A Case Study in Political Correctness
(I wrote this a year ago, but given all the hoopla surrounding the Grey's Anatomy "gay-hating" controversy, my feelings are just as strong. Reading newspapers and online publications do a tap dance around the word "faggot" was amusingly counterproductive.)
On the way home from work today, I opted to skip listening to a CD and instead tuned into the Matt and Ramona show on 107.9 The Link (Charlotte's #1 drive-time talk show, don'cha know!). They were having a discussion on how certain terms with perfectly legitimate definitions (retard, gay, queer among them) also have those other connotations. They seemed to agree that we've gotten so PC in this country that merely mentioning one of those words (even in a non-offensive way) would be found offensive in certain circles.
For example, we could say something like, "The Senate's refusal to compromise has retarded the passage of the president's bill," and most people would recognize the innocuous nature of the word 'retard' in that context. But there will always be a faction of people for whom using the word would be unacceptable. This led to a very astute caller offering that it shouldn't be up to her to tailor her vocabulary to make sure she never offends anybody when she's clearly not being offensive, and everyone on the air (as well as me) seemed to agree. The consensus: If you're not being insulting by using a certain word, you should be free to use the word. Good stuff.
Anyway, it was pretty thought-provoking fare for the rush hour crowd -- and then the conversation led to the debate of another incendiary term. A caller phoned in to say her teenage daughter had begun saying hello to her friends by calling them a variation on the word 'nigger.' Matt and Ramona vehemently objected to the casual nature of the term (particularly Ramona, who's black), and deplored the evolution of the term as one of endearment among certain people. However, in all the time they were discussing this, neither the hosts nor the callers said the word 'nigger,' instead opting for the phrase 'the N-word.'
This phrase must have been used 10 times during a 5-minute span. At one point, after a caller used the N-word phrase, Ramona praised the caller for "not actually saying the word." My question: Why couldn't they just say the word? In a discussion regarding political correctness and the civilized person's ability to differentiate between saying something to insult and saying something to inform, what was the benefit of pointedly avoiding saying a certain word, especially when everyone listening knew what word they were referring to?
One could argue that on a shortlist of words that should never EVER be used in any form on television or the radio, 'nigger' should be on it. I disagree. Words on their face have no ability to hurt; it's the meaning behind them that inflicts the damage. One could also argue that unlike terms like 'gay' and 'queer' and 'retard' -- words with legitimate definitions -- the word 'nigger' has no redeeming value. Perhaps, but I find it discouraging -- and ironic, given the nature of the on-air conversation -- that we can't have a rational discussion about the use of certain words without actually using the words in question.
On the way home from work today, I opted to skip listening to a CD and instead tuned into the Matt and Ramona show on 107.9 The Link (Charlotte's #1 drive-time talk show, don'cha know!). They were having a discussion on how certain terms with perfectly legitimate definitions (retard, gay, queer among them) also have those other connotations. They seemed to agree that we've gotten so PC in this country that merely mentioning one of those words (even in a non-offensive way) would be found offensive in certain circles.
For example, we could say something like, "The Senate's refusal to compromise has retarded the passage of the president's bill," and most people would recognize the innocuous nature of the word 'retard' in that context. But there will always be a faction of people for whom using the word would be unacceptable. This led to a very astute caller offering that it shouldn't be up to her to tailor her vocabulary to make sure she never offends anybody when she's clearly not being offensive, and everyone on the air (as well as me) seemed to agree. The consensus: If you're not being insulting by using a certain word, you should be free to use the word. Good stuff.
Anyway, it was pretty thought-provoking fare for the rush hour crowd -- and then the conversation led to the debate of another incendiary term. A caller phoned in to say her teenage daughter had begun saying hello to her friends by calling them a variation on the word 'nigger.' Matt and Ramona vehemently objected to the casual nature of the term (particularly Ramona, who's black), and deplored the evolution of the term as one of endearment among certain people. However, in all the time they were discussing this, neither the hosts nor the callers said the word 'nigger,' instead opting for the phrase 'the N-word.'
This phrase must have been used 10 times during a 5-minute span. At one point, after a caller used the N-word phrase, Ramona praised the caller for "not actually saying the word." My question: Why couldn't they just say the word? In a discussion regarding political correctness and the civilized person's ability to differentiate between saying something to insult and saying something to inform, what was the benefit of pointedly avoiding saying a certain word, especially when everyone listening knew what word they were referring to?
One could argue that on a shortlist of words that should never EVER be used in any form on television or the radio, 'nigger' should be on it. I disagree. Words on their face have no ability to hurt; it's the meaning behind them that inflicts the damage. One could also argue that unlike terms like 'gay' and 'queer' and 'retard' -- words with legitimate definitions -- the word 'nigger' has no redeeming value. Perhaps, but I find it discouraging -- and ironic, given the nature of the on-air conversation -- that we can't have a rational discussion about the use of certain words without actually using the words in question.
posted by Mike at 9:37 PM
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