Political Correctness

[scionic]

I've noticed that Political Correctness seems to be a uniquely American phenomenon, or at least it hasn't caught on quite as feverishly outside the U.S.

I'm not a proponent of it necessarily, but as someone used to living in a country constantly aware of political correctness I can't help but notice some things that would raise eyebrows here.

One of the most common here is "Jap"

I thought it was funny that there was even a car show called "Jap fest"

See here, that is borderline offensive. It's not an insult, but it can sound rude depending on how you say it (kind of like "Yank")

At the very least, you'd have people thinking you're a racist old man or a WW2 veteran if you said "Jap" here.

Not chiming in to correct everyone, just making an observation.

I think the fact that "Jap" is perfectly acceptable there is funny, I have a feeling a lot of other ways of saying things and looking at things are too.

The political correctness thing is out of control here, but a bit of it is a good idea I think when you live in a country as racially and culturally diverse as the United States.

[Matthew_McNally]

its kinda the same over here.

I have seem quite a lot of references in books by American authors, and on predominantly American forums to Pakis.

Which is a perfectly fair contradiction of Pakistan / Pakistanis.

However - in the UK - this is a disgusting racial slur - up there with the N word.

Its use in the UK is so horrible in fact, that I actually dislike using it here, in this context.

Its also used as a blanket derogatory term for anyone who looks vaguely sort of Indian / Asian :(

First time I read a thread with it in - I was shocked! And as I read more and more replies containing the word I realised that the people where simply contracting the name of the country, and not being racist.

[scionic]

its kinda the same over here.

I have seem quite a lot of references in books by American authors, and on predominantly American forums to Pakis.

Yes, I know what you mean. I was a little wary of that word at first anyway because generally anything that shortens the proper name of an ethnic group, nationality or race seems to diminunize them so it's got potential to offend.

I didn't know it was blatantly offensive though, until I saw Bend it like Beckham.

[stevetubbyturbo]

Working in a large college with other tradesmen i can honestly say behind closed doors the coversation is shocking and some of it down right sick.

But as soon as we are in the eye of the general public its all PC and nicey nicey.

When back in our workshops the PC gets flushed and the conversation quality hits the floor again.

[Moffmo]

i think we are all too PC now...

i mean, we say do you fancy a <look at me! I'm a BIGOT!> or an indian, but doesnt mean im racist, i once blurted it to becky who is chinese and she just laughed.

youv got fizz who calls himself a dodgy asian, and to be honest with his type of homour i doubt he would be offend by !Removed! (which is a term i dont use anyway)

!Removed! is a terrible word, but i have got some black friends and they call each other !Removed! and i kinda say it with them...

If you downright call someone it, then its incredibly offensive..

we have got to the point where people are scared to say that black man there, or he was black... Its not offensive, its an observation!

some PC is good, but its getting a bit too PC, but dont expect any PC in the local pubs lol

[Boro Sera]

Fortunate bit of Timing here though, scionic, for it is St Georges Day here on saturday................Patron saint of England ( and syphillis sufferers incidentally ).

The PC Brigade has got to this that I'm not allowed to put my nationality as English on official documents, I have to be British, although the Scots and the Welsh can be Scottish and Welsh without a problem.

There are businesses over here ( mainly public servants, councils etc ) who have banned flying the St. Georges Cross ( flag of England ) even on St Georges day in case it offends anyone.

It's gone too far really.

Some things are a change for the better, but when it's taken to the extreme the only solution is to find out who's making these dumb rules, take them out into the car park and kick the S**T out of them. It really is the only way they'll learn

[reece]

Political Correctness or Common Sense?

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge)

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I'm A Whinger and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone.

[Moffmo]

Political Correctness or Common Sense?

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. .......

He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I'm A Whinger and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone.

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That my friend is completely and utterly true

Apart from this:

why the early bird gets the worm

The second mouse gets the cheese!

[Puls]

I think the PC BS has become a bit out of control.

Thankfully, my current workplace is not PC in the least. We're all local government employees and the plant is locked to the public, so we can do and say whatever. :arrgg-matey: Few women work there, but the guys are all diverse, and from very different places...as far away as Hungary.

And we're all foul-mouthed douchebags :D

[scionic]

Hmm... well like I said.

I think a little bit of PC is a good thing, but it often gets out of hand.

Banning the flying of the St. Georges Cross, for example.

Or, to give you an example here in the U.S. the government will not declare English as our national language!

I think if people are going to immigrate to the United States or England, they ought to learn English. The requirements here are minimal, allegedly you have to have a basic working knowledge of English to become a citizen here, but I see no evidence of that. Of course many of our Mexican friends in my area especially, are not here legally.

It seems that there was a time that people coming to this country were proud to become American and eager to assimilate a bit, no such thing now. No one is asked anybody to renounce their culture or religion---the whole reason we are here is for freedom of religion (but I don't tell YOU guys that) I'd just like to see the minimum respect of learning our language and participating in the culture before people start asking for benefits from the government.

In California for example, Americans pay taxes so that illegal residents can attend public schools. Illegals, who are not here legally and not paying taxes, go to public schools and get drivers pemits.

If that's not PC run wild I don't know what is!

I know you have similar problems there, as Ive read about them.

The pathetic thing is, most of Bush's supporters are exceedingly anti-immigrant. He would never leave the borders wide open and do nothing about any of it, if it werent for the fact that his corporate donors want the cheap illegal labor force.

