The Student Room Group

Why is everything so politically correct?

People seem to be offended by the littlest of things these days.
Reply 1
"these days"...

If, by these days, you mean the last 30+ years, then sure.
Original post by ManicDrBeatles
People seem to be offended by the littlest of things these days.


Care to give us the examples?
Original post by 999tigger
Care to give us the examples?


Some individuals get really uptight about 'misgendering them
Well perhaps other people have different perceptions of what the "littlest things" are. Something that you might find inoffensive could be offensive to others. This is how it has always been.
have you been spending too much time on tsr?

i know i have...
It isn't most people.
Just small numbers of fanatical ideologues, politically correct snowflakes and a few other fringe intolerants who won't accept the fact that others do have the freedom to hold opinions contrary to their own.
I’m more annoyed at the fact that the PC initials and its negative connotations are the same as my TSR username.
Original post by ManicDrBeatles
Some individuals get really uptight about 'misgendering them


On TSR or in life?
Original post by ManicDrBeatles
People seem to be offended by the littlest of things these days.

Like what?
Cough....social media..... cough....
It's not. Political Correctness doesn't exist, it's just a buzz word for (usually) right wing people to dismiss people's voiced opinions as being dishonest (see also virtue signalling and white knighting).
Because people, especially under 30s like to be offended by others viewpoints. They like to have their own viewpoints and opinions but also like to be hurt by and dismissive of other views. They want free speech and other freedoms but only when it suits them
And it’s bloody annoying. I’ll think and say what I like within my own moral code. I won’t be deliberately hurtful to an individual but if I disagree with you or you don’t like it, tough
Reply 13
i think most of the time 'political correctness' is just treating people how you'd like to be treated - with kindness and respect.
i do agree that perhaps attacking lack of political correctness as a kind of 'ultimate sin' is quite common at the moment, and personally i think if you use slurs or deliberately make people uncomfortable that's probably just being a bad person, and shouldn't necessarily be demonised just for a failure to meet standards of political correctness. but when you're talking about systematic oppression sometimes it's helpful to have parameters for what is considerate to say, especially when it's hard to put yourself in the position of another person.
if a friend asks you to call them nick instead of nicholas its not really a problem, so why is he instead of she?
Original post by Stiff Little Fingers
It's not. Political Correctness doesn't exist, it's just a buzz word for (usually) right wing people to dismiss people's voiced opinions as being dishonest (see also virtue signalling and white knighting).


Political Correctness does exist and it is not restricted to a single political party or segment of the political spectrum.
It's more of an ideological choice, one that my parents and most of their friends have chosen to live by.
I was brought up seeing and hearing it multiple times a day, practically every day of my childhood.
My parents were the students of militant era, both revolutionary socialist trade unionists who want to see Jeremy Corbyn as PM.
My 80 year old grandmother can be politically correct when it suits her to be, in the past she voted for Margaret Thatcher and Ann Widdecombe.
But her priority is fanatical religion not politics.
Original post by londonmyst
Political Correctness does exist and it is not restricted to a single political party or segment of the political spectrum.
It's more of an ideological choice, one that my parents and most of their friends have chosen to live by.
I was brought up seeing and hearing it multiple times a day, practically every day of my childhood.
My parents were the students of militant era, both revolutionary socialist trade unionists who want to see Jeremy Corbyn as PM.
My 80 year old grandmother can be politically correct when it suits her to be, in the past she voted for Margaret Thatcher and Ann Widdecombe.
But her priority is fanatical religion not politics.


Eh no. Calling something politically correct is nothing more than an accusation of bad faith, it implies that what's being said is only said for political purposes, just as accusations of virtue signalling suggest that is only saying something to seem "woke". There's no neat history of political correctness, no clear definition - it's an exonym (no-one has ever defined themselves as politically correct) that means what the person using it intends to mean, nothing more, nothing less and so in serious discussion has no meaning. What someone may mean when they refer to political correctness may well exist (e.g. language policing in reference to pronouns and slurs), but the concept of political correctness does not - it's a meaningless accusation used, as I said predominantly by right wingers, to whinge about them not being allowed to insult people with no repercussions whatsoever.
(edited 5 years ago)

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