isn't a box to check your ethnicity when applying for jobs or school.
To be truly color blind, you need to not see color, not see it and then act in a way to compensate for that person's color. I'm not actually advocating complete color-blindness though, as I beleive that we should all celebraste the things that make us unique and celebrate those things in others as well, but it shouldn't be use as a measurement of a person's value.
I like that Tsao describes political correctness as a way of 'putting on airs.' I love her frank way of admitting that she is still a child. Her honest estimation of self does not require a fancy alias. Deference in titles is given, by Tasao, to those she believes merits them. In this case, such individuals include Kevin Costner and Robert Redford, who do not routinely get drunk, and never ask their mothers to do their laundry. Tsao's honesty leads her to personal humility. The ultimate PC solution seems to be the recognition that there is more to learn than we know now.
ReplyDeleteIf we are so worried about being equals why do we put so much emphasis on different minorities? I don't really understand why we have to be politically correct. It's too much work to worry about offending someone because you don't call them "European American?" We're all thinking Oriental, Hispanic, Black and White anyway. We just need to accept each other and move on with our lives. To be truly equal we must get over our prejudices and look at people as people. I like that Tsao addressed these issues and made others aware as well.
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