Beating back a PC world is going to take a lot of effort
Tonight I'll take a few whacks with a machete at the weedy problem of political correctness. I've been talking with folks about this for most of the day because of the following article I found.
Where bananas never end
Tim Chitwook, Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA)
Bananas? Oh my! We must ban bananas! They're obviously racist...probably created by evil, bigoted scientists, centuries ago, in order to mock 21st century black Americans. Now, thanks to the keen eye and deductive skill of Gwen Stewart, we know the truth. Banana eaters have it in for black folks.
It gets stranger. I just learned that I'm a "heteronormative" and that there is something horribly wrong with me, at least in the minds of some BGLTSA (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered and Straight Alliance) members. I'm so sorry that I'll never get this group's endorsement for any of my causes.
There's nothing funny about outrage dying
ARMAVIRUMQUE: THE NEW CRITERION'S WEBLOG
Dang. It's a shame. And I was counting on them so much to help me maintain traditional American values. I'll particularly miss having the support of the transgendered community; you know, it's kind of like getting two supporters for the price of one.
For perspective on the problem of rampant stupidity amongst the politically correct, let's turn to an older article I particularly like.
PC's Marxist Root's Unearthed
William S. Lind, Accuracy in Academia
I've always been suspicious that Libertarianism, in its pure form, is as great a threat to nations as communism has been. Here's a spin on the problem that reads very well.
Marxism of the Right
Utopian ideals are usually silly and often dangerous. Pragmatism tells us so.
Where bananas never end
Tim Chitwook, Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA)
"She saw two police officers eating bananas as she passed them on a bus going to the Columbus Civic Center, where people gathered for the Jan. 15 march. The police department that day had sent around a snack van to feed officers working security for the event.
Stewart says she and others found the bananas deeply offensive."
Bananas? Oh my! We must ban bananas! They're obviously racist...probably created by evil, bigoted scientists, centuries ago, in order to mock 21st century black Americans. Now, thanks to the keen eye and deductive skill of Gwen Stewart, we know the truth. Banana eaters have it in for black folks.
It gets stranger. I just learned that I'm a "heteronormative" and that there is something horribly wrong with me, at least in the minds of some BGLTSA (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered and Straight Alliance) members. I'm so sorry that I'll never get this group's endorsement for any of my causes.
There's nothing funny about outrage dying
ARMAVIRUMQUE: THE NEW CRITERION'S WEBLOG
"So how did Jada Pinkett Smith offend Harvard students with these comments, innocuous to the point of being soporific?Women, you can have it all--a loving man, devoted husband, loving children, a fabulous career. . . . To my men, open your mind, open your eyes to new ideas, be open.
Jada! You're at an Ivy League university, not some fundamentalist Christian prayer breakfast. No doubt many of the women in that audience want a loving woman. Now you stand accused by the BGLTSA of making 'heteronormative' comments. Never mind that anywhere but Castro Street 'hetero' is, statistically speaking, 'normative.' Without intending to, Smith gave Harvard students a gift more precious to them than wisdom: something to whine about.
Some BGLTSA members were uncomfortable."
Dang. It's a shame. And I was counting on them so much to help me maintain traditional American values. I'll particularly miss having the support of the transgendered community; you know, it's kind of like getting two supporters for the price of one.
For perspective on the problem of rampant stupidity amongst the politically correct, let's turn to an older article I particularly like.
PC's Marxist Root's Unearthed
William S. Lind, Accuracy in Academia
Just what is Political Correctness? The "Politically Correct" people on your campus really, really don’t want you to know the answer to that question. Why? Because Political Correctness is nothing less than Marxism translated from economic into cultural terms.
The parallels are obvious. First, both classical, economic Marxism and the Cultural Marxism that is Political Correctness are totalitarian ideologies. Both insist on "truths" that are contrary to human nature and experience. Contrary to economic Marxism, there is no such thing as a "classless society," and economic incentives matter. Contrary to Political Correctness, men and women are different, as are their natural roles in society; races and ethnic groups have specific characteristics; and homosexuality is abnormal. Since the only way people will accept the ideologues’ "truths" is if they are forced to, they will be forced—by the full power of the state, if the Marxists of either stripe can control it.
I've always been suspicious that Libertarianism, in its pure form, is as great a threat to nations as communism has been. Here's a spin on the problem that reads very well.
Marxism of the Right
Libertarians need to be asked some hard questions. What if a free society needed to draft its citizens in order to remain free? What if it needed to limit oil imports to protect the economic freedom of its citizens from unfriendly foreigners? What if it needed to force its citizens to become sufficiently educated to sustain a free society? What if it needed to deprive landowners of the freedom to refuse to sell their property as a precondition for giving everyone freedom of movement on highways? What if it needed to deprive citizens of the freedom to import cheap foreign labor in order to keep out poor foreigners who would vote for socialistic wealth redistribution?
In each of these cases, less freedom today is the price of more tomorrow. Total freedom today would just be a way of running down accumulated social capital and storing up problems for the future. So even if libertarianism is true in some ultimate sense, this does not prove that the libertarian policy choice is the right one today on any particular question.
Utopian ideals are usually silly and often dangerous. Pragmatism tells us so.
