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Political Correctness and Bigotry
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ibsh...@gmail.com
May 10, 2013, 4:00:42 AM5/10/13
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The word "bigot" gets thrown around all the time in politics, and in many cases it is wrongly placed. I got accused of being a bigot when I suggested that peaceful Muslim-Americans should report those Muslim-Americans who intend terrorist action. This is not bigotry, it is reason. The Muslim-American communities are tight-knit, and people there are in a position to know who is planning what action. So getting them to report the terrorists is simple common sense.
I, for one, am as far from being a bigot as anyone can be. Many of my best friends are black or Hindu, and I am myself a Russian-Jewish immigrant. If I can be accused of being a bigot, then what hope is there for anyone else?
Cultures differ, and practices in them differ. If something exists at a higher rate of chance, then there are going to be reasons for it, even if those are not the reasons that you expect. Most stereotypes have their roots in reality, even when those roots differ from one's expectations. Understanding this is not bigotry, it is reason.
For a long time, African nations were doing poorly; and some people believed the reason to be the supposed black people's inferiority. The real reason was that they were new to self-government, and most of their governments - and constituents - did not know what they were doing. Now that they've had some experience in self-governance, many African countries are improving; and I expect them to continue improving the more they gain in political experience.
According to some, it is bigotry to suggest that there is a reason for this; indeed according to some it is bigotry to even notice such things. I got the news for these people. Not being a bigot means seeing things as they are. And another thing it means is applying to everyone the same standard of accountability. This is as much the case for Muslims as it is the case for white Christian Americans. If a population supports terrorists, then that's the fault of the population. And if this population really wants to live in peace, then it will stop those among them who intend war on the country in which they live.
Saying something negative about a population is not bigotry when what one says is true and is not presented in a vicious manner. Enough negative things are said about regular white American people that it's only a matter of fairness to extend a similar scrutiny to other populations. That, once again, is not bigotry; it is equality. It's OK to scrutinize one population, it's OK to scrutinize them all.
Ultimately the approach of political correctness is such as to prevent real solutions from being accomplished. You aren't allowed to say anything that can offend anyone, you aren't allowed to say anything controversial, you aren't allowed to say anything worthwhile. The minorities do not benefit from this approach at all. They don't know where they are doing wrong, they don't know how to correct it. And that keeps these people from solving their problems and maintains them in a negative place that they should be able to know to overcome.
Most people, of any race, prefer being treated as adults rather than as children. And adults very much do want to know where they're taking a mistaken approach and what they can do to make better choices. Political correctness treats people as children, and that does not benefit the minority populations. Instead it suffocates these populations and keeps them from improving and growing.
The recent booms in China, India and Africa have shown that the non-white people can solve their problems as well as can the white people. This is not due to political correctness; this is due to better ideas and better practices. What we hear from Africa these days is that they want "a hand up, not a hand out." Inferior, lazy or unethical people would not be saying such things, and black people doing so makes a very strong case against the white racism. They did not get to that point by saying that anyone who criticizes them is a racist. They got to this point by listening to valid criticism and figuring out a better path.
If it's OK to criticize white Americans, it is OK to criticize anyone else. Doing so is not bigotry, it is fairness and it is reason. And when valid criticisms are made, the population can improve, which is one of the better things that can be done for the population.
This is the case with Muslims; this is the case with black people; this is the case with everyone.
I, for one, am as far from being a bigot as anyone can be. Many of my best friends are black or Hindu, and I am myself a Russian-Jewish immigrant. If I can be accused of being a bigot, then what hope is there for anyone else?
Cultures differ, and practices in them differ. If something exists at a higher rate of chance, then there are going to be reasons for it, even if those are not the reasons that you expect. Most stereotypes have their roots in reality, even when those roots differ from one's expectations. Understanding this is not bigotry, it is reason.
For a long time, African nations were doing poorly; and some people believed the reason to be the supposed black people's inferiority. The real reason was that they were new to self-government, and most of their governments - and constituents - did not know what they were doing. Now that they've had some experience in self-governance, many African countries are improving; and I expect them to continue improving the more they gain in political experience.
According to some, it is bigotry to suggest that there is a reason for this; indeed according to some it is bigotry to even notice such things. I got the news for these people. Not being a bigot means seeing things as they are. And another thing it means is applying to everyone the same standard of accountability. This is as much the case for Muslims as it is the case for white Christian Americans. If a population supports terrorists, then that's the fault of the population. And if this population really wants to live in peace, then it will stop those among them who intend war on the country in which they live.
Saying something negative about a population is not bigotry when what one says is true and is not presented in a vicious manner. Enough negative things are said about regular white American people that it's only a matter of fairness to extend a similar scrutiny to other populations. That, once again, is not bigotry; it is equality. It's OK to scrutinize one population, it's OK to scrutinize them all.
Ultimately the approach of political correctness is such as to prevent real solutions from being accomplished. You aren't allowed to say anything that can offend anyone, you aren't allowed to say anything controversial, you aren't allowed to say anything worthwhile. The minorities do not benefit from this approach at all. They don't know where they are doing wrong, they don't know how to correct it. And that keeps these people from solving their problems and maintains them in a negative place that they should be able to know to overcome.
Most people, of any race, prefer being treated as adults rather than as children. And adults very much do want to know where they're taking a mistaken approach and what they can do to make better choices. Political correctness treats people as children, and that does not benefit the minority populations. Instead it suffocates these populations and keeps them from improving and growing.
The recent booms in China, India and Africa have shown that the non-white people can solve their problems as well as can the white people. This is not due to political correctness; this is due to better ideas and better practices. What we hear from Africa these days is that they want "a hand up, not a hand out." Inferior, lazy or unethical people would not be saying such things, and black people doing so makes a very strong case against the white racism. They did not get to that point by saying that anyone who criticizes them is a racist. They got to this point by listening to valid criticism and figuring out a better path.
If it's OK to criticize white Americans, it is OK to criticize anyone else. Doing so is not bigotry, it is fairness and it is reason. And when valid criticisms are made, the population can improve, which is one of the better things that can be done for the population.
This is the case with Muslims; this is the case with black people; this is the case with everyone.
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