Why politically correct?

carpe kid

carpe kid

Member # 018
First Name
Brandon
Last Name
Eckardt
Thought to think about…I would like to start a discussion on being politically correct.

Recently, I had a discussion with my son and nephew. It was all about how to wear a ball cap. I told them athletes and men wear their caps forward. Clowns that think they are tough wear them backwards and thug want-to-be’s wear them crooked. My boys wear their hat forward or they don’t wear one.

As this club grows it reminds me of some of some things I have a difficult time with. Why is it that we must always be politically correct? Should I be allowed my opinion? Should others be allowed theirs? This great land was built on freedom, freedom of religion, freedom to believe the things that are important to each of us without fear.

I have watched members of this club take offense to political beliefs expressed by other members. I have watched members get offended by social economic beliefs of others. My question is why? Why do I have to pad my beliefs and not share them? Why can I not believe I have raised my kids well (to this point)? Why is profiling wrong? Why should I not be allowed to get offended when welfare payday is this same day I needed to go to Wal-Mart?

My questions are done for the time being. I look forward to everyone’s opinion.
 
What does being "politically correct" mean? I suspect it means a lot of different things to all of us. It seems like the thing that most often leads to hurt feelings, angry responses & lost friendships is differences of opinion over political opinions. What a shame. :( We are all Americans who love our country. We should love & respect each other enough to allow others to have different opinions without holding that against them. Why do we wish to disassociate & dislike others who have different opinions than ourselves? I don't understand that. What does being "politically correct" mean to you Brandon?
 
Discussions here in The Paddock are allowed to take a tract away from “car talk” but hurtful comments are still not permitted. Further, the definition of a hurtful comment is not defined by the sender, but by the receiver. So, feel free to express your ideas and comments, just do it in a way that is not hurtful. That’s not political correctness – it’s simply being polite.
 
If some get offended i think they need to get thicker skin. Most people love jokes. Some take ofense to them. All i can say is sorry if you get offended. And yes of government right now resembles a bunch of bumbling baphoons.
 
That is my question. Not just on this forum, but in general it has become wrong in this country to have an opinion. At what point has one crossed the line. I will take the political jokes as an example. A joke is a joke. Albiet many times not funny or in some cases offensive to others, but still a joke. Please do not assume I am condoning hurtful comments in anyway I am just asking the question. I have been wondering about this for some time. If I don't like the tone of a joke I don't read it or I don't listen. If I find people offensive to me I don't hang around with them. To me it seems simple, but it obviously is not.

As an example, I grew up in a household that taught us to take respect in the way we dressed. I never had the desire to wear baggy pants, pierce my body in numerous areas or wear offensive clothing. My question is in this case, why is it now wrong to not want my kids dressing that way? Why do I have to avoid making a comment about the person dressed that way to my family because I will be a mean person?

I personally believe we have become overly sensitive to the possiblity of being offensive. I fully agree with Mark's comments about just being polite.

I am not bringing up a specific issue just asking a general question I have thought a lot about lately.
 
I didn't answer your question David. I fully agree that it is ashame that comments and beliefs cause hurt feelings and ruin friendships. I guess my question is at what point do personal opinions cross the line of being offensive? As an example, gun ownership, political views, personal hygeine, etc. You can bring up a ton of hot topics. I don't agree with a lot of comments about each of those issues because they differ from my opinion, but I let them go. If I don't like the comment made I ignore it. I don't get offended. I would imagine that is what Mike W was referring to.

This thread is not meant to discuss a specific topic just thoughts in general. As an example there are a lot of jokes about our current President that now I get to say. My wife gets mad at every one, but I listened to her make fun of W for 7 1/2 years. There are two sides to jokes. I listened to hers now she gets to listen to mine. Thats life:p. I didn't get offended and mad when she got to express her opinions (even though they were wrong:D:eek:). Why does she get offended and mad at my (correct;) opinions?
 
CK,
I couldn't agree with you more. We have become overly sensitized. By the same token though I was brought up by a strict but loving father and a mother who back him to the hilt. Dad always gave you choices. You could say Yes Mam or Sir when addressing them or spit your teeth out. Your choice. :) Now as a parent I can even appreciate it even more. Polite is Polite. Plain and simple.

I believe a person stands for what they believe in and like you if someone says something I don't like, then I don't listen. If they say alot of it, then I won't be around to hear it. I know I'm rambling but this topic takes a person's thoughts to so many extremes.

The recent court case of reverse discrimination. The black fireman called it racial bias. It's politically correct to throw out the test since the black applicant didn't pass or score high enough. I think the other guys said they passed the same test with a higher grade so give them the job. Much like our current issue with St.Louis fireman and the same basic issue. Here's the test if you want the job, find out about the material in the test. Study for it and work for it. If you pass you've earned it. Tha'ts not political correctness, just the right thing to do. Of course that's just my opinion, politically correct or not. ;)

I think the world would be much better if everyone just observed and applied the "Golden Rule". Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. Ploite meets polite and respect meets respect. I think everyone would walk with their head a little higher.

Bottom line I like how you approached it. Heck my wife doesn't like the current jokes either, but then again she is a teacher. aka liberal :D Opps there I go again.
 
Well...... Here I go......

Sure, this country is great and based on freedoms such as freedom of speech. But this freedom is often taken to extremes by groups such as radical fundamentalists. This could be Muslims or Nazis or whatever offends you. The way I look at it, if it is meant to inflame or offend, then it is a bad comment. My son has a t-shirt that says "Everyone is entitled to my opinion." Very true for his personality! And boy, do I disagree with almost everything he says!

