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It is, predominantly, fun. It wasn't always that way, but it is now.
There seems to be no limit to it, this delight. Vistas are constantly
opening up. Older generations would have a hard time understanding this,
because of various psychological hang-ups, such as the Protestant Work Ethic
and Freud. But we don't think about the past, not any more.
- Thomas Disch
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- Tim Bessie
{ucbvax,dual}!unisoft!tim
A "politically correct" belief is one that you must claim to believe in
order to win the approval of other members of your political peer
group. For example, if you are a "conservative", you have to believe
that the Star Wars defense is technically feasible, otherwise other
"conservatives" will avoid you and stop inviting you to parties.
"Political correctness" is a judgement of the morality of holding a
given belief. It has no relation to truth value.
--
David Canzi "Adequacy -- is it enough?"
I first heard it as "PC", which confused me to no end for a time.
The "political" in "politically correct" is not a subjective kind of
political. It refers to a context (for those whom I heard it from,
the context was women organizing) in which a strategy has been laid
out, and it's clear how people who want their politics to succeed
ought to behave. That is, a politically correct move is one which
furthers a political goal in an effective way.
"Politically correct" also tends to refer to questions of immediate
statements, or personal style, rather than to group strategy. That
is, it refers to how individuals should act as representatives of
a broader movement which has them as an active part of it. Some
people associate it with being willing to "put your body on the
line" and things like that.
One subtlety: acting AS IF one is politically correct is often not
BEING politically correct. Sometimes people bring resentment and anger
down on themselves and the cause(s) they think they represent, by acting
as if their politics are better than the politics of those they are
supposed to be trying to convert or persuade. Contrary to some points
of view, it is possible to be politically correct, shut up, and listen
at the same time.
According to books I read and people I know, many in white progressive
movements, both on the left and among women, made this error in trying
to incorporate women, gays, and nonwhites into their organizations or
activities in the '70s. They talked about fellowship and solidarity,
but they practiced elitism and interpersonal one-upsmanship. They
didn't care to learn about historical, ethnic, class, or sexual differences.
And so forth. That is, they gave political correctness a bad name and
almost drove it into the mud.
Around Berkeley, perhaps this didn't happen, since there are still many
"politically correct" buttons around. The term hasn't become pejorative
there as it has in New York City. In NYC and New England, "politically
correct" is mostly used as a joke or with an albatross of qualifications
surrounding it. If used seriously, it can imply political alignment
with a specific feminist, solidarity, or left organization or party.
Tony Wuersch
{amd,amdcad}!cae780!ubvax!tonyw
"And if you don't believe all the things I say,
I'm certified prime by the USDA!"
I think you'll find there's often some intended irony in the
use of the phrase. Consider: in a totalitarian state, "politically correct"
makes perfect sense. It means you support the policies of the state.
By extension, "politically correct", in a free society, implies having
the political opinions you "ought" to have, according to the related
affiliations you have. Thus, supporting price supports to farmers is
politically correct for farmers; supporting the ERA is politically correct
for feminists.
The irony comes from the implication that one's "politically
correct" opinions result from a desire to conform, rather than a well-
reasoned appraisal. For example, if I said Ms. X was in favor of
comparable worth legislation because it was "politically correct", I
would be implying that she supported it because she thought it was the
proper feminist position, and not because she had considered the issue
on its own merits. The above is, of course, only one example, and is
not meant to single out feminists.
Any other opinions?
- From the Crow's Nest - Kenn Barry
NASA-Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, CA
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USENET: {ihnp4,vortex,dual,nsc,hao,hplabs}!ames!barry
-- Mitch Marks @ UChicago
...ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!mmar
What is "politically correct" is what the person making
the value judgement agrees with. Like all value judgements,
it is useful not to forget that there are no concrete standards
of correctness for politics.
--
scc!steiny
Don Steiny @ Don Steiny Software
109 Torrey Pine Terrace
Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060
"Politically correct" is something that you feel pressure to be when you
walk into the office where you do petroleum geology during the summer
to find a petition which has been signed by all your supervisors, and
which supports James D. Watt as Secretary of the Interior.
"Politically correct" is what you hope to appear as being when your boss
starts ranting about how great the Republican Party is, and how he's
going to contribute to Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign, and all
you can muster in reply is an hypocritical smile and the words "I can
see how you might feel that way", or "Good for you, I'm glad you're doing
something you believe in".
"Politically correct" is something that everybody will assume that you
already are if you wear your hair a certain way, and wear certain clothes--
and that everybody will assume that you are not if you wear your hair
a certain other way, and wear certain other clothes.
"Politically correct" is what you are when you're so smart you can actually
figure out how to speak and think and act like everybody else you know.
that Cheryl Stewart again
--
Every time I hear/read that expression I take it as an ironic reference
to "in" ideas. It's used by people who agree with those ideas and by
people who don't--it's self-deprecating in the first case, sarcastic in the
second.
--
Richard Mateosian
{cbosgd,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!srm nsc!s...@decwrl.ARPA