BD

Now I have heard everything. Are you really declaring that the self-righteous extreme Right do not avail themselves of PC and accusatory language to suit their spin?

As soon as anyone makes a statement perceived as left of centre out come the comments that remind us a little of the reds under the beds paranoia during the Cold War.

Eg.
You are a Communist or Commie sympathiser
You are a leftie
You are a unionist
You hate us

We all have different points of views and if you can support your view with logical argument or evidence then do it.

If you think political spin and word games are only the domain of one side of politics then you must have been asleep during the repressive Howard years.

cont… (sorry, went over limit before)

The voices who cry "PC!" have less to fear than they think. Holocaust deniers have scant evidence but plentiful paranoia – a giant Jewish conspiracy. Yet they answer questions as to the veracity of their evidence with accusations of being "silenced" by the forces of "political correctness". Argument is not suppression. You convince with merit, not aggressive victimhood.

GI Jane mentioned 1984. I've read it. I'm sure most here have. I'm also sure I'm not the first person to note that life in the 21st century is much more like Huxley (i.e. Brave New World) than Orwell. What stops the majority of people from thinking deeply about things is not this mythical PC culture but celebrity reporting and reality telly and New Idea and intellectual laziness. To me, this threatens our progress far more than the rather old-fashioned notion of political correctness.

DD — left/right as manifestations of PC? Obviously not literally, as the latter came later. And I’m not sure where money-making comes in to it. Can you explain your point further?

I agree the greatest danger is intellectual reductionism. Labelling someone’s argument PC is just a way of alchemising it into a more manageable substance. As is calling someone a right-wing extremist or a left-wing loony. Same old, same old.

Boazy — if you honestly think that promoting minorities is “as racist as it gets”, then the very visible blinkers you wear are blinding you to more extreme examples. You are confusing people arguing with or rejecting your views with being victimised by the left. Be man, not mouse.

Your remarks about Foxy are demonstrably wrong and serve to illustrate once more how prejudice blinds you to reality.

Jane, as for the amount of material advocating Holocaust denialism, I bet you’ve a bucketful. I myself could find many links that suggest man never worked on the moon, Princess Diana was murdered by MI6, and 9/11 was orchestrated by the Bush Administration. Remember, it's good to have an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out.

PC is often a packet of euphemisms for starker language but with the occasional threat of litigation towards those who refrain from its use, it has now grown into a form of social tyranny.

Luckily, in my youth we had never heard of PC, though we were sufficiently civilised to understand the essence of good manners.

Nevertheless, I recall the kindly Afghan cameleer who passed by occasionally giving us a ride on his camel. Due to his unutterable name we addressed him as "Diamond Bum" (how did we know he was probably a devout Muslim!)

Then during the 50's, when my family were the only Australians on the block, we addressed the newcomers with nick-names where the recipients were always good-natured about their new titles, if not thoroughly amused.

There was German Jim, Broody Bareballs, Dotty Dago, Steve the sprogue, Drago the ding, garlic muncher, etc etc.

Dotty Dago and I continue to reminicse over our days at Dingbat Flats, named no doubt due to its predominantly Yugoslav population. Mmmm...there's a thought ..I wonder if they were Catholics, Prottos or Muslims?

Sadly the humour these days is lack lustre, if any. These forums are clogged with the PC bleeding hearts (the thought police), defending the race and cultures of other lands and many wait to pounce on those who happen to have a difference of opinion, those who still practise freedom of speech, which is often deemed racist.

All my good friends, the dagoes, the dings, the sprogues just got on with it, worked hard, were uncomplaining, often living in humpies, assimilated and inter-married and their descendants have achieved highly from the work ethos and good nature of their parents.

And so much attention on our current new (oops) Australians. Even the Vietnamese Triads received less attention than these imaginary "victims" of political in-correctness.

So now I discover that PC is permeating the sensibilities of my own family where recently I was chastised due to my desire to gift my 4 year old grandie with my beloved old golly wog!

"Eh...but.... but...." "Shame, shame on you, Dickie!"

Dear Dickie,

Man's greatest inheritance is the gift of speech.

There are words that are randy, but not dirty. And sacred words that have become soiled with improper use.

Some words stick like burrs and punish at a touch.

And there are others that nurse the ego and heal the heart.

And some words remain forever unspoken, clamped in a throat that aches to let them out. And sometimes they are the most meaningful of all.

I personally feel that if you love your words, If you try to use them well and treat them right, If you respect their function, If you can see their colour and feel their Australian textures, the harsh sun, wide brown land of them. If you understand their constraints, If you know their weakness and are aware of their strengths - then you won't
have to worry about Political Correctness in their usage.

The words that you'll be using will spread smooth as picnic butter.
You won't have to resort to words that jab others hard,words with tight, hurtful little orifices...like 'sneak,' or 'bigot.'
Words with big, round, soft, open vowels - are yours to use any way you damn well please. (smile).

GI Jane said:

"and with the greatest of respect, the expressions left/right are perhaps the greatest of all manifestations of PC, where it is suggested people dont think but simply align/realign themselves [which most do] with whichever "side" is most beneficial to their money making"

LOVE IT! (pity I'm not allowed to put in multiple exclamation marks)

So very true...."

thank you GI Jane and my second worst experience of PC was, as a coincidence, as an enforced GI Joe

it is a mistake to think PC started in 1980 when for sure I can see the same thing back in 2,500 BCE with the mob what dun those great pryamids, as I study Egyptology

for sure in very recent times in 1930s Hitler had PC "pig-tied" as that modern day Texan Bush would say, with his KISS edict

"What good fortune for governments that the people do not think.
Adolf Hitler"

but back to the present, the Nat Service Act was "got" through Parliament in 1964, not based on logic or ethics, but on our then PM Menzies venting his spleen on "The Yellow Peril", thus conscripting 20 year olds such as me to "die to STOP The Yellow Peril"

some Constitutional bloke came from left field [as they say in USA] and said but these blokes dont even have a vote!, so Menzies gave us the vote, but a bit too late given we were already IN Vietnam

the PC upon which Pig Iron Bob relied was that if he screamed loud enough of The Yellow Peril, the PC public would vote "on our behalf to save their arses" and stuff the Constitution, or Human Rights.

but go 40 years down the PC Yellow Brick Road and PC has taken a further turn

Victor Charlie has been "migrated" into Oz society and lives in Cabramatta as a protected Drug Lord [with kicks-back to govt of course]

we conscripts are still known as "baby killers" for shooting at poor old VC, so we get spat on both figuratively and by total lack of any financial compensation

Dear Vanilla....

if my remarks about Foxy are 'demonstrably' wrong.. by all means 'demonstrate' so :)

There is nothing wrong with protecting the rights of minorities. but the RIGHTS which must be protected are the rights which all aussies share..

NOT the right to attack other Australians in the name of 'racism' or 'discrimination' when the reality is 'We want to advance our 'racist' ethnic agenda at the expense of the majority'

This brings me back to the 'human rights' thing... all I say, (and I hardly think it can be described as 'unfair'), is that in a country with a culture and a lsystem of laws,- that culture and legal system must prevail when a person claims a 'human right' which is in conflict with them.

I feel that this, is the most politically CORRECT approach to life.
Agreed ? Pretty much all that I rant about, can be reduced to this one single issue.