The retardation of political correctness...

[MinionZombie]

Anyone else think political correctness should have been legally limited to "just don't be a sexist and/or racist dickhead"? http://uk.news.yahoo.com/05122006/14...ed-tinsel.html I have to say I'm rather drowned in a wave of disbelief at this ... and I'm an athiest!

[Tricky]

do you reckon the taliban have seen a glimpse of the politically correct future,& thats why their so keen to bomb everything back to the stone age and destroy western culture? must.........get....rid.....of....labour!

[MinionZombie]

must.........get....rid.....of....labour! tell ... me ... about ... it ... they ... suck ... an ... epic ... amount ... of ... rotting ... taxed-out ... cock! And this used to be a great nation ... this was once the nation that fought the Nazis alone for over 2 years ... now we can't make our own products, we make foolish gestures to save the planet/health system/whatever (okay - that one is labour and most other politicians, not we and certainly not Top Gear - who we'd be far better off being governed by ... seriously, they talk classic British common sense). *sigh* I saw in the paper t'other day about an Xmas card put out by some council or whatever bollocks which avoided all Christian-related words or imagery "Season's Greetings" being the title of the card. I'm an Athiest, and I celebrate Xmas for cryin' out loud ... not the Jesus and religious part, but the bit that involves presents, excessive consumption, family gathering and TV comedy specials.

[Terran]

Anyone else think political correctness should have been legally limited to "just don't be a sexist and/or racist dickhead"? Is it politically correct to talk about political correctness? I'm an Athiest, and I celebrate Xmas for cryin' out loud ... not the Jesus and religious part, but the bit that involves presents, excessive consumption, family gathering and TV comedy specials. Hehehe I created my own holiday that just happens to occur in the same month and on the same day.... Even got my mom to go along with it...and since she does the decorations thats the holiday we celebrate now...all thanks to me .... Its called Gib Lat Tribute ... Where "gib" means "give"...and lat or laat means "me/us/them/it" practially any noun just depends on the context..... and "tribute" is gifts/praise or anything that could be considered "tribute"... So instead of saying happy holidays or merry christmas you stick out your hand and state forcefully "GIB LAT TRIBUTE!"... I printed up a whole rule sheet once when I was drunk...

[Marie]

Sounds like Festivus, a concept I was first exposed to on "Sienfeld"... Aluminum poles going up everywhere I guess. http://www.festivusbook.com/ M_

[Kaos]

Its called Gib Lat Tribute ... I printed up a whole rule sheet once when I was drunk... Talk about retardation. Just kidding. It's funny you got your Mom in on it.

[coma]

I saw in the paper t'other day about an Xmas card put out by some council or whatever bollocks which avoided all Christian-related words or imagery "Season's Greetings" being the title of the card. I'm an Athiest, and I celebrate Xmas for cryin' out loud ... not the Jesus and religious part, but the bit that involves presents, excessive consumption, family gathering and TV comedy specials. I think that Xmas Cars was actually from the white house. Surprisingly enough. I love Christmas

[deadpunk]

Happy Christmahanakwanzika....

[Danny]

i think, what with free speech you dont have to be pc, it aint the law, its just recommended, if im pissed at a videogame i cant finish i may go "oh thats so gay!", i dont mean it as an insult to anyone, though i use it in a darogatory term,i just do sometimes, but since the word used to just mean happy, and queer used to be olden speak for wierd, its...well wierd how the way we percieve a word over time means its suddenly "nto cool", i aint saying it is, but you get the idea. thats one of my own faults but the one that pisses me off is the one you see everyday, in life and in forums "No offense ,but..." if you start with that phrase you really do intend offence the people just dont want to be yelled back at, that one gets me, political correctness my arse. i dont call any black guys i know "niggers" becuase I choose not to, not becuase its politically icorrect, some people are racist but its there choice, you take that away from them you gotta take something from the rest of us in the process. its our nature as animals not to get on with each other all the time, and being politically incorrect is just a result. funny its politically incorrect, not Socially incorrect.

