PC
Tom Chapin
>From what I see "politically correct" has no absolute meaning. I first
>heard the term used about 6 years ago in conjunction with feminism.
A:
>Perhaps at one time it was associated with somebody's agenda but now
>it seems to refer to the other guy's agenda whatever that may be.
B:
>These days it is most often used to ridicule another person's views
>by implying that he is following a trendy fad and not thinking for
>himself.
It was originally used as a derisive term for those whose political
liberalism was so dogmatic that they lost sight of, and were in
danger of destroying, the spirit of the movement. Rather close to
the sense of "B" above.
The "A" meaning was brought into being by the George Herbert Walker
Bush Disinformation Machine, which has been doing everything it can
to defuse the power of the catch-phrases of its opponents, by using
the same catch-phrases whenever it can in anomolous contexts. So,
"PC" was used by him to mean anyone with any political power who
didn't follow his program.
Many other attempts by them to co-opt slogans can be seen, such as
the attempt to co-opt "October Surprise" (Republicans accused of
committing treason by negotiating with Iranians to persuade them to
keep their American hostages captive until after the Republicans won
the election) by using the phrase to describe Anita Hill's
accusations against Judge Thomas. Actually seems like an ingenious
ploy. Gotta give em credit for craftiness there.
--
tom chapin t...@hrccb.att.com