By Jim Lyde,
Chief Operating Officer
FIRST PUBLISHED DECEMBER 17, 2012
How It Was (1954)
That is a Colored water fountain, Son. You can't drink there. Little Henry accepted that admonition from his mother, but not without a second thought. Born in 1945 in north central Texas, Little Henry knew that "Colored" water fountains and restrooms were indicators of the way things were.
Why was the 80 year old shoe shine "boy" called by his first name?
He noticed there were no "coloreds" in the café where he dined with his family. He wondered why, in a society that demanded respect for elders and fair play, the 80 year old shoe shine "boy" at the barber shop was called by his first name (Doug), even by children. Why was Doug called "N* Doug" outside his presence? Why were all coloreds usually called "N*s" except in polite company, where they were called coloreds or "Nigrahs?"
Three colored boys were allowed to join Little Henry's baseball team. He was surprised that he didn't "catch something" when he quenched his thirst from the lid of the big water jug after they did. Why then, were there colored water fountains?
Nigrahs are alright, as long as they know their place.
Little Henry knew nothing about the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision calling for the end of school segregation; it certainly had no effect on the all-white school he attended, or anything else in his world. He had heard hundreds of times that "Nigrahs are alright, as long as they know their place." Where was that "place?" From his family and their friends there was no animosity. The "understanding" was that coloreds were inferior and should not interact with white people.
Political Correctness was designed to end
traditional references to Black Americans.
This has been a tiny snapshot of the atmosphere from which evolved "political correctness." Little Henry was just one of millions beginning to realize the illogical nature of race relations in America. The productive work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others failed to displace the traditional references to Black Americans. The concept of political correctness was designed to change that.
How It Is
Political correctness has gone far past that worthy goal. From a historical perspective, the changing of traditional references has been blindingly fast. We have gone from darkie, Negro, N*, nigrah, colored, Black, to African American. Beyond efforts to bring discredit to those who make disparaging references, PC has developed into a primer of admonishment to any negative reference to African Americans, then to females and Latinos. It seems that any publicly made disparaging remark must be subjected to the gauntlet of "insult inspection," regarding race and/or gender. If either exists, those who disagree with the premise of the remark label the spokesman (whoops, spokesperson) as a racist or a sexist. More recently there have been those who search for "code words" in statements with negative references that might be construed to refer to Blacks or any other minority. These exercises are virtually always generated by liberals. Now, Hillary Clinton has expressed a preference for Senator John Kerry (white male) to replace her as Secretary of State, rather than UN Ambassador Susan Rice (black female). Therefore, according to PC dictum, it is logical to conclude that Ms. Clinton is both a racist and a sexist! PC has further expanded to include rules to avoid "offending" people or organizations who do not believe in deity. For example, the Governor of Rhode Island insists on calling the state's Christmas tree a "Holiday Tree," so as not to offend atheists. Bill O'Reilly has pointed out that by doing so the Governor has offended about 95% of the American people. However, Christians and Jews are the only religious groups that may be maligned under the guidelines of PC.
Thomas Sowell has written "... episodes of unprovoked violence by young black gangs against white people chosen at random on beaches, in shopping malls, or in other public places have occurred in Philadelphia, New York, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, Los Angeles, and other places across the country. Both the authorities and the media tend to try to sweep these episodes under the rug." The view here is that the entire reason for the "sweep" is political correctness.
Has PC blocked our ability to find solutions?
How Is It Going To Be?
Have problems arisen? You bet! What if negative references to minorities or minority organizations are true? After all, it seems to be perfectly acceptable to denigrate other segments in our society; some say even at the expense of the truth. Perhaps we have gotten so caught up in the idea of avoiding insult that we have linguistically blocked our ability to find solutions. Have tiny portions of our society gained the ability to force changes on others, even if those others find them unacceptable, or even if the changes have historically been detrimental to societies? Undoubtedly! Has the quality of education in the United States for African Americans improved? No! Why not? In this country, a small of minority of the population gets arrested for a very disproportionate number of crimes committed. Why? Have Black community attitudes toward narcotics and traditional relationships heightened the wall that has to be climbed to achieve social equality and economic success? How can we address these or any similar perceptions or situations if PC forbids us to even state the problems?
