From: dfo@tko.vtt.fi (Foxvog Douglas)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.activism,soc.women,soc.college
Subject: Re: "Politically Correct" -- A Quote
Date: 8 Apr 92 10:18:20 GMT
Organization: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Oulu

In article <visser.702517056@convex.convex.com> visser@convex.com (Lance Visser) writes:
>In <9204051928.AA04965@tba.msi.cornell.edu> harelb@MATH.CORNELL.EDU (Harel Barzilai) writes:
>>Forwarded from:
>>	misc.activism.progressive
>>A PC Quotable 

>+>--"[P]olitical correctness" does not exist, and has never existed, as
>+>a body of political ideas. It is not an ideology, like socialism,
>+>liberalism, or nationalism, nor is it an organized (or disorganized)
>+>social movement. Nor is it a world view, a moral philosophy, a
>+>partisan organization, an intellectual trend, or even an academic
>+>faction. As a description of political ideas, "political correctness"
>+>expresses, literally, nothing. It is an empty vessel of a signifier
>+>into which meaning is poured on a purely expedient and ad hominem
>+>basis."

>	Political correctness is about defining a set of ideas that
>people must accept or be branded as racist, sexist or any number of
>other terms.  The idea is that you are REQUIRED to accept the ideology
>in broad terms and not to cross that idelogy.  Political correctness
>requires a belief that the complaints of "protected" groups are always
>correct and are not to be questioned.  To question them implies that
>the questioner is racist or sexist or hates in any number of ways.

>	It is not a set of beliefs so much as a methodology for the 
>suppression of ideas.  The ideas differ but the method remains.

What i found amazing was that a term which describes how the government
and major media operate got turned on its head by the right wing to
attack opposition to the status quo.

Political correctness has been a strong tool of the govt. and supporters
of the status quo in the US for a long time.  In the '50s people who
were found not to be politically correct were blacklisted.  The term 
for this use of political correctness was "McCarthyism".  Under
Reagan/Bush judges found not to be politically correct on abortion would
not be appointed.  In the fall of 90 and winter 90-91 people not found
to be politically correct because they desired a diplomatic solution to
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait were blocked from the media.  People found not
to be politically correct because of their membership in certain
political parties were not allowed visas to visit the US for most of the
last 40 years.  These are but a few of numerous examples of how a
philosophy of political correctness has permeated the "powers that be"
for a long time.  [Anyone want to add to the list?]

Nowadays the term is being used to criticize those who ask that people
not be addressed in a derogatory manner.  In the '60s there was a push
to have people stop using the term "nigger" to refer to blacks in the US
society.  Was that an example of objectionable "political correctness"?
I think it is reasonable to refrain from calling people by names that
are derogatory references to groups they are part of and from making
broad generalizations about all members of a certain group.  

Most of the complaints seem to come from people who feel free to use
racist, sexist, or whatever language and then object to being publicly
identified as ones who stoop to that level.

But if government steps in it is a different manner.  I support 100
students coming to a professor to demand that he keep his sexist views
out of a poly sci class, but would object to the state ruling that any
professor who used certain language would be dismissed.

doug foxvog
dfo@tko.vtt.fi
-- 
doug foxvog     
dfo@tko.vtt.fi   
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.society.civil-liberty