World Events
Topic: Bad Words replaced by "other" words...WHY?

#	Author	Message
11	barboy Wed 5/14/2008 9:53a	Political correctness has gone so far as to create a movement seeking to rid our schools of Mark Twain classics.
12	DAR Wed 5/14/2008 9:54a	Political Correctness is one of the worst things to ever happen to this country. Thank you pinheaded tweed jacket wearing, pipe smoking sitting up in their ivory towers University and College Presidents.
13	utahjosh Wed 5/14/2008 10:02a	Where is the line between decorum and common courtesy and unwanted PC?
14	barboy Wed 5/14/2008 10:04a	You got the wrong culprit DAR(well they are reprehensible too but more in a cowardly way for "caving" to pressure). The real culprits, those who actively want to suppress certain speech, are groups like NAACP, NOW and GLAD.
15	SoThisIsLove Wed 5/14/2008 10:12a	Hmm, interesting topic. My swear words are "Barf!" and "Rats!" Never realized they were just fillers for the real thing. (When really riled, I go for the jugular: Barfo-butts!) I guess I could mutter under my breath, "Sweet-smelling roses!" and still be guilty of a euphemism. Wow.
16	Dabob2 Wed 5/14/2008 10:14a	<Political Correctness is one of the worst things to ever happen to this country. > On the other hand, some people (and I'm NOT talking about you here DAR, at all) take to railing against political correctness as an excuse for being ill-mannered or even racist, sexist, etc. How many times have I heard something like "Hey, I know it's not p.c. to say this, but they really shouldn't let these gooks own stores if they're going to take jobs away from real Americans. And I don't care if that's not politically correct, that's the truth." Well no, that's not the truth you racist cretin. Yet these cretins have seized on anti-p.c. sentiment as a justification for their own ugliness, and even taken it as a badge of pride. Ugh. In most instances I think one can see whether one is being overly p.c. or not... refusing to use a racial epithet like "gook" has nothing to do with p.c., while saying something like "vertically challenged" is way over the p.c. line, IMO. But in some cases there's a fine line between p.c. and plain good manners and it's not always so obvious. As for the OP, I think people say "f-bomb" because the alternative actually can NOT be said on broadcast TV still (or in many print venues), so there's a way to say it without saying it. Of course, you've still conjured up the exact same word, but that may be the only alternative in some situations (including LP). "The n-word" is trickier; that has been arguably the most loaded word in American history, and as such excites great passions all around. You have some people who insist that the word should simply be "retired" and never used (Al Sharpton); other people insist that by saying "nigger" as often as possible you rob it of its power (Richard Pryor used to say something like this) or you "claim" it as your own (which some gay people have also done more recently with "queer"). Then there are those who insist there is a difference between "nigger" and "niggah" - one is a racist epithet, the other is a term of affection among the group normally on the receiving end of the epithet. It's a fascinating discussion, as is the whole idea of why some combination of 4 or 6 letters should have such power to begin with.
17	Kar2oonMan Wed 5/14/2008 10:23a	>>On the other hand, some people (and I'm NOT talking about you here DAR, at all) take to railing against political correctness as an excuse for being ill-mannered or even racist, sexist, etc. How many times have I heard something like "Hey, I know it's not p.c. to say this, but they really shouldn't let these gooks own stores if they're going to take jobs away from real Americans. And I don't care if that's not politically correct, that's the truth."<< Bingo. I think there are cases where we get carried away and oversensitive. But on balance, what has become known as political correctness also means simple manners and decency.
18	barboy Wed 5/14/2008 10:46a	Wasn't McCain stung by the PC crowd with his "gook" remark(or was it "slope", "chalie" or "zipperhead" that got him in trouble). His remark was appropriate because that was the term bestowed on the NVC in the jungles. Now statements like this <<these gooks own stores if they're going to take jobs away from real Americans.>> are very inappropriate and nasty because there is no Vietnam war context just unbridled racism.
19	Dabob2 Wed 5/14/2008 11:16a	McCain's comment was "I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live." Now he claimed he was referring only to his guards. But if that's so, why not say "I hated my guards." Why use a term that has traditionally been used as a slur against southeast Asians in general? That said, that was from 2000 and he'll probably be given a pass from most people, though I do have a Thai friend who did not (and still does not) look upon it kindly. An article from the time: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/...op.shtml
20	Goofyernmost Wed 5/14/2008 11:56a	>>>And I don't say "mentally challenged" like some of those nonthinkers out there either-- "mental retard" has worked just fine since its inception.<<< I guess that statement just told me the purpose of Political Correctness. Someone is not a mental retard, as you so straightforwardly put it, a person has a situation that can cause varying degrees of mental retardation. There is a big difference there. I can see now why there is a need to standardize nomenclatures.

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