Chief Operating Officer
FIRST PUBLISHED DECEMBER 17, 2012
How It Was (1954)
That is a Colored water fountain, Son. You can't drink there. Little Henry accepted that admonition from his mother, but not without a second thought. Born in 1945 in north central Texas, Little Henry knew that "Colored" water fountains and restrooms were indicators of the way things were.
Why was the 80 year old shoe shine "boy" called by his first name?
He noticed there were no "coloreds" in the café where he dined with his family. He wondered why, in a society that demanded respect for elders and fair play, the 80 year old shoe shine "boy" at the barber shop was called by his first name (Doug), even by children. Why was Doug called "N* Doug" outside his presence? Why were all coloreds usually called "N*s" except in polite company, where they were called coloreds or "Nigrahs?"
Three colored boys were allowed to join Little Henry's baseball team. He was surprised that he didn't "catch something" when he quenched his thirst from the lid of the big water jug after they did. Why then, were there colored water fountains?
Nigrahs are alright, as long as they know their place.
Little Henry knew nothing about the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision calling for the end of school segregation; it certainly had no effect on the all-white school he attended, or anything else in his world. He had heard hundreds of times that "Nigrahs are alright, as long as they know their place." Where was that "place?" From his family and their friends there was no animosity. The "understanding" was that coloreds were inferior and should not interact with white people.
Political Correctness was designed to end
traditional references to Black Americans.
This has been a tiny snapshot of the atmosphere from which evolved "political correctness." Little Henry was just one of millions beginning to realize the illogical nature of race relations in America. The productive work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others failed to displace the traditional references to Black Americans. The concept of political correctness was designed to change that.
How It Is
Political correctness has gone far past that worthy goal. From a historical perspective, the changing of traditional references has been blindingly fast. We have gone from darkie, Negro, N*, nigrah, colored, Black, to African American. Beyond efforts to bring discredit to those who make disparaging references, PC has developed into a primer of admonishment to any negative reference to African Americans, then to females and Latinos. It seems that any publicly made disparaging remark must be subjected to the gauntlet of "insult inspection," regarding race and/or gender. If either exists, those who disagree with the premise of the remark label the spokesman (whoops, spokesperson) as a racist or a sexist. More recently there have been those who search for "code words" in statements with negative references that might be construed to refer to Blacks or any other minority. These exercises are virtually always generated by liberals. Now, Hillary Clinton has expressed a preference for Senator John Kerry (white male) to replace her as Secretary of State, rather than UN Ambassador Susan Rice (black female). Therefore, according to PC dictum, it is logical to conclude that Ms. Clinton is both a racist and a sexist! PC has further expanded to include rules to avoid "offending" people or organizations who do not believe in deity. For example, the Governor of Rhode Island insists on calling the state's Christmas tree a "Holiday Tree," so as not to offend atheists. Bill O'Reilly has pointed out that by doing so the Governor has offended about 95% of the American people. However, Christians and Jews are the only religious groups that may be maligned under the guidelines of PC.
Thomas Sowell has written "... episodes of unprovoked violence by young black gangs against white people chosen at random on beaches, in shopping malls, or in other public places have occurred in Philadelphia, New York, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, Los Angeles, and other places across the country. Both the authorities and the media tend to try to sweep these episodes under the rug." The view here is that the entire reason for the "sweep" is political correctness.
Has PC blocked our ability to find solutions?
How Is It Going To Be?
Have problems arisen? You bet! What if negative references to minorities or minority organizations are true? After all, it seems to be perfectly acceptable to denigrate other segments in our society; some say even at the expense of the truth. Perhaps we have gotten so caught up in the idea of avoiding insult that we have linguistically blocked our ability to find solutions. Have tiny portions of our society gained the ability to force changes on others, even if those others find them unacceptable, or even if the changes have historically been detrimental to societies? Undoubtedly! Has the quality of education in the United States for African Americans improved? No! Why not? In this country, a small of minority of the population gets arrested for a very disproportionate number of crimes committed. Why? Have Black community attitudes toward narcotics and traditional relationships heightened the wall that has to be climbed to achieve social equality and economic success? How can we address these or any similar perceptions or situations if PC forbids us to even state the problems?
RSS Feed