Dear Hasbeen,

Children chant, "Sticks and stones may break my bones
but names will never hurt me." But they aren't
completely right about that. Teenage suicides and
bullying is a real problem in our society today and
we need to confront these problems not deny them.

Words can hurt - and hurt dreadfully. People can
stick the knife in without leaving a telling gash -
they do it with words. The scar is that much deeper.

Dear mhaze,

You ask who judges?

It's pretty subjective.

It's the court of public opinion that holds sway.

A court which is notoriously emotional and fickle.

I don't usually agree with professors, but I agree with this one.

Free speech must never be restricted in the private space, including within the premises of one's own business, but when it comes to the public sphere, there is no moral ground for preventing the restriction of speech.

Should the public decide that they wish to feel comfortable in public spaces where certain types of speech (also certain types of noise/music) make some of its members uncomfortable, then it has the right to prohibit such types of speech [in public spaces] for the sake of the welfare of its members.

Most people are confused about what PC means.

Some people would have us believe that they are under
attack for not being "PC" and that they are somehow
the ones with courage for speaking their
minds. This according to articles on the web - is a
strawman defense. We're told that it isn't the word
choices, the tone, or the subject matter that threatens
some people. It is the ideas themselves. The attack on PC
culture is simple.

Privileged classes bemoaning the idea that they can no longer
feel, do, or say (or legislate) whatever they want about
anyone with impunity.

One of the less talked about aspects of privilege is just
how blind it makes one to perspectives other than their own.
It isn't sinister. In many cases it has simply rendered
people incapable of seeing how their words or actions affect
other people. Privilege is a collective narcissism.

Instead of bemoaning the "PC culture" people might be better
served if they stopped and considered how - whatever it is they
are intent on saying might make someone else feel.

Political Correctness is a self-imposed restriction that has no real basis in fact.

It's origins are not from sensitive tree-hugging hippies but from conservatives during the Reagan era who feared moral standards were slipping and required some sort of controlled limits.

The problem is that people attribute it some sort of mystical power and make unilateral decisions about what can and can't be said.

The fact remains that except for threatening, racist or particularly offensive language, nobody has ever been arrested, charged or gaoled for saying something deemed (by "somebody") to be Politically Incorrect.

You can still publicly use the feared "n word" or freely refer to cripples or midgets without fear but it says more about the person speaking than the spoken to.

PC gets it's phoney power from those who take it as some sort of genuine legal restriction but it simply is not and never really was.
In short, the power comes from anybody who complains about it being something real.

All we really need is mutual respect, consideration and manners to do a better job.

Anyone recall what the suppression of free speech did to the world in the late 1930's !
It was frighteningly similar to today's PC.