Has Political Correctness in the USA gone too far?

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Yes, political correctness has gone to far everywhere.

Would you care to explain exactly how it has done so, and provide convincing evidence of a trend?

[Haktiva]

Free Speech > Political Correctness

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Free Speech > Political Correctness

Agreed. Now, can you name some examples of how political correctness is having a significant impact on free speech in America?

[Mendibar]

what do you mean we're not allowed to use slurs against marginalized groups anymore?????? what will come next??????? actually treating people with RESPECT????????????????????????????
y'all are a bunch of whiny fuckbuckets.

[Haktiva]

Free Speech > Political Correctness

Agreed. Now, can you name some examples of how political correctness is having a significant impact on free speech in America?

Political correctness is essentially a form of censorship. It's politically incorrect to be against welfare, even though welfare hurts a nation(IMO since it tends to create more leeches compared to how many people it may help, plus I don't much like taxes in general). However, many recipients of welfare are minorities, so being against welfare can get you labeled a bigot, which trivializes the issue and silences dissent for fear of having one's character assassinated.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Agreed. Now, can you name some examples of how political correctness is having a significant impact on free speech in America?

Political correctness is essentially a form of censorship. It's politically incorrect to be against welfare, even though welfare hurts a nation(IMO since it tends to create more leeches compared to how many people it may help, plus I don't much like taxes in general). However, many recipients of welfare are minorities, so being against welfare can get you labeled a bigot, which trivializes the issue and silences dissent for fear of having one's character assassinated.

I asked for examples, not assertions. Examples as in "Things that have actually happened often enough to constitute a significant enough trend to pose a threat to free speech." Who has been labeled a bigot? By whom? How did this labeling (an assertion of free speech in and of itself) limit the free speech of the welfare critics involved? Or is this simply another example of "If I say something that you disagree with, then that's free speech, but if you respond to it with speech that I disapprove of, that's censorship"?

[Haktiva]

Political correctness is essentially a form of censorship. It's politically incorrect to be against welfare, even though welfare hurts a nation(IMO since it tends to create more leeches compared to how many people it may help, plus I don't much like taxes in general). However, many recipients of welfare are minorities, so being against welfare can get you labeled a bigot, which trivializes the issue and silences dissent for fear of having one's character assassinated.

I asked for examples, not assertions. Examples as in "Things that have actually happened often enough to constitute a significant enough trend to pose a threat to free speech." Who has been labeled a bigot? By whom? How did this labeling (an assertion of free speech in and of itself) limit the free speech of the welfare critics involved? Or is this simply another example of "If I say something that you disagree with, then that's free speech, but if you respond to it with speech that I disapprove of, that's censorship"?

The problem with this is that most examples of political correctness come from right wing sources which don't give an unbiased opinion.

Political correctness is shaming language. I suppose a good example of this is that #Gamergate mumbo jumbo. The gaming community(the ones that care to respond) are up in arms over the corruption in gaming journalism(nepotism, sex for favors and attention, pushing of gender ideologue agendas, etc.) The media has responded for the most part by calling these gamers misogynists, bigots, worse than ISIS at one point(apparently in some private chat).

A more classic example is Ron Paul debated with Ben Stein and the latter pulled the Anti-Semite card.

I want to get into more examples, but everything else is pretty far-right and tries to push an agenda of it's own.

[Braberbourg]

America is like our southern neighbours (Belgium) but atleast ten times worse, and Belgium is crumbling under the weight of Political Correctness.

[Kubra]

Agreed. Now, can you name some examples of how political correctness is having a significant impact on free speech in America?