[Robie]

I'd just like to see the minimum respect of learning our language and participating in the culture before people start asking for benefits from the government.

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To be fair, maybe they dont fancy boring themselves stupid with American Football / baseball and eating fast food all day.

[Moffmo]

I'd just like to see the minimum respect of learning our language and participating in the culture before people start asking for benefits from the government.

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To be fair, maybe they dont fancy boring themselves stupid with American Football / baseball and eating fast food all day.

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that was a tad Stereotypical

[Puls]

I wouldn't mind forcing companies to pay minimum wage to illegals and making them pay income taxes.

Then there'd be no reason to hire them! Too bad that'd be impossible to do.

[Ken]

PC is *******, you know's it, i know's it, nuv said ;)

[scionic]

I'd just like to see the minimum respect of learning our language and participating in the culture before people start asking for benefits from the government.

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To be fair, maybe they dont fancy boring themselves stupid with American Football / baseball and eating fast food all day.

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Well neither do I and I'm a native.

But I don't want to keep you, you'll want to be getting back to eating pork pies, avoiding the sun, being an alcoholic and watching rugby.

[Robie]

I'd just like to see the minimum respect of learning our language and participating in the culture before people start asking for benefits from the government.

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To be fair, maybe they dont fancy boring themselves stupid with American Football / baseball and eating fast food all day.

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Well neither do I and I'm a native.

But I don't want to keep you, you'll want to be getting back to eating pork pies, avoiding the sun, being an alcoholic and watching rugby.

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Im off to proper football today rather than egg chasing... and its a meat pastie for me, at the back of the stand so I don't get the sun in my eyes and a few bevies at half time and on the way back.

[Karma Supra]

I have never fully understood why "!Removed!" is racist, but "brit" or "jap" is not....

Some PC-ness makes my blood boil...

The fact that schools are not allowed to have "black boards" thats racist... its a chalk board, yet a "white board" is still called that... I can't conceivably see why any one could find that offensive... I'm sure 99% of black guys don't, and it was made up by some bearded white labour voter

Then there is posetive discrimination.... Don't start me on that one!!

[scionic]

I think "Jap" is racist. It's considered racist here at least.

That's why I was a bit shocked when I saw everyonr using it and saw big banners for "Jap Fest". I was like WTF???

We wouldn't dare have a "N*gger Fest" so why is Jap Fest OK?

[gordypix]

Jap - For one thing is a simple abreviation meaning JAPANESE and as such has been accepted like that for a long time around the world (USA aside). Think JAPANESE PERFORMANCE CAR FESTIVAL becomes JAP CAR FEST. Nothing racist there in reality.

The N word does not represent anything other than an abusive term made up as an insult or such. So to compare a N fest to a JapFest is not a real equivalent in terms.

Some terms have been developed for use as abuse and others have just been linked to abuse through certain times, places and people's use of them in a negative manner.

It is funny how in different places all over the world WORDS mean DIFFERENT things.

[Karma Supra]

woud you consider calling us brits racist though???

its the first syliable of where we are from, as is jap... :D

[Matthew_McNally]

I think "Jap" is racist. It's considered racist here at least.

That's why I was a bit shocked when I saw everyonr using it and saw big banners for "Jap Fest". I was like WTF???

We wouldn't dare have a "N*gger Fest" so why is Jap Fest OK?

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at the end of the day - they are words - thats all.

the problem is not in the words themselves - it is the attitudes of the people who use them that are the problem.

So - over in the US, "Jap" is a nasty word - because of the nasty way narrow minded idiots use it.

In the UK - its a pretty harmless contraction of the word "Japan / Japanese".

And vice-versa for "!Removed!" - harmless contraction in the US, nasty racial slur in the UK.

And thats the thing I dislike about policitical correctness, is it is merely a vacuous attempt at covering up areas of discrimination, without any attempt to remove the attititudes that made the words "bad" in the first place.

So - instead of making a real and concerted effort to remove the attitudes of people who treat black people differently - we change the name of the teaching aid from "black board" to "chalk board".

Instead of trying to remove the attitude that women are not the equal of men, we just remove "MEN" prefixes and suffixes. So - we have "Chair PERSON", "PERSON Power", even sewerage workers get down to the sewers through "PERSON holes".

Change the attitudes - not the words.

[scionic]

You're right, it wasn't really fair to compare "Jap" to the N-word.

I don't call you "Brits" just because to my ears it sound borderline derrogatory, like "Yank"

It could be affectionate, or it could be meant to diminunize someone depending on how it's used. Most of the time when I've been called a Yank, it was when someone was irrate, but you have to take these things in the spirit they are intended. I know you guys don't mean any harm saying "Jap". What matters is how Japanese people feel about it. I know most Japanese here would be horrified if you referred to them that way, it's about as bad as saying "Nip" which is just an abbreviation of "Nippon". Seems harmless when you look at it THAT way, but it is considered offense.

I can only guess that Japanese people there are not offended by "Jap" or someone would know by now.

I am against irrational PC-ness, but I do feel that America could be a little ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to racial sensitivity, which is probably a natural consequence of the diversity of our population.

[Karma Supra]

Sod it just refer to everyone universally as idiots...

No one can take offence then

[Moffmo]

I can only guess that Japanese people there are not offended by "Jap" or someone would know by now.

We are refering to the cars though

Its a Jap car...

We are not staying oh them damn !Removed! took us all by suprise at pearl harbour....

....two years into the war

[Karma Supra]

".....they make such &#33;Removed&#33; good cameras though....."