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"I am absolutely opposed to political correctness. You cannot confront hate speech until you've experienced it. You need to hear every side of the issue instead of just one."
-Jane Elliott
-Jane Elliott
Political correctness is this funny thing that I don’t really understand.
You see, I was raised in a Russian-Jewish home. And in such a home, the Dr. Seussian (PhD?) parable of ‘say what you mean and mean what you say’ lives on the far end of that spectrum in which any remark - no matter how caustic, derogatory, or crude - is permissible.
Permissable, but simultaneously debatable. Say what you will, but you better be ready to back it up. Arguments may start half-baked and crude, but it is your job to...
a) dig deep to understand the reason behind what you say and
b) LISTEN to what the other argument is. Especially if you disagree with it.
It is thing b that is missing from most conversations these days. People seem to dismiss labels, not arguments. We blanket groups by demographic, not by opinion. And, worst of all, we judge as soon as we think we know what someone will say, without waiting for them to say it.
Republicans are insensitive. Democrats are naive. This race is deserving. That race is opportunistic. Tall people deserve higher salaries. Short people got little hands, and little eyes, and they walk around, tellin' great big lies...
The most dangerous aspect is that most of our friends agree with us. So if we make an argument and are judged before we are really heard, we will be judged well and agreed with. Contradictions are dangerous and undesired, so they are rarely offered.
Learning only happens under pressure, but echoes can exist in a cave. So find some pressure.
You see, I was raised in a Russian-Jewish home. And in such a home, the Dr. Seussian (PhD?) parable of ‘say what you mean and mean what you say’ lives on the far end of that spectrum in which any remark - no matter how caustic, derogatory, or crude - is permissible.
Permissable, but simultaneously debatable. Say what you will, but you better be ready to back it up. Arguments may start half-baked and crude, but it is your job to...
a) dig deep to understand the reason behind what you say and
b) LISTEN to what the other argument is. Especially if you disagree with it.
It is thing b that is missing from most conversations these days. People seem to dismiss labels, not arguments. We blanket groups by demographic, not by opinion. And, worst of all, we judge as soon as we think we know what someone will say, without waiting for them to say it.
Republicans are insensitive. Democrats are naive. This race is deserving. That race is opportunistic. Tall people deserve higher salaries. Short people got little hands, and little eyes, and they walk around, tellin' great big lies...
The most dangerous aspect is that most of our friends agree with us. So if we make an argument and are judged before we are really heard, we will be judged well and agreed with. Contradictions are dangerous and undesired, so they are rarely offered.
Learning only happens under pressure, but echoes can exist in a cave. So find some pressure.
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