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It's just a joke, right? Consider my thoughts on the matter, then explain to me how being "politically correct" is a bad thing.
What people have come to think of as "political correctness is not just about someones feelings, it's much deeper than that.
Consider the way tv commercials work. Everyone knows commercials play on our subconscious with subliminal messages, repetition and planting ideas for our minds to digest into the desired result. It works or they would not pour big money into having psychologists and marketers come up with ways to encourage us to purchase a product we otherwise would not.
Notice the frequent use of humor in tv commercials, it's not just because they want to make us laugh, they want us to buy their product. Everyone thinks it works on everyone else, but "not me, I would never fall for it", as sales go up after a crafty marketing ploy that targets our subconscious. This is real proven science.
Now consider one of the aspects of political correctness, jokes aimed at women and minorities. This plays on our subconscious as well. When we laugh or find humor in something we get a rush of chemicals that makes us feel good. This is positive reinforcement causing us to subconsciously believe the context of the joke or statement to be a good thing, since it makes us feel good.
If we consistently hear negative humor directed at women and minorities it encourages us to see the point of the joke as being valid in the sense of us being superior to the other. The more we hear it(repetition) the stronger the feeling of superiority.
Jokes and humor can be a strong influence whether we realize it or not. What seems at face value to be a harmless joke may in fact not be harmless at all..
It's not just that it may hurt someones feelings although that should be a consideration, the problem is that it promotes emotions and feelings that foster real inequality.
I like jokes too, funny is funny, it took me a long time to realize their impact, but when the brunt of the joke promotes inequality, it's not funny. I try to avoid such and would recommend that you do too. We can break this relentless cycle, but it will take a generation of not being exposed to the false negative notions that reinforces feelings that foster racial inequality.
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I agree, we need to considerate of others and their feelings.
That's my personal rule, but it's not just about hurt feelings. It's about real change, nothing radical, just simply respecting each other as human beings.
Nice post! You definitely make a good point, I think that generally the strongest argument against political correctness comes against the times that it infringes on free speech, though that certainly does not mean you should be an asshole!
Freedom is freedom so long as it doesn't infringe on someone else rights and freedoms right? These things aren't taught to us as they used to be i believe.
of course! The problem is when these things are defined waaaay too loosely, to the point where something like confronting an idea that you are not comfortable with or perhaps find offensive is construed as an infringement of freedom, even when none of it is even specifically directed at you.
Indeed- i witnessed a lady offended by talk of culling a chicken that was not to breed standards yesterday... which if someone doesn't feel comfortable with, that's fine. Where the trouble was: it was a chicken breeders guild...
I think someone being offended is much different than having their rights infringed on.
Most definitely. Chickens aren't humans, although they are life which I think should be respected, they are chickens bred for a purpose, so that's ridiculous. Know what else you may find ridiculous, if you were local I would offer the chicken a home rather than it be killed. :) I'm not so far out there that I don't know the difference between a human and a chicken though.
Hypothetically, if I made a joke about the car you drive being a junker that would be one thing, but say you own a business and I made a joke about the work you do being sub par even dangerous, then I spread this really funny but inaccurate joke around town, you wouldn't be offended, you would be angry to the point of kicking my ass all over town! There is a difference between being offended and speech that damages another person. Speech can be dangerous.
Check out this film made by the war department. It's aged and lengthy, but makes some great points, everyone should watch it once.. Not that we are worried about nazis so much, but the premise is valid regardless of the group. Should all words be protected as free speech?
http://www.openfirepolitics.com/fascist.html
I see your point Brock, but if the result is contributing to the the infringement on others rights by systemic racism, then it should be a concern I think.
Or by any means! :)
Thank you ethorf. I am concerned when free speech may infringe on others freedom though. If it weren't for our history I would have no problem with jokes aimed at certain groups. Jokes aimed at baseball players for instance, since they don't suffer from prejudice that I know of.
Not that I am in favor of going overboard and I do understand it's a slippery slope. Who gets to decide what's acceptable is one concern. I think an employer has every right to take action as they please in these matters, this goes for the NFL as well.
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