"Interesting. Boaz, you misunderstood Ginx's post, and mine. While it must be satisfying for you and others here to congratulate themselves on their home-spun, plain-speaking ways, I believe Ginx's original point was that people use the term "political correctness" when actually they mean, "I'm intolerant on this issue, so I'll label my opponent PC and automatically win! Hurrah for me!"
Posted by Vanilla, Wednesday, 20 February 2008 9:06:28 PM"

^BINGO!!^

Thank-you;- all of you. Keep 'em coming!

Having just popped in next door, it is quite frankly a good idea for me to calm down 'til the morrow!
I would add though that I started this thread BECAUSE of the one next door. And yea verily I say unto youse; the OP on that thread has more than proved MY point!

Goodnight all!

My concern is the prevalence of 'groupthink', Fundamental Attribution Error and the death of Truth!
Anyone ever read 1984?
How the hell is humanity supposed to progress if we don't acknowledge our inherent differences, celebrate them (rather than tolerate them) and communicate clearly and honestly, feeling safe to do so?
I have not denied the holocaust. I am on a quest for truth. I heard somewhere that people denied the holocaust so I started researching. If I start posting links to information on this I'll fill pages.
Google it. Youtube it. Do what you will with the oracles you consult...but do, please, please, please try to disprove your own accepted self-evident truths. Challenge your own beliefs. If they hold up against your own attempts to disprove them then good. But have you genuinely attempted to disprove your own beliefs or do you set about seeking to avoid cognitive dissonance? It is OK to make mistakes. It is OK to go against group mentality. It is OK to be a voice in the wilderness.
Nice to meet you all by the way - refreshing to find people willing to debate and think!

It is always sad to see people using PC accusations to stifle debate. You can see this in Parliament on both sides of the House, where one speaker will purposely misconstrue what another has said to distract from the real purpose of the message and throw the person to the wolves (ie. the various forms of the PC brigades).

The danger of a propensity to be hampered by the restrictions of PC speech is truth often gets lost somewhere on the way. To live in fear because of what one might say no matter how disagreeable to others, is to lose our freedom of speech, one of the hallmarks of a democracy.

That is not to say that laws against discrimination and racial vilification are not appropriate but that in the example given about the holocaust, it is vital that we keep an open mind. Intelligent people can make their own conclusions from reading history and learning about the stories that have been told by those who suffered under the Nazis.

I don't remember his name, but a Jewish lawyer in the US once defended a man who could only be described as a racist and when asked why he would defend such a bigot, he stated words to the effect of ...I may not like what a person says but I will defend his right to say it. This was a famous quote and my insufficent memory does not do it justice, if somone has the exact wording they might like to post it.

while not making light of the real curse of PC [maybe a later post?] the word Coon as a cheese has withstood the storm over some 30 years, while other brands eg N** Boy were forced to change

So I had a quiet chuckle is Woolies in FNQ where there is a kiddies insulated lunch box promotion, a satchel with handle with goodies inside, mainly slices of cheese

on the side in big letters is COON and this is in Mossman where half the kids at the school are in fact black.

The absurdity of this is I would bet that there is not one instance of a black kid getting targeted carrying one of these around at school but I would think PC gone wrong says that the item would not even make the shelves in Mosman Sydney, where ther would not be one black kid at the school

to me that is what PC is more about, and what kept Howard going 11 years

Divorce Doctor- EXACTLY!! Now THAT is PC.

THIS is NOT:-

My concern is the prevalence of 'groupthink', Fundamental Attribution Error and the death of Truth!
Anyone ever read 1984?
How the hell is humanity supposed to progress if we don't acknowledge our inherent differences, celebrate them (rather than tolerate them) and communicate clearly and honestly, feeling safe to do so?
I have not denied the holocaust. I am on a quest for truth. I heard somewhere that people denied the holocaust so I started researching. If I start posting links to information on this I'll fill pages.
Google it. Youtube it. Do what you will with the oracles you consult...but do, please, please, please try to disprove your own accepted self-evident truths. Challenge your own beliefs. If they hold up against your own attempts to disprove them then good. But have you genuinely attempted to disprove your own beliefs or do you set about seeking to avoid cognitive dissonance? It is OK to make mistakes. It is OK to go against group mentality. It is OK to be a voice in the wilderness.
Nice to meet you all by the way - refreshing to find people willing to debate and think!
Posted by GI_Jane, Thursday, 21 February 2008 7:50:00 AM

This GIJ is patronizing bull.hit!

Who the hell do you think you're talking to??
Haven't you noticed in your refreshing way that those who 'debate and think' on OLO ( inclusive of those who I disagree strongly with!), have a pretty hefty degree of nous. Why do you feel it necessary to condescend to us as if you were marking us out of 10!!

Or could it possibly be that you have some sort of need to elevate yourself? Come down from your Ivory Tower and stop using your very clear intellect to justify some of your ludicrous assertions.

Ct/d:

Ct/d 2.

You WERE indeed not denying the holocaust, but you WERE seeking to diminish it ( I will go into this in due course). I am in Court this pm. and for most of tomorrow, but I look forward to some really meaty conversations with you....