Political correctness is essentially a form of censorship. It's politically incorrect to be against welfare, even though welfare hurts a nation(IMO since it tends to create more leeches compared to how many people it may help, plus I don't much like taxes in general). However, many recipients of welfare are minorities, so being against welfare can get you labeled a bigot, which trivializes the issue and silences dissent for fear of having one's character assassinated.

bro u srs
your idea of censorship is people thinking you're wrong
buddy i think you hella wrong about stuff

[The Holy Therns]

If you're a rude, insensitive person with a scarce sense of empathy I could see where one would get that impression.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

I asked for examples, not assertions. Examples as in "Things that have actually happened often enough to constitute a significant enough trend to pose a threat to free speech." Who has been labeled a bigot? By whom? How did this labeling (an assertion of free speech in and of itself) limit the free speech of the welfare critics involved? Or is this simply another example of "If I say something that you disagree with, then that's free speech, but if you respond to it with speech that I disapprove of, that's censorship"?

The problem with this is that most examples of political correctness come from right wing sources which don't give an unbiased opinion.

Political correctness is shaming language. I suppose a good example of this is that #Gamergate mumbo jumbo. The gaming community(the ones that care to respond) are up in arms over the corruption in gaming journalism(nepotism, sex for favors and attention, pushing of gender ideologue agendas, etc.) The media has responded for the most part by calling these gamers misogynists, bigots, worse than ISIS at one point(apparently in some private chat).

A more classic example is Ron Paul debated with Ben Stein and the latter pulled the Anti-Semite card.

I want to get into more examples, but everything else is pretty far-right and tries to push an agenda of it's own.

None of that qualifies as censorship. Shaming language isn't a magic bullet that keeps people from being able to say whatever they want to say. It's simply free speech in response to free speech. If you disagree with it, argue against it, but it's a gross overstatement to qualify it as any sort of barrier to the full exercise of one's First Amendment rights.

[Haktiva]

The problem with this is that most examples of political correctness come from right wing sources which don't give an unbiased opinion.

Political correctness is shaming language. I suppose a good example of this is that #Gamergate mumbo jumbo. The gaming community(the ones that care to respond) are up in arms over the corruption in gaming journalism(nepotism, sex for favors and attention, pushing of gender ideologue agendas, etc.) The media has responded for the most part by calling these gamers misogynists, bigots, worse than ISIS at one point(apparently in some private chat).

A more classic example is Ron Paul debated with Ben Stein and the latter pulled the Anti-Semite card.

I want to get into more examples, but everything else is pretty far-right and tries to push an agenda of it's own.

None of that qualifies as censorship. Shaming language isn't a magic bullet that keeps people from being able to say whatever they want to say. It's simply free speech in response to free speech. If you disagree with it, argue against it, but it's a gross overstatement to qualify it as any sort of barrier to the full exercise of one's First Amendment rights.

well that's the thing. it's only censorship if it works.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Agreed. Now, can you name some examples of how political correctness is having a significant impact on free speech in America?

Political correctness is essentially a form of censorship. It's politically incorrect to be against welfare, even though welfare hurts a nation(IMO since it tends to create more leeches compared to how many people it may help, plus I don't much like taxes in general). However, many recipients of welfare are minorities, so being against welfare can get you labeled a bigot, which trivializes the issue and silences dissent for fear of having one's character assassinated.

I honestly wonder why do people think that political correctness is bad "but..." such as the example above.

If you think it creates leeches out of people and, since by your own admission many recipients of welfare are minorities, you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot.

It isn't politically incorrect to think welfare is a bad idea, but your opinion as to why is this the case definitely is.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

None of that qualifies as censorship. Shaming language isn't a magic bullet that keeps people from being able to say whatever they want to say. It's simply free speech in response to free speech. If you disagree with it, argue against it, but it's a gross overstatement to qualify it as any sort of barrier to the full exercise of one's First Amendment rights.

well that's the thing. it's only censorship if it works.

Criticism is censorship if it works in changing a person's mind?

Why, censorship must be a very very commonstance then. Heck, ever since the beginning of recorded history it's all been censorship to make a valid comparison to your point.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

None of that qualifies as censorship. Shaming language isn't a magic bullet that keeps people from being able to say whatever they want to say. It's simply free speech in response to free speech. If you disagree with it, argue against it, but it's a gross overstatement to qualify it as any sort of barrier to the full exercise of one's First Amendment rights.

well that's the thing. it's only censorship if it works.

