“Insanity- When being PC is more important than living.”
Life is too short to be offended. I'm not saying we
should not be politically correct, what I am saying is that we shouldn't let it
run our lives. Our generation has become so worried about accidentally stepping
on peoples' toes and hurting others' feelings, that they don't say what they
mean. We have the word "sorry" for a reason. For example, (to keep
things in the holiday spirit), people are saying “Happy Holidays” because they
are worried about offending those who don’t celebrate Christmas. That’s all fine
and dandy, but I’m sorry if someone
“slips up” and says “Merry Christmas.” They shouldn’t get their head ripped
off, even figuratively. By doing that to the person who has wished you a Merry
Christmas, doesn’t that come off as politically incorrect? Or insensitive? I
understand saying in reply: “Thank you, and Happy Hanukkah!” I feel like
wishing someone Merry Christmas is just a nice way of wishing them a good
holiday and that it was nice of them to even say something in the first place.
Whether the person they say it to celebrates that holiday or not. How are they going to know if it’s a perfect stranger?
Same thing goes with calling a Christmas tree a “Holiday tree.” Come on…
Really? Do I even need to comment on that one?
Another thing that I find quite annoying, that goes
along with being PC is the word tolerance... I cannot stress enough how much I
loathe that word. It just sounds so negative, and almost as if it is a chore to
be around whatever it is that you're "tolerating." It literally means
to "put up with." I don't want someone to just simply "put up
with" me; I'd rather someone be straightforward with me about how their
feeling. The word seems almost passive-aggressive. Not only that but it seems
as if it has become a term of repression instead of a term of respect and
self-discipline. It actually suppresses honest conversation, which is another
thing I can't stand... But that's just me.
Coming from a more comedic stand point: all humans,
in one way or another, are ridiculous and quirky (hey-oh recall!) And one thing
that I've learned is that comedy is holding a magnifying glass to life, and
showing through these exaggerations how we truly are. And we LAUGH at it,
because it's TRUE! The problem with PC is that it requires us to be
hyper-vigilant and take ourselves too seriously. It's more fun to embrace our
imperfections and stupidity, and laugh a little. I get that these poignant
exaggerations go hand-in-hand with stereotypes. Stereotypes are generalizations
that we, humans, make all the time. Generalizations by definition don’t
precisely comment on someone as an individual. But they exist for a reason, and
reflect a truism. For example, I always tell my friends that I sure can make a
mean sandwich like a good woman should. Or that I’m pretty smart for a blonde.
Actually, our brains are
wired to stereotype; we have a need for context, pattern, and habits of thought
so we can function and problem solve more efficiently. These “habits” provide a
comforting structure that allows us to feel in control and stable. Without this
structure we can feel anxious, uncomfortable, or even downright terrified.
Stereotyping is just how our brain uses habits. We form stereotypes based on
judgments and experiences that we then translate into standards or familiar
contexts. These contexts allow us to make judgments or decisions faster in
similar situations. While this is helpful, stereotyping may lead to bad or even
dangerous consequences. For example, research shows that most doctors form
their diagnosis of a patient within the first ten seconds of seeing them. The
diagnosis is arrived at by observing the present data then seeing patterns and
making connections to everything the doctor has learned through training and
practice. This stereotyping is useful; it helps the doctor solve problems in an
informed and efficient manner. However, what if the doctor is wrong? What if
his first diagnosis or assumptions about the patient’s problem are incorrect?
Without recognizing the possibility of being wrong, the patient could receive a
treatment that is not needed or is dangerous. While our brains develop contexts
so that we can solve problems faster, we also generally assume our stereotypes
or judgments are right. To bring this to a more day-to-day situation, assuming
we’re not all medical doctors,
someone could say “aw, you have a China doll face” to an Asian woman. This
person isn’t trying to be offensive, what they meant to say is that this woman
is beautiful, although it came off as somewhat inept. Or another person could
say, “for a fat girl, you’re quite agile.” Then it’s up to the person receiving
the compliment, as backhanded as it is, to realize that this person saw
something graceful in them and they can choose to let the “fat girl” bit go or not.
Just remember, we all have
a biased lens. While there are similarities between experiences and situations,
not all are exactly the same. As individuals we do not see the same situation
or experience identically. We only have our past experiences and things we have
learned to base our assumptions on. Therefore, we need to be careful, and be
open to the possibility that our assumptions, judgments, or contexts may be
wrong. We also need to keep in mind that we make stereotypes as an instinct and
to accuse someone of being politically incorrect all the time is unfair,
because that person’s experiences have shown them otherwise.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
