As I said when posting my recent quiz on political correctness (see it here), I knew little about the term. At the time of that posting, PC was just a mild annoyance to me, probably because I don’t like others telling me how to talk (I prefer to put my own words in my mouth). I started with the quiz to prompt me to learn more about the subject.
Since then, I’ve waded through a smattering of PC history. Wow! The topic can be explosive. It clearly sends blood pounding through the eyes of some, especially those making PC “rules,” and those thumbing their noses at said rules.
During my digging, I learned that the term political correctness was used by U.S. Communists in the 1930s and ’40s (a group not especially rare then, and a group that later produced some well-known Red Diaper Babies (see it here). Communists back then used the phrase to designate the proper language party members should employ when discussing a political issue (see it here), perhaps something like the talking points political parties often parrot today.
Later in the 20th century, the term devolved to its more common social meaning of today, a phrase that seems to say, “alter your speech so you don’t offend certain groups,” the assumption apparently being, for example, that a deaf person might feel less offended if referred to as being “hearing impaired.” I suppose this could be true. I know several individuals who are losing their hearing, but I haven’t asked any for their preferences. Beyond that, I won’t attempt to guess whether a prostitute might take it more kindly if called a “sex worker”. I’ve seen no scientific studies on the topic.
As I was considering all of this, my mind somehow jumped to the famous speech of Juliet as she muses aloud on her balcony (she is overheard by Romeo standing below in her garden.). Juliet is distraught because her beloved Romeo is a Montague, a family in a long-time feud with her Capulet family.
Here are her tender words:
’Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.
It was those lines, especially the ones I’ve emphasized in bold type, that prompted me to wonder whether they might speak to the political correctness of today, and if so, to wonder what that message might be.
Below are my answers to my own quiz. (I obviously have no inside authority, so your answers may well be more valid than mine.)
A dark-skinned Ohio man whose great-great grandfather was a slave: African-American man
A university president: University president
A South Dakota man of Sioux descent: Native American man
A white-skinned owner of a Silicon Valley tech firm: American man
A man formerly know as a janitor: Custodian
A member of the U.S. Senate: Senator
A deaf person: Hearing impaired person
A college student: College student
A prostitute: Sex worker
The governor of a state: Governor
An illegal immigrant: Undocumented immigrant
An Ivy League professor: Professor
An Illinois woman of Japanese descent: Asian woman
A Iowa farmer of German descent: American man
A retarded student: Mentally challenges student
A further thought
As I look at the above list, I’m struck by a notion that may or may not have validity, a possibility I’ve not seen discussed as I reviewed this subject, so I’ll mention it here. Much related to political correctness flows out of universities. Is it possible that political correct terms are being propagated by groups whose eyes are looking downward on others? Are elites directing their decrees to express their concern and pity for individuals they deem to be inferior? The lack of PC terms for some of those in the above list seems to be consistent with that possibility. Do those demanding political correctness speak with a presumption of superiority?