[MinionZombie]

Terran - the idea of you drunkenly drawing up a rule book for your new version of Xmas is the funniest picture in my head I've had all week. Hellsing - tell me about it, "gay" did indeed used to only mean "happy", then it got 'hijacked' by homosexuals essentially, and now there's so many stubborn people out there who are refusing to understand that "gay" is now going through a new transformation - to mean stupid/annoying - those two words in the new meaning also have nothing to do with where you poke your pole. "Ah that's so gay" - "ah that's so annoying/stupid". It's been used in such a way for the past few years now, I remember it changing during my time at sixth form - or at least that's when I noticed it changing and had to explain to a girl ... big space for platonic clarification ... friend of mine that it had a new meaning. If anything it's got a dual meaning now. It can be used to mean something kinda homosexual or homosocial - for example, at uni I barged into the (open doored) bathroom where my mate was brushing his teeth, I set about doing my hair and so we were both in the bathroom together - to which he responding something along the lines of "don't be gay, get out" - it sounds derogatory, but the person saying it is oftentimes absolutely not homophobic - I'm not homophobic (poke your pole where you please I say, gay isn't for me, but if it's for someone else - fair enough) but I say "gay" quite often to mean stupid/annoying or in the context illustrated by the bathroom story. It's like "retarded" - it likewise just means 'something really stupid/unbelievable'. You might say "what are you, retarded?" - just meaning stupider-than-the-average-bear, not meaning the unfortunate kids who get bullied and are driven to school on a short bus. It's all about context. Interestingly enough, that's exactly what Kevin Smith was talking about in terms of "nigger" on the Opie & Anthony Show recently (find the download link of the MP3 at www.newsaskew.com) because of the whole KKKramer thing and now there's people in America trying to ban the word ... now, excuse me, irrespective of what the word is - isn't that what a Nazi would do? You can't ban a word, just discourage the angered and negative context in which it is sometimes said. If said in the right context, it's fine - Dave Chappelle being the best example. "Nigger" now, at least what appears to me to be the case, means man/dude/mate/guy. So while white chaps will say "dude, what you talkin' about?", and black chap might very well say "nigga please" or similar. How can you possibly ban a word, the 'recorded places' (film/tv/music/books) where it is being used it is always in the right context. Where it is used incorrectly is racist people - and they're out in the real world, you can't ban people from speaking one little word - which has, as K-Smith pointed out, has lost all it's power it once had - and like I was saying earlier, it's as innocuous as man/dude/guy/mate. I say more people should be watching Top Gear (not that they use the "n word"), because they truly don't give a crap about political correctness beyond the sensible foundation of the movement which was "don't be a sexist/racist dickhead" - anything above that (including stereotypical jokes in jest) shouldn't be whinged about. Like "ba ba black sheep" - how is that freakin' racist?!

[coma]

Lots of good points there, Minion. Though Gay being used as "goofy" or embarasingly limp or retarded has been used my entire life. Its very second grade. The Net use' like "ghay" is more recent and has made it more common and certainly more acceptable. A couple of related anectotes; In college my roommate was a very goofy effeminate gay guy.(No, we didn't bang, and Yes, he is a really good guy, easy to get along with and funny). One time he said something ecspecially stupis and I blurted out "Dude, You are so f**kin' gay" There was a pause, then we both cracked up becasue he knew what I meant. Another, and this may seem wierd to some, When you are friends with a Black guy sometimes you know they are looking at you like a person instead of a white guy when they call you Nigga. Instead of "That's some corny white guy stuff" to "Nigga, you're retarded.". Funny, but thats how it is sometimes around here.

[HLS]

The same thing is happening in america. Big department stores are refraining from christmas decorations and trying to be more neutral. From what I remember Walmart no longer will have signs saying "Merry Christmas!" but now will say "Happy Holidays!" I can not find the article to post unfortunately. In my opinion why can't firms just decorate to represent other december religious events along with christmas? That way there is less worry of offending someone of a particular religion.

[Maitreya]

Yea. It's sickening sometimes. And it always very few people that wreck it for everyone else. Back when I was an atheist I was never once offended by anything God-related, and I don't see how anybody could be. It's part of the culture, it's just a tradition, **** some people just need to get over themselves.