[Imc-uk-features] 375095

[Genny]

Re. "political correctness gone mad"

Personally I don't think so - how offensive or not we find these things 
is, in my view, about where we're up to as a society in condemning 
discrimination of all kinds.

Posts with references to "coons", "niggers", "gyppos" etc. would 
probably offend all of us to the point of hiding.  Maybe we've got a bit 
further to go in respect of language which adversely represents other 
groups such as Irish people and people with learning disability etc.

In all these cases, the references have been aimed at insulting one 
person or group but have simultaneously denigrated another.  So, we just 
need to be more careful with our insults.  Those mad rants tend to 
contain loads of insulting language, and if this gives us a clear reason 
to hide them, great. Where it's a great post with one ill-chosen word, 
then we need to find ways of removing the offensive word without losing 
the whole post.

Where I think the "political correctness gone mad" discussion is valid 
is where words have entered common parlance, sometimes hundreds of years 
ago, but which could be seen as putting down one oppressed group or 
another when used in any form (ie not as insults).  There are lots of 
gender related ones: mankind, "manning a stall" and so on, and lots 
around the negative use of the word black.  I used one just now - 
"denigrate" (a negative word with root nigra - black). Although I have 
some sympathy with people who challenge the use of these words, I 
personally wouldn't ever recommend that a post including them should be 
hidden.

Let's just sort out the insults, eh?

Genny



Zak wrote:
> phunkee wrote:
>
>> I apologise for not even looking at the article that's just been hidden, 
>> and I never thought I'd say this, but isn't this political correctness 
>> gone mad?
> 
> Maybe, maybe not. Personally I've pretty much zero time for these kind
> of posts and providing a platform for them certainly isn't what I got
> involved with Indymedia for. So I'm happy to see them hidden -- there
> are plenty of other websites out there where this stuff can be discussed
>  ad nauseam.
> 
> 
> Zak.
> 
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