political correctness

[Pythagorean]

I just noticed last night that most of the networks now have a woman on the broadcasting team at NFL games. It made me think that its difficult to go through a day without encountering political correctness in some form. It's everywhere: TV commercials, employee handbooks, newspapers, the books assigned to school kids.. Although I think being sensitive to the feelings of others is important, there are definitly times that some efforts to be "PC" seem absurd.

At what point does political correctness go too far?

[morriswindgate]

"Although I think being sensitive to the feelings of others is important"

PC is nothing more than an attempt to control people, and in this case plays on basic human to human interaction. Nobody wants to be rude to someone else and this is used by political groups to manipulate people. After all, if say group x took up arms wage war to take power we would all fight it. But instead they play on basic human emotion to forward there cause (which is usually to limit your rights and freedoms, while increasing their power and money). And this is what I talk about when I ask if you are a Parrot or a free thinker.

Environment, Smoking, Alcohol, Animal Rights, Gay Rights, Civil Rights Groups, Women's Rights Groups, Senior Rights Groups, and too many more to mention are constantly trying to take over this country and impose their ideas on those who do not belong to their group. And Political Correctness is used to, make people comfortable with the agenda (Brainwashing and re-education) and to blindly follow and promote the agenda. It has been used throughout history in one way or another, but most of the time it is used by want to be tyrants. Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler all used form of PC to gain power within their populations.
PC is not ridiculous, it is and has always been dangerous.

[fred]

Hi sabina_411,

Political correctness is an exaggeration, but it makes people take notice, which gets the message across. Okay, it is blatant, at times stupid, but it works. If it wasn’t blatant, perhaps no on would notice?
Look back to a time when women did the dishes and went "eek". Things have changed (albeit slowly). In the late 70’s there was a revolution and political correctness saw women welding and joining the army. They stopped showing miss world on prime time Tv too! At the time, it seemed absurd, forced and only in the name of "political correctness". Now it seems normal, everyday, and more to the point, not just politically correct, but plain correct.

[fred]

Do you own many guns, MW?
(I am worried!)


Ha ha! Just joking. :D

[morriswindgate]

Okay, we went from Miss World featuring Women in evening gowns and one piece bathing suits, with no talent other than walking in high heels ( which wasn't Politically correct as it showed Women as Objects) to MTV and Primetime TV which shows and portrays women as (Pardon the words) scantly dressed sex objects, foul mouthed bitches, and things to be used and abused by men. But I should not say that, because it is just artistic work by up till now oppressed groups, and it shows my lack of understanding for their views. GIMME A BREAK!

[fred]

I will give you a break.
I know what you mean. We can so easily be "modified" in what we think and accept as being normal. We are being manipulated. This time maybe in a good cause, but, then, perhaps only history will reflect what was right and wrong. At the time, many thought Hitler was right. It is an extreme example, but it is valid. And it is worth tinking about before we blindly accept the next item of "political correctness".

[morriswindgate]

Don't get me wrong Fred, PC items usually start out as well meaning, but then are taken over and use for other thing. A really good example is MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). When it started it's intention was to get repeat offenders off the road (at that time the average alcohol related auto accident with fatalities involved a driver with two or more previous convictions and to educate teenagers about the dangers of drinking and driving). They then evolved into a group, whose agenda has been described as total prohibition of alcohol, and this happened through an influx of activists and politicians into their ranks. One of the first things they did was to push for lower standards, even though the main problem was still the repeat offender with BAC above .18. This in turn meant that more people were subjected the law. Next, because of the influx of politicians and the desire for more and more money, enforcement was concentrated on the first time offender, who could afford to pay the fines.
As such when 10 year statistics were released last year, there was a reduction in first time arrests for driving and drinking, however accidents involving repeat offenders were virtually the same, and teenage drinking and driving had increased.
And this has happened all over the spectrum of PC.

[fred]

The problem tends to be that the people who are motivated to make change are nearly always extremists - a "normal" person would not pursue change with such vigour. It often takes an extremist to get things done, to force radical and fresh thinking, which is not always bad. Course, the problem with extremists is they are not always right and they ALWAYS go too far. Most of the time the public see sense and a reasonable line is drawn. Not always though, often the line is crossed before someone thinks to draw it!

[LawyerRon]

Sabina,
I don't think it's an effort to be Politically Correct at all. The networks have been trying to expand their sports audience for years to include women. This translates into more $$ for them if they pull it off. Whenever you see a move like this "follow the money". Networks don't make any move unless they belive it can make them money.

[Demosthenes]

The networks have been trying to expand their sports audience for years to include women.

I have to disagree with that; they have done no such thing. That is more of a recent development. At the end of the game, they always use to go into the locker room and talk to the players. Since their were naked men in the room, obviously, the networks refused to have a woman in there. This was their way of keeping women out of the sports arena. After all the movements, this stopped, and that is why you never see locker room shots anymore.

Respectfully,

Demosthenes

[doctorgonzo]

Morriswindgate, you seem to have a rather large axe to grind. Sure, some PC stuff is nonsense, but take a good look at some of the groups you listed. Many of them are not trying to take away people's rights as you claim. Instead, they are trying to ensure that everybody has the same rights. Seniors are discriminated against due to their age. It is legal to fire somebody because you don't agree with whom they are attracted to. Civil rights are still not equally applied to everybody, regardless of race. As for the woman sportscaster thing, it is just about the money. Women like sports too. It's not some huge conspiracy.

[LawyerRon]

Demosthenes,
So is it your position that the networks are not trying to expand their female audience?

