Quote by Kiss
right back to the thread
iv just googled something but dont know if i should put up what i found?
anyway my question is
how long has PCness (if thats the word) been going?
Quote by sercher01
right back to the thread
iv just googled something but dont know if i should put up what i found?
anyway my question is
how long has PCness (if thats the word) been going?
History
The often quoted "earliest cited usage of the term" comes from the U.S. Supreme Court decision Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), where it clearly means that the statement it refers to is not literally correct, owing to the political status of the United States as it was understood at that time:
The states, rather than the People, for whose sakes the States exist, are frequently the objects which attract and arrest our principal attention . Sentiments and expressions of this inaccurate kind prevail in our common, even in our convivial, language. Is a toast asked? 'The United States,' instead of the 'People of the United States,' is the toast given. This is not politically correct.
The first recorded use in the twentieth century was in 1912 in Chapter 1 of Senator Robert La Follette's autobiography. Speaking of his education at the University of Wisconsin, he says:
In those days we did not so much get correct political and economic views, for there was then little teaching of sociology or political economy worthy of the name, but what we somehow did get, and largely from Bascom, was a proper attitude toward public affairs. And when all is said, this attitude is more important than any definite views a man may hold.
Again, this clearly refers to what, in the speaker's own opinion, are incorrect political views, as opposed to the current usage of "politically incorrect".
Another example of the same literal use of the term is from a passage of H. V. Morton's In the Steps of St. Paul (1936):
To use such words would have been equivalent to calling his audience 'slaves and robbers'. But Galatians, a term that was politically correct, embraced everyone under Roman rule, from the aristocrat in Antioch to the little slave girl in Iconium.
The contemporary use of the term political correctness is said to derived from Marxist-Leninist vocabulary to describe the Party Line.
The term was transformed and used jokingly within the Left by the early 1980s, possibly earlier. In this context, the phrase was applied to either an over-commitment to various left-wing political causes, especially within Marxism or the feminist movement; or to a tendency by some of those dedicated to these causes to be more concerned with rhetoric and vocabulary than with substance.
The term again became popular in the early 1990s as part of a conservative challenge to curriculum and teaching methods on college campuses in the United States (D'Souza 1991; Berman 1992; Schultz 1993; Messer Davidow 1993, 1994; Scatamburlo 1998). In a commencement address at the University of Michigan in 1991, President George H. W. Bush spoke out against administrators and academics who would "declare certain topics off-limits, certain expressions off-limits, even certain gestures off-limits" (Glassner 1999). Use of the term declined in the late 1990s, and it is now mostly seen in comedy or as a political slur with questionable meaning. More recently, the term has been reclaimed by a tiny subset of multiculturalist writers and speakers who reject (or are oblivious to) its controversial connotations and origins. It is also occasionally employed by leftists to deride what they regard as clichéd or disingenuous conservative themes such as "family values," "compassionate conservatism," or "God and Country".
The phrase "politically correct" has become popular in other countries as well. It became common in Scandinavia (politiskt korrekt=pk) during the 1990s and continues to be used, often by rightist debaters, though it does not necessarily have a strong connection to the right as in the US. For instance, it has been used to criticize how some political thinkers promote more capitalist policies as though they were inevitable and more realistic. However it is probably more commonly used to criticize the left, in much the same way has been used in the US.
Political correctness (also politically correct or PC) is a term used to describe language, or behavior, which is claimed to be calculated to provide a minimum of offense, particularly to the racial, cultural, or other identity groups being described. The concept is not exclusive to the English language. A text that conforms to the ideals of political correctness is said to be politically correct.
The existence of PC has been alleged and denounced by conservative, (Lind, Buchanan, Sobran), liberal (Hentoff 1992, Schlesinger 1998), and other (Brandt 1992) authors. The term itself and its usage is hotly contested. Some left-wing authors (Messer-Davidow 1993, Schultz 1993, Glassner 1999) have argued that "political correctness" is a straw man, meant to discredit what they consider progressive social change, especially around issues of race and gender.
The term PC is sometimes used in a pejorative or ironic sense to satirise either the idea that carefully chosen language can encourage, promote, or establish certain social outcomes and relationships, or the belief that the resulting changes benefit society. This satire often comments on certain forms of identity politics, including gay rights, feminism, multiculturalism and the disability rights movement. For example, the use of "gender-neutral" job titles ("lineworker" instead of "lineman," "chairperson" or "chair" instead of "chairman," etc.), the use of the expression "differently abled" rather than "disabled", or the use of "Native American" rather than "Indian", are all sometimes referred to as "politically correct". 'PC' terms are also applied to objects, such as "maintenance cover" instead of "manhole cover".
Quote by tina1
I used to work in homecare and the elderly people used to be called "clients" as they paid for a service....
now they have to be called "service users"
Quote by Mac69
I still say the the majority, if not all "PC offence" is offered and suffered by people claiming to be offended "on behalf of those that ought to be offended"
[/quote
That is exactly my view - there appears to be a body of (unelected) people - unelected but having power and influence - who imagine that certain groups will be offended by certain words or phrases and do their best to change what we can say. There is a big difference between respect and PC and these people do not realise that forcing their beliefs on the populus actually decreases respect of the supposedly enraged group(s).
My group - the majority - is enraged at PC, so where can we go from that point?
PS I have never seen a tracable dictat about nitty-gritty or it's supposed origins. I have heard that it is nothing to do with slaves. The fact that a history lesson is needed before any offence can be felt proves the point.
So, getting down to the nitty-gritty, continue to speak freely with respect!
M
Quote by Kiss
Why are bastards not offended by the word being used to describe a disreputable person?
Quote by HornyBear
As well as the PC Mafiosi we also have the 'health & safety' Brigade. When kids have to wear safety glasses to play conkers surely its time to give up?
Soap Box anyone?
Quote by HornyBear
Just wanted to say it wasn't the term 'coffee' that was deemed offensive but the word 'black' before it.
Now if the two black / coloured guys in the queue were offended by the woman trying to make me less offensive by trying to stop me using the word 'black' then its gone full circle and will hopefully diappear up its own correctitiude...
The French (or Frogs) bless them bypass it all by calling it 'Un Grand'. And you get a soup bowl full of delicious white (oops) er milky coffee. The Italians would never have had the conversation as its called 'espresso' (or similar!). so maybe its a Brit / twat thing after all, we are far too descriptive!
As well as the PC Mafiosi we also have the 'health & safety' Brigade. When kids have to wear safety glasses to play conkers surely its time to give up?
Soap Box anyone?
:)