[WikiEN-l] Primer on PC (for Ed) (was: Re: Relativism and PC)

[Viajero]

On 02/12/04  at 12:33 PM, "Poor, Edmund W" <Edmund.W.Poor at abc.com> said:

>  Liberals mostly deny that PC even exists, so it might be tricky

Whoa, let's get a few things straight. "Political correctness" evolved in
the 1960s among progressive-minded people who sought culturally more
sensitive labels for people, ie "Afro-Americans" instead of "negroes",
"Native Americans" instead of "Indians", "disabled" instead of "crippled"
or "handicapped", and a bunch more. 

No sensible person can argue that this a bad idea. In civilized circles,
this thought of as PROGRESS.

Now in the 1980s and 90s, when the Left splintered into identity politics,
US conservatives complained "political correctness" went too far; they
claimed that leftists had become obsessed with creating euphemisms for
avoiding uncomfortable realities. Maybe conservatives have/had a point,
maybe not. Whether or not you agree with "political correctness" is up to
you. However, if you don't, it implies you would prefer to refer to Blacks
as "negroes" or "colored people" again.


V.