Is PC a euphemism for 'nice?' | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Is PC a euphemism for 'nice?'

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easy_tiger

Guest
When i got reborned in a cyber sense, I swore I'd never even look at the RRP board.

Oh well.

It occurred to me that being PC, is generally just being a nice person and that taking an anti PC stance is generally condoning being nasty.

To take it a step further, its not hard to mount a case that those who publicly ridicule PC, take Jeff Kennett's latest McGuire et al defence as an example, have a nasty streak.

To take it a further step, the oft made link between PC and the death of humour, is a polarising straw-woman isnt it?

discuss. without being nasty. (gulps) :theyareontome
 
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Baloo

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Nov 8, 2005
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PC isn't just about nice and nasty. In some cases it's fighting ingrained ignorance. i.e. How was I to know that "Paki" is considered an offensive term to British Indians. I wasn't being nasty, I just had no idea/ignorant of how that word was received.

Some PC is overboard. Happy Holidays, banning christmas carols and nativity scenes is way over the top and detrimental to social harmony. But some of the reasons PC is widespread is because it needed to be.
 

TigerForce

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Apr 26, 2004
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Baloo said:
PC isn't just about nice and nasty. In some cases it's fighting ingrained ignorance. i.e. How was I to know that "Paki" is considered an offensive term to British Indians. I wasn't being nasty, I just had no idea/ignorant of how that word was received.

Some PC is overboard. Happy Holidays, banning christmas carols and nativity scenes is way over the top and detrimental to social harmony. But some of the reasons PC is widespread is because it needed to be.

Same here. I wonder who makes the official decision and law to make it that and at what date. We need to keep up to date before we end up in jail or dead.
 

Baloo

Delisted Free Agent
Nov 8, 2005
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TigerForce said:
Same here. I wonder who makes the official decision and law to make it that and at what date. We need to keep up to date before we end up in jail or dead.

Doesn't need to be a law or broadcast. Just need to be more aware of what we're saying.
 

TigerForce

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Apr 26, 2004
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Baloo said:
Doesn't need to be a law or broadcast. Just need to be more aware of what we're saying.

But comes across like it is law. We need updates. :hihi
 

Coburgtiger

Tiger Champion
May 7, 2012
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easy said:
When i got reborned in a cyber sense, I swore I'd never even look at the RRP board.

Oh well.

It occurred to me that being PC, is generally just being a nice person and that taking an anti PC stance is generally condoning being nasty.

To take it a step further, its not hard to mount a case that those who publicly ridicule PC, take Jeff Kennett's latest McGuire et al defence as an example, have a nasty streak.

To take it a further step, the oft made link between PC and the death of humour, is a polarising straw-woman isnt it?

discuss. without being nasty. (gulps) :theyareontome

Political correctness is used to describe the idea that language or actions need to be modulated to be in line with objectively correct values or ideals regardless of context. So language and actions become a tug of war between meaning, context, interpretation and intention. Whether or not PC is valuable or frustrating depends entirely on the audience.

If you're conducting yourself in front of a wide audience, PC is paramount, because interpretation wins the battle here. With increasing size of audience, there is an increasing variety of interpretation. Each interpretation causes a response, some more emotive and with more impact than others. If we accept that our actions and comments can have negative impacts, and we accept that it is inherently not okay to propagate negativity/distress/pain then we should all accept that conducting yourself with political correctness is vital when it comes to reaching a wide and varied audience.

If the audience is small, but unknown, then the above applies.

If the audience is small, and known, the PC is completely useless. Context, meaning and intention win the battle here. I'm not afraid of calling my good friends a variety of names I wouldn't repeat at work, because they understand the context, they know my intention, and we share the meaning. To bring it back to your point, I'm generally not very nice to my friends. And that's okay. Because we understand each other. And we live in good humour.

Humour doesn't need to be in contradiction to PC, but if it does fall in opposition, then it needs to be well seated in context, meaning and intention. Which is impossible when dealing with an unknown or expansive audience.

The grey area here falls in whether comments or actions which are inherently not politically correct can be separated from prejudice and bigotry. It seems that most non PC comments are prejudiced in some way. But I think there is some middle ground where Political correctness ends, but before bigotry starts. Anyone who's played Cards Against Humanity with a group of good friends probably agrees.
 
E

easy_tiger

Guest
extraordinary response CT. :clap

have you got a Phd in language or somethin'?
 

Ian4

BIN MAN!
May 6, 2004
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Baloo said:
Some PC is overboard. Happy Holidays, banning christmas carols and nativity scenes is way over the top and detrimental to social harmony. But some of the reasons PC is widespread is because it needed to be.

that's subjective mate. as an atheist, I am not against banning some of this stuff. but the reasons my local councils provides to justify it (ie. not to offend the Muslim community) is what I find offensive :hihi
 

tigersnake

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Sep 10, 2003
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Baloo said:
Some PC is overboard. Happy Holidays, banning christmas carols and nativity scenes is way over the top and detrimental to social harmony. But some of the reasons PC is widespread is because it needed to be.

