Political Correctness and Cancel-Culture
An old friend and business associate, Steve Vachss, is now a blogger and novelist. His current piece on political correctness and cancel-culture includes:
Professional surveys indicate that 60 to 80 percent of Americans reject PC language or cancel-culture. Most people cannot understand why news media, government leaders, and celebrities insist on accepting and promoting PC and cancel-culture.
I have a great deal of respect for Steve, and I’ve heard myriad others make these points, but I’ve never understood the concept. To me, political correctness is a blend of courtesy and kindness. Why use language that others find inflammatory?
What are we accomplishing by deliberately insulting already-aggrieved people? Good people pride themselves in making this world a better place for all of us to call home. In addition, all people, not just the downtrodden, are fighting personal battles of which we are 100% unaware. What’s the value in hurting others?
English is the most robust language on the planet; we are able to communicate nuances of meaning and emotion that do not exist in any other tongue. Those with muscular vocabularies (like Steve) should have no problem using language that heals wounds, not deepens them.
Hi Craig, You make excellent points. There are, however, a few different kinds of PC language. Some are insulting putdowns simply intended to intimidate someone who has erred in not using the popular form at a given time. I wrote a blog about a year ago on the names used to identify various groups. If changing them offends the group, then I wouldn’t use a new form. However, to be accurate, one example of PC gone awry is the group of terms used for “African Americans.” I believe people in this group are “Americans.” They should receive the same respect and rights of all Americans. In fact they are NOT African. I dated a Caucasian woman from Johannesburg, who is now also an American. She can accurately be called an African American. Vice President Kamala Harris calls herself an African American. She has a right to call herself anything she desires. However, her mother was from India, and her father was from Jamaica. Much of her childhood was spent in Canada. I see many other examples of people using PC terms as intimidators. Some examples are “People of Color,” “Black People,” “Mexican Americans” (who are either Mexicans or Americans.) And why must we refer to people by their sexual orientation or bathroom choice? A final thought: Science has established that ALL humans descended from Northeastern Africa. Since they migrated for thousands of years to points throughout the European and Asian continents, most developed DNA changes according to the necessities of the land and weather. Natural selection meant that the reproduced with their indigenous groups. This suggests that race is only a concept with little or no reality.