Political Correctness Gone Mad

[Commander]

Depends how "free" you want to be - this so-called "harm principle" has been debated by moral philosophers a lot cleverer than me since at least the days of John Stuart Mill and will be again. You and I and everyone else operate in a society. You do basically have the choice to ignore the norms of that society, i.e. to act according to your free will. But most of us would agree with ol' JSM that some regulation in order to protect the liberty and prevent harm to others is no bad thing either - he was a compete libertarian (I think he even coined the term) but even he made out a case that some things were harmful.

So, in this context, maybe the most important thing is to consider the harm done. Shouting "Oi, get me a BLACK coffee NOW, hur hur" might be harmful if it's obvious you're trying to be harmful with that remark.

However, the moral dilemma with which I (honestly) flirted when I once had to ask a black female barmaid for one of my favourite whiskies - Black Bush - was an easy one: she knew I was asking for a drink rather than talking about her no-doubt lovely fanny.

MOH, I often do not agree with your posts, but there is a lot of sense in that one, followed by the funniest thing I have ever 'heard' you say!

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

As someone once said, real political correctness - i.e. not the drivel served up to gullible mouth-breathing knee-jerking morons by Richard Littlejohn - is actually just about not being rude to someone.

Didn't that used to be called 'being polite'? Has someone changed the name? For no reason? It's political correctness gone mad!

 

[Frutos]

John Stuart Mill
Of his own free will
On half a pint of lager
Was particularly ill...

I love that sketch/song

 

[Juan Albion]

Interesting, though, how reaction to a story about not being able to ask for black coffee or white coffee has only been about the black coffee, and how black people might be offended.

 

[Brovion]

As someone once said, real political correctness - i.e. not the drivel served up to gullible mouth-breathing knee-jerking morons by Richard Littlejohn - is actually just about not being rude to someone. If someone has a problem with that, they're likely to be a bigot. And if anyone thinks there are black people likely to be offended by someone asking them for a black coffee, then they're very probably well-intentioned but wrong and naive.

Strangely, this argument isn't put forward by simpletons for simpletons in the tabloids too often - probably because it's a little bit more complex to deal with and less brainlessly emotive than cheap outrage. Depends what you're like, really.

Totally agree. Legendary (black) Labour MP Dianne Abbot said she wasn't offended by washing powder ads that claimed to wash 'whiter than white', nor was she offended by children blacking up to act out roles as Victorian Chimney sweeps. She said that black people aren't stupid and over-sensitive and can tell when something is being said offensively and when it is a mere description.

Speaking as an Old Labour lefty I do think that these well-intentioned but criminally thick over-sensitive white middle-class liberals who endlessly rake over the language looking for anything that could possibly give offence are part of the problem. They do as much (unwitting) harm and divide people as surely as do jerks like Littlejohn.

 

[Brovion]

Sorry, DKM, we've got right off the point!