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roydotor2000
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roydotor2000
340 posts
Nomad

What do you think about PC culture? Should be it the norm or should it be condemned?

(For me, I rather hear bad than "ungood".)

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HahiHa
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HahiHa
8,259 posts
Regent

What do you mean by PC culture and by norm?

If it is simply the use of computers you mean, our society just cannot do without computers anymore. We rely on them heavily. The big advantage is that we can do a lot of things a lot faster thanks to computers.

There are also drawbacks to that. There are health issues, due to the artificial light and the sitting position. There is the vulnerability of various systems to a general breakdown of electronics.

But I think the advantages of computers are just too big, for society and research, to condemn them. We simply need to learn how to avoid the negative effects and establish emergency plans to be able to cope with a worst case scenario.

Ishtaron
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Ishtaron
359 posts
Blacksmith

@HahiHa I believe he's talking about political correctness. Things like referring to races by &quotreferred terms" that change every couple of years and don't always make sense. Although I'm pretty sure "PC culture" is already on its way out. A lot fewer people are advocating it and it's not nearly as commonly used. Even the terms are changing less often with fewer people using them.

FishPreferred
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FishPreferred
3,171 posts
Duke

To quote what I said in another article on this topic:

As terms continue to be deemed inappropriate by the "Politically correct", otherwise neutral words continue to be reduced to vulgar insults and the underlying issues are never addressed. "Political correctness" exists, not to promote equality, but to maintain a pretence of it.
HahiHa
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HahiHa
8,259 posts
Regent

I believe he's talking about political correctness.

I blame the minimalistic title and OP. I would also blame the use of an ambiguous abbreviation, but I probably have been a victim of language differences on that point.
.
As for political correctness, it really depends on what is reasonable and what is not. Nowadays we are all politically correct to a certain degree, we are simply not used to/aware of the kind of vocabulary that was used by previous generations up to that of our grand-fathers, more or less. I would not support the "reducing of otherwise neutral words to vulgar insults" (and I don't know whether this belongs to political correctness or not, but changing 'cleaning lady' to 'surface technician' is ridiculous), but I don't think political correctness has only always been about otherwise neutral words.

Things like referring to races by "preferred terms" that change every couple of years and don't always make sense. Although I'm pretty sure "PC culture" is already on its way out. A lot fewer people are advocating it and it's not nearly as commonly used. Even the terms are changing less often with fewer people using them.

How can it be "on its way out" if it is just a changing expression of the current times? What is more, and that is not necessarily directed to you, I think it makes no sense to call political correctness a "culture". Maybe I am just misinterpreting what is meant by culture in the context, but isn't it simply a societal phenomenon that is, in its origins, based on mutual respect?
FishPreferred
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FishPreferred
3,171 posts
Duke

[...] but I don't think political correctness has only always been about otherwise neutral words.
The majority of them are neutral words. They've just been abducted by the euphamism treadmill.
Ishtaron
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Ishtaron
359 posts
Blacksmith

How can it be "on its way out" if it is just a changing expression of the current times? What is more, and that is not necessarily directed to you, I think it makes no sense to call political correctness a "culture". Maybe I am just misinterpreting what is meant by culture in the context, but isn't it simply a societal phenomenon that is, in its origins, based on mutual respect?

If I remember correctly you're not from the US, which explains why you'd say this. There was a time in recent history when it was taboo to use the word "black" in the US. The culture that advocated political correctness weren't trying to modernize the world, they were trying to forbid words that they had deemed offensive even if that meant telling people not to use a common word.

Thrillology
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Thrillology
78 posts
Shepherd

I think political correctness adds labels that divide people. For example, if you have brown skin, you're not American, you're African-American. If you have wide eyes (like me and relatives), then you are not American, you are Asian-American. It's racist, too, to do that, it and dehumanizes people.
These "hyphen labels" imbed this thing into people's minds that say, "You're not a human, you're a x-y."

So, there's the racial perspective of it. It's racist and dehumanizing.

Zophia
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Zophia
9,435 posts
Scribe

To summarize my stance: Taking established slurs out of common use is a good thing, because slurs are awful and unnecessary.

It can be overdone, much like most other political things can, but it is not inherently a bad thing.

danielo
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danielo
1,773 posts
Peasant

The thing that make me furios is the sentence "we became weaklings/its just words". The peoples who say that are mostly (if not only) the ones who dosent get called by insulting names or claimed by offensive stereotypes.
Call someone 'a ******' is acceptble to these peoples, claiming that jews control the world "is an opinion", calling a kid with a disability "a retard" is "just a word" - But just tell them "PC gaming master race" and they will begin to cry like babies. Tell them "Man and womans are equal" and they will yell "But i AM a manly man!". Call for equality without "races", they will cry and cry how "the blacks and the jews and the womens" Steal der jubs and "hurt ma' heritege".

Racism should not be an acceptble thing in our society. Sure some times its annoying and in the road to sucsess many times a problme is just covered to avoid using terms as "terrorists" or "high crime rates", but in the long run its neccesery in the western world, wher racism is still very very high.

roydotor2000
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roydotor2000
340 posts
Nomad

but it is not inherently a bad thing.

Neither is it good.

Karasaar
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Karasaar
163 posts
Constable

I don't really understand what "PC culture" has to do with political correctness and neither do I understand what the purpose of this thread is. Nor do I understand what you even mean when referring to the term "PC culture". Is the culture of computer programmers? Those who play PC games? People who use PC's in their daily lives?

Ishtaron
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Ishtaron
359 posts
Blacksmith

I don't really understand what "PC culture" has to do with political correctness and neither do I understand what the purpose of this thread is. Nor do I understand what you even mean when referring to the term "PC culture". Is the culture of computer programmers? Those who play PC games? People who use PC's in their daily lives?

Is this a joke or are you just being willfully ignorant of everything other than the first post?

Karasaar
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Karasaar
163 posts
Constable

Is this a joke or are you just being willfully ignorant of everything other than the first post?

Nevermind I'm stupid. I just realised what PC stands for. I seriously believed he ment "Personal Computer"

samiel
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samiel
421 posts
Shepherd

So I wrote a long speech about the subject matter but couldn't post it (Don't ask) So I'll just say this. I don't care about racism or intolerance or any of that, I just prefer to maintain the integrity of the English language. I will not refer to anyone as African American unless they are in fact from Africa. I will not refer to anyone as queer unless they are in fact strange by my standards. In conclusion, stop using words in ways that make them lose their meaning, stop offending people with rude or insulting terms.

roydotor2000
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roydotor2000
340 posts
Nomad

stop offending people with rude or insulting terms.

Umm, offense is taken, never taken.
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