Its true, but I think a lot of the controversyies over 'PC gone mad' is just because someone somewhere, ie a bureaucrat, has made a poor decision, jumped at shadows. It happens, humans make mistakes, PC people, right wingers, moderates, everyone makes mistakes. 50 councils did nothing on nativity scenes, (I have no idea of numbers), but the one council that did, mate, Murdoch and Bolt etc are all over that like a rash. They love it, eat it up. They would have a journo on 'PC Gone mad' watch. Outraged headlines all over the shop. No context is provided and its presented as if its the norm when it isn't.

When you drill down into most 'PC gone mad' controversies they aren't the big outrage to conservative people that they are made out to be.

PC is mostly about being respectful and nice to other people.

Good post by Coburg too.
 

Giardiasis

Tiger Legend
Apr 20, 2009
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Charlton Heston — 'Political correctness is tyranny with manners.'

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/05/murray-n-rothbard/never-say-jap/
 

tigersnake

Tear 'em apart
Sep 10, 2003
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Giardiasis said:
Charlton Heston — 'Political correctness is tyranny with manners.'

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/05/murray-n-rothbard/never-say-jap/

Well is Charlton said so I guess thats it. The tyranny of being expected to be nice, a lot of people don't like it. Especially rich, white, male people for some reason.
 

LeeToRainesToRoach

Tiger Legend
Jun 4, 2006
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Melbourne
tigersnake said:
Especially rich, white, male people for some reason.

That's another angle to it. PC's become a cold war against people from that demographic, particularly the latter two. Like a New Age take on flower power.

We white males are all like McGuire. Just behave or we'll drown you.

"Privilege" is another dirty word ascribed to that group. "You privileged white male, you."
 

tigersnake

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Sep 10, 2003
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LeeToRainesToRoach said:
That's another angle to it. PC's become a cold war against people from that demographic, particularly the latter two. Like a New Age take on flower power.

We white males are all like McGuire. Just behave or we'll drown you.

"Privilege" is another dirty word ascribed to that group. "You privileged white male, you."

As a rich, white male, I feel pretty damn privileged.
 

tigertim

something funny is written here
Mar 6, 2004
29,891
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The trouble with political correctness is it seems to lack objectivity.

It's a bit like " be nice and fair to these people over here (that I like). But these people over here that I don't like, hey we can go to town on them, no holds barred".
 

LeeToRainesToRoach

Tiger Legend
Jun 4, 2006
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tigersnake said:
As a rich, white male, I feel pretty damn privileged.

I'm in the minority in being content with what I'm paid. Delivered pizzas for four years while I went back to uni as an adult. Now I'll work anywhere from 40-70 hours a week and get paid the same regardless. Went into work on Sunday night for three hours to address an issue - nobody told me to, nobody expected me to, I won't get paid for it. Such things are born of a sound service ethic.

Have overcome many hurdles as we all must, some very steep. I'm happy with my lot, but forgive me if I take exception to the likes of Goodesy saying my life is built on lies. I didn't attack Goodesy. Goodesy attacked me.
 

LeeToRainesToRoach

Tiger Legend
Jun 4, 2006
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tigertim said:
The trouble with political correctness is it seems to lack objectivity.

It's a bit like " be nice and fair to these people over here (that I like). But these people over here that I don't like, hey we can go to town on them, no holds barred".

Good summary. It's an ideal in an imperfect world, enforced robotically by some.

Ahmet: Oh no. A bad machine doesn't know when he's a bad machine.
Billy: Oh, I know who I am. And I know who you are. I know that you are a bad machine. And do you know how I know that?
Ahmet: <shakes head>
Billy: Because I come from the factory. I MAKE the machines!
 

Coburgtiger

Tiger Champion
May 7, 2012
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LeeToRainesToRoach said:
I'm in the minority in being content with what I'm paid. Delivered pizzas for four years while I went back to uni as an adult. Now I'll work anywhere from 40-70 hours a week and get paid the same regardless. Went into work on Sunday night for three hours to address an issue - nobody told me to, nobody expected me to, I won't get paid for it. Such things are born of a sound service ethic.

Have overcome many hurdles as we all must, some very steep. I'm happy with my lot, but forgive me if I take exception to the likes of Goodesy saying my life is built on lies. I didn't attack Goodesy. Goodesy attacked me.

You delivered pizzas AND you have to work for a living?

My god. How have we not heard of the foundation for this? Where can I donate to 'the people who have had to work' fund?

Poor LTRTR. And then Goodes went and actually attacked you? Did your report it to anyone? Are you okay?