[Gintaras]

Originally posted by fred
We can so easily be "modified" in what we think and accept as being normal

If you allow your self :)

We are being manipulated

I wouldn't use "WE" since not ALL are being manipulated :)
I'd prefer to be "black sheep of the family" than allow myself to be manipulated :)

There were something about MONEY.
Who's "manage" what:
People manage money, or money manage people?]

[Pythagorean]

Originally posted by LawyerRon
Sabina,
I don't think it's an effort to be Politically Correct at all. The networks have been trying to expand their sports audience for years to include women. This translates into more $$ for them if they pull it off. Whenever you see a move like this "follow the money". Networks don't make any move unless they belive it can make them money.

I must not been clear enough in my opening. I agree with your point above, that move is motivated mostly by money not PC. I was merely saying it made me _think_ about how much political correctness there is out there, not that this is necessarily the best example of it. A better example is how every commercial nowdays has 1 oriental, one black person, one woman and one old person in it. I mean its so obvious and deliberate, it drives me nuts.

[LawyerRon]

"A better example is how every commercial nowdays has 1 oriental, one black person, one woman and one old person in it."

That I agree with.

[Pythagorean]

Commercials are made to skew the public's perception in favor of a company or product. So really, using minorities to do this, is probably no worse than any of the other images or messages companies bombard us with. But why does this annoy me more? Maybe it has something to do with the underlying message I garner from it....Look everybody, our happy bank services black people too!! I mean, gee, how magnanimous of them! (that was sarcasm, if you couldnt tell) or fast food commercials...you know I feel better about eating hamburgers knowing Burger King prefers to hire folks from diverse backgrounds..

Am I just looking at this too cynically? What's the message i'm _supposed_ to get from this type of commercial?

[glc]

Heh - I don't care WHO Burger King hires - as long as they understand and speak English and give me what I ordered, not something else!

[doctorgonzo]

I think the message you are supposed to get from those commercials is "Hey, the U.S. has more than old white males here!" It just makes sense to make commercials that reflect the actual population. And statistically, if you take a random group of Americans, it is very unlikely that the group will entirely consist of white people. I don't know that every commercial has a set formula; frankly, I don't care to look that closely. However, making such a big deal about it seems to be tilting at windmills to me.

[Reedimus]

I think being PC is a bit silly, but I really don't mind it that much. personally, I interpret a lot of the extreme sensitivity as a sign of weakness. I think a lot of these people have self esteem and confidence issues. why else would you care so much about the exact words other people choose to describe you and your cicumstances? from the perspective as seeing extremely sensitive people as needy, I don't mind using PC words, much as I don't mind helping an old lady across the street.

[alan]

Political Correctness to me is a bunch of hogwash. There is a difference between respect and inclusion. What you really want is respect. Just to be included is not the best solution.
With regards to the sports questions and female reporters... do you think a female reporter will bring more women to the sport? I think not. Basic rule of marketing is to make your product irresistable. If women are not interested in watching sweaty men tackle each other than there is nothing you can do to change it. It is the sport itself that give women little interest. You need to make football THE sport to watch. The WNBA is a dismal failure.As highly talented as the women basketball players, they pale compared to the men. Thus there is no attraction to watch a league that features less talent.
Carrying it on to a different perspective... opportunities for women to become sportscasters, the same rule applies. Basic rule of marketing is to make your product irresistable. In this case it is the TV personality. If there was some woman as knowledgeable as John Madden with the his crazy electronic pen then it wouldn't matter. The point being that SHE is the RIGHT person for the analyst job. Merely putting a woman there to have a woman is BS.
As for commercials, if you make a irresistable, superior product you don't need to include a profile of the population. Focus on the product and the brand, the people of all colors will come to you.
My $0.02 worth from the soap box.
To me this means the same for all other areas. I am a minority and I resent the fact that many large contract like construction have diversity clauses to include XX% of minority contractors. I want to know I am there because I was the first company that popped into the delevoper's mind because I am the right person and that I am indispensible for the job. I want to know I am on the job because I earned the respect of my colleagues and not a statistic of diversity inclusion

[doctorgonzo]

I agree that things can go too far, and one example is when unqualified people advance due to some aspect of themselves that they cannot change (skin color, sex, etc.) However, that doesn't seem to be the case here in this discussion. Do you really know that the people in the commercial are unqualified? Do you know that the women sportscasters are unqualified? The local news that I watch has a female sportscaster, and she does her job as well as the males. The female sportscaster on MNF does as well as anybody else. You may have a grudge if an incompetent person got their position due to being a minority, but I really haven't heard that here.

[SARGE]

They can sportscast all they want, but I still flinch when I see a female cop. Now, we've all know a gal who could kick just about anyone around, but I can't imagine one breaking up a fight in a bar. Yeah, if they can handle the job, give it to 'em. And the military, well, I want someone in my son's foxhole who can handle anything, including carrying him to safety if wounded. I have no preferences on gender, but when life/death is encountered, pc goes out the window in my book. I've encountered the physical aspects on my own job. Seems one of the "guys" was called daily to carry a ladder or lift something for the other. Same pay, same job description, different standards. Nada

[Pythagorean]

Originally posted by doctorgonzo
I don't care to look that closely. However, making such a big deal about it seems to be tilting at windmills to me.

You're right, its just a petty annoyance. Which reminds me of a good read: To anyone interested in reading a very funny book about common but meaningless annoyances (including advertisements, Oprah, Disney and others..) pick up The Alphabet of Modern Annoyances by Neil Seinberg. Very amusing.