There are a lot of people in government who are a lot smarter than any of us. It is our job to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't step out of line.

I also truly HATE the way political races have gone recently with the over-the-top name-calling and commercials that are clearly meant only to inflame and confuse.

If a joke is about a third-grade level meant only to insult someone, then you can just stick it where the sun doesn't shine. That isn't funny at all to me. Maybe at your local redneck bar after everyone is drunk, or at other radical groups, but not to me. Not to me.

:confused::confused:
 
Political Correctness is a cop out. It's a two word excuse for a poor decision. It makes the sender of the message feel good about their decision even though it's the wrong decision almost 100% of the time.

I wrote about this last weekend, and then deleted it because my message came off to crabby and I was in too good of a mood to be crabby (still in a good mood thanks to a great cruise today). Here we go again.

How about a couple of examples to back up my thesis:

PC #1) Hybrid Cars. Everyone is on this PC train for sure. But if you add up the carbon footprint that it takes to manufacture, maintain, drive, and then dispose of these things after their average lifespan they have almost the same carbon footprint as any other vehicle. But thousands of people have drunk this kool-aid, paid an extra 7 to 10 K for the pleasure. The best solution would be to repair their 10+ year old car and not send it to the dump, or repair and donate it to somebody. Oh - and if you're going to say something about E-85 or Bio-Diesel - don't drink that Kool-aid either. It actually takes more oil (energy) to produce these products, and the mileage is actually worse. NOW - if they can bring hydrogen vehicles on the market (whose byproduct is water) then you'll have something. While it still takes energy to produce hydrogen - guess who is the world's largest producer of hydrogen - that's right - USA.

PC#2) Smoking Cigarettes. There's a big PC No No. OK they're bad, unhealthy, stinky blah, blah, blah. As a smoker (still a legal product) I have been the subject of the most vial behavior by the PC crowd. We've had other parents refuse to allow their kids to visit our home (with our daughter) because we smoke. Now, that's their judgment and I'm OK with it, but these same parents don't even bathe their kids every day, or they send them to school sick because they can't take off a day of work, or they live in filth, or don't weed they're yards, etc, etc. They are so worried about their children viewing what they think is a bad influence - they never stop to consider that they are showing them a horrible influence every day. Then when their kids grow up rude and sloppy - they'll say to themselves - what happened?

PC#3) Drugs. This one will make your head spin. Drugs have been at the top of the PC hit parade since the beginning - but it's all lip service. No one actually is anti-drug - no-one. Recently, a drug addict committed suicide. He had been abusing all sorts of chemicals for many many years. He had an established network of suppliers and enablers. He also had a loving family that told him what he was doing was wrong. He had kids, success, talent, and the world at his fingertips - but none of that mattered. Getting that buzz was the most important thing in his life and IT KILLED HIM. Today, 1.2 million people registered to attend his funeral. You see, it doesn't matter. Even if you're Michael Jackson - Drugs will kill you. Did you ever notice the commercials that run during the evening news? All drug ads - almost every single one. Drugs for your stomach, your sleeping, your rectum, your nose, your bald spot, and your pecker - that's the biggest selling drug of all. Take away this country's drugs, and you'll have anarchy. Even Coca-Cola is now advertising the "Ahh that refreshes". A drink loaded with sugar and caffeine. Any doctor will tell you that the amount of sugar and caffeine that we all consume is bad - really bad. By now, you going to say - well we're talking about you know those bad drugs - marijuana, heroin, cocaine. Well BS. The fact is that your brain doesn't know the difference between marijuana and caffeine. Both cause a series of abnormal chemical reactions and synaptic firings in your brain. Both are addictive. Both if taken long enough in great enough quantity will shorten your life. Those so-called hard drugs though will cause to crash your car, or will eventually permanently damage your brain. So, yes they should be outlawed. But the drug that causes the worst by far brain damage, bodily damage, disease, social disorder and complete chaos is legal. And nobody is talking about taking IT off the market - ALCOHOL.

So - bring on your PC and I'll show you how it's BS. I sick of it.
 
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Ya know Mark your rants aren't intended to be funny, but I love em. :) They crack me up. :D Keep em comin buddy. Don't stop the good stuff. :D Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. :eek:
 
Our ability to say what we want is secured through out men & women serving in the military.
What they do ensures(an Obama word) the 2nd ammendment is there for us.
I like political humor regardless of the party being abused.
I like funny.
I like to try to be funny.
Life is short, say what is on your mind with out being cruel.
Life is short, eat dessert first.
As far as the wearing of visored ball caps...when you turn it sideways you lose 50% of your IQ.
If I say or post something offensive it is not intentional or aimed at any one individual in particular.
There might be a time when I tell someone to put it where the sun don't shine but it would probably be in jest. or not. You may not be able to tell the difference and I may or may not tell you.
For me, I depend on my bride to tell me when I am PC..Usually the elbow to my rib cage is a pretty darn indication I was wrong.
Well that is about enough on PC I guess.
 
Shelley used to get mad at me for some things I said, but to me it aways seemed to be taken in the negative. What I told her was, if after knowing me and I say something that can be taken two ways and one of them is bad, then I probably meant the good way. What do I have to gain from pissing her or anyone else off.

But your'e right, the little bride is generally a great resource to keep me pointed in the right direction ;)
 
Wow, Mark, you should write a column in the Post Dispatch! Seriously! You reach too few on this forum.

Now go have a cigarette and a beer to calm your nerves.

Beer!? Beer!!??

:)
 
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