NationStates Jolt Archive

I am probably just pointing out the obvious, but since Political Correctness seems to attempt to eliminate any sort of feelings associated with words and stuff . . . well isn't that the same purpose as Newspeak, created so that dissenters could not "voice" their "opinion"?

Bring
Up
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*snip
No, but political correctness does = boring as all hell. Last time I checked, there was no PC replacement term for "freedom," "science," or any other things there's no Newspeak word for. Also, you can voice whatever opinion you want within the confines of PC language.
But I digress...
I don't really like PC, I think it has gone too far in some instances, but it has good motives (i.e. I really don't want to hear people using the "n-word" or the "f-word" -not fuck but the one referring to homosexuals- on the street).

I know a number of 'minorities' that find the 'correct' term for their race/gender/religion rather annoying.
I know for a fact that a number of blacks hate the term 'African-American', and if somebody called me an 'Irish American', or 'English American', or (in an extreme case) a 'Caucasian American', I would be rather offended. The last of my anscestors left Ireland and England two hundred years ago, I think our family is fully 'American' now.
I can see why blacks dont want the word '******' applied to them, its a nasty word, and I generaly only use it to say that I dont use it :P.
Political correctness (in America) has gone to new and pointless heights. Its politicaly incorrect to mention 'polo' or 'yachts' because its eliteist. Stupid? Yes.

Political correctness is a form of censorship.

I am happy to say that rabid PCness is finally on the outs here. The backlash has arrived!!! :mp5:

Seriously though, the thought police aspect of PC speech is being challenged quite frequently now, with people finally being able to speak their minds again. I am not saying (or supporting) that men are again pinching women on the bum in the workplace or that people are overtly discriminating against others based on (insert prejudice of choice here) any more, but people are rebelling aginst the total thought control aspect of PC.

You can tell a crass joke without fear and (gasp) even compliment someone on their looks without being hung, drawn and quartered by the thought polizei. Women can dress like skanky whores if they want without worrying if they are "fostering negative gender stereotypes" and it is again ok to tell a pre-schooler that they are looking "pretty" or "handsome" if they ask how you like their new clothes. Men are allowed to be men again without having to be useless SNAG-types. Baa baa pink sheep and snow white and the seven miners have been re-replaced with their originals and children are allowed to play in single sex groups without some officious wanker trying to force "equality" onto them.

I suppose you could say that the pendulum has swung back a bit and things are a lot less extreme on both ends of the PC scale. :)

I think it's a good thing.

I know a number of 'minorities' that find the 'correct' term for their race/gender/religion rather annoying.
I know for a fact that a number of blacks hate the term 'African-American', and if somebody called me an 'Irish American', or 'English American', or (in an extreme case) a 'Caucasian American', I would be rather offended. The last of my anscestors left Ireland and England two hundred years ago, I think our family is fully 'American' now.
I can see why blacks dont want the word '******' applied to them, its a nasty word, and I generaly only use it to say that I dont use it :P.
Political correctness (in America) has gone to new and pointless heights. Its politicaly incorrect to mention 'polo' or 'yachts' because its eliteist. Stupid? Yes.

I agree completely, that is a big problem over here in Canada. Because of our multiculturalism policy, people here are immediately labeled based on their appearance despite the fact that many of us have been living in Canada for generations! I can't tell you how many time I'm generalized as being a caucasian, and not a Canadian.

I know a number of 'minorities' that find the 'correct' term for their race/gender/religion rather annoying.
I know for a fact that a number of blacks hate the term 'African-American', and if somebody called me an 'Irish American', or 'English American', or (in an extreme case) a 'Caucasian American', I would be rather offended. The last of my anscestors left Ireland and England two hundred years ago, I think our family is fully 'American' now.<snip>
The biggest problem with current PC terminology is that it ill-defines people. I personally believe using your ethnic background to help define who you are is not a bad thing; I define myself as a Gaelic-American (with Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Orcadian and Manx blood in my family) as I strongly relate to the history, language and geneology of the ancient Celtic tribes.
But consider for a moment the conundrum of defining Americans whose families come from south of the American border. The most-often used term is "Hispanic-American." That doesn't really work, as "Hispanic" means "from Spain." Though most of the regions south of here were colonised by Spain, they are not Spain itself (and most of the people down south resent the link to their oppressors.) Another term is "Latino-Americans," or "Latinos," referring to the common root of their languages, which is Latin. Again, their language was imposed upon them by Spain and Portugal, among others, so that's not a really good term either. The term "Chicano," while arguably the best term that currently exists, is too closely linked to the political activist group "La Raza," which many in the community feel does not represent them. What's a person to do?
Answer: allow people to define themselves. If you wish to be "American," good on you. If you wish to be "African-Chicano-Pacific Islander-American," more power to you. As for myself, I will continue to research my Gaelic roots, and use them to help me define my place in the world.

While I agree that political correctness is a somewhat silly idea - if we were all truly comfortable with and tolerant of each other we wouldn't have to step around each other and be afraid to call our friends "black" - I'm not entirely sure it's comparable to Newspeak. The purpose of Newspeak, as stated in the book, was to LIMIT language, destroy words, etc., so as to eliminate any unordthodox thought from entering a person's head at all, because they wouldn't have words to describe such a thing. PC, instead of destroying words like "the n-word", simply creates new replacement words like "African-American" or "Asian-American", giving us further, more "correct" (according to the government) ways to describe such citizens.

Political Correctness = Newspeak?

God I hope not; It's unnatural.

Political corectnes has gone to far in NZ.

I mean whats the point of calling someone vertically challenged instead of short when they both mean the same thing? Its still offensive to the person you say it to.

freedom fries!

I've said this once...

"I'd rather be right than politically correct." - Bumper sticker

Honestly, why make up all these names that are synonomous with words we already have. We don't need a PC thesaurus on The World now do we?

Helen Clark wants to basically ban "hate speach."

PC is stupid and it serves no purpose because the "new words" mean exaclty the same thing it is trying to replace.

I am probably just pointing out the obvious, but since Political Correctness seems to attempt to eliminate any sort of feelings associated with words and stuff . . . well isn't that the same purpose as Newspeak, created so that dissenters could not "voice" their "opinion"?
Interesting conjecture. Perhaps you are correct. Political correctness does indeed seem to be an attempt to get the putative intellegensia to speak directly from the larynx without engaging brain! :)

It depends on the terms and why/how they are used.

Newspeak would be both removing emotional overtone and narrowing definitons.

In some ways, widely accepted racial/sexual slurs were more Newspeak than current PC terms. I was born in the early 70's and grew up in a small town in the southern U.S., and can remember when there was no shock value at all to using the "N-word." It's meaning wasn't different then, it was still derogatory, but the idea was so built into the word that there was no separation of the idea of the ethnicity from the derogatory connotations. It had no emotional overtone, and a more narrow meaning. So PC-ization had an anti-Newspeak affect in that particular case.