So if I were to reconsider my point as a response to your posts here, would that mean that you were censoring me?

[Trapatrical]

These days you're not really allowed to say what you want however it's not the government that is limiting your freedom of speech, it is the people. These days you cannot express your opinions for example "I don't think rape is as bad as people say it is" Without some offended teen going up to you and hitting you and basically just shaming you. (Yes this has happened several times) So what do you think NS? has political correctness gone too far or is it fine where it is

That's a really fucking shitty example to use.
If you actually said that then no wonder they got in your face.

Though I don't agree with the example, people seem to treat it worse than things like murder. And obviously murder is significantly worse...your life is literally over after it.

[Benuty]

I agree the PC master race has grown too powerful.

[DnalweN acilbupeR]

I don't really understand how not-PC statements could "deny others the right to free speech" .

In my book being PC is not making "inconvenient" statements or overly aestheticizing "inconvenient" statements. What may superficially appear as racist, sexist, etc. but is actually not can still be not PC.

Rape jokes and alleged victim blaming are good examples of not-PC behavior. Simply state that not going in a certain neighborhood will lower your chance of being victimized, in a crime debate, for example, and you have a good chance of getting called a "victim blamer" when you are merely stating a fact, with 0 intention whatsoever to blame victims for the crimes. Regarding rape jokes, it's A-OK to use "murder" or "kill" jokingly or in a non-serious manner, as with other shit that would be horrible if used literally, but for whatever reason "rape" is the special snowflake of the bunch.

You can make all the rape jokes and do all the victim blaming you like. Just don't complain when you're branded a sexist for what you say, or at least don't complain how you're the victim of political correctness as if to pretend the problem is that what you said didn't match what the rest of us think, rather than the problem being what you said.

Thanks for proving me right. You've addressed literally nothing I've said.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

I agree the PC master race has grown too powerful.

Please, do let us know what you mean by that in some detail.

[Lalaki]

Agreed. Now, can you name some examples of how political correctness is having a significant impact on free speech in America?

Political correctness is essentially a form of censorship. It's politically incorrect to be against welfare, even though welfare hurts a nation(IMO since it tends to create more leeches compared to how many people it may help, plus I don't much like taxes in general)...

See, political correctness is about being sensitive to the feelings of others. In some cases it can go to far, but must you use the word "leeches?"

I know, I know. It is your absolute right to say that under the first amendment. I am not saying you don't have the right to say it. However, could you at least try to use a term that won't potentially hurt others? This isn't about being allowed to do something. It's about thinking of other human beings.

A more appropriate sentence would be:

"Welfare can have some disadvantages, and it has a tendency to create dependency on public aid."

Exact same point, and it doesn't hurt others.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

So what is PC to you then? And when you offer your explanation, please don't be grossly dishonest and try to use anecdotal evidence of teachers, council offices and businesses taking weird measures for whatever reason because random acts of stupidity are hardly a solid argument.

I'll tell you what PC is to me. PC is a get out of jail free card, typically used by the social right wing, that's played when the user has just said something indefensible but wants to escape criticism for the words they just uttered. The hypocrisy in that people complain about their right to free speech in order to deny others the right to free speech is absolutely astounding in that it's so freaking obvious yet people still think it's a solid line of argument.

I don't really understand how not-PC statements could "deny others the right to free speech" .

In my book being PC is not making "inconvenient" statements or overly aestheticizing "inconvenient" statements. What may superficially appear as racist, sexist, etc. but is actually not can still be not PC.

Rape jokes and alleged victim blaming are good examples of not-PC behavior. Simply state that not going in a certain neighborhood will lower your chance of being victimized, in a crime debate, for example, and you have a good chance of getting called a "victim blamer" when you are merely stating a fact, with 0 intention whatsoever to blame victims for the crimes. Regarding rape jokes, it's A-OK to use "murder" or "kill" jokingly or in a non-serious manner, as with other shit that would be horrible if used literally, but for whatever reason "rape" is the special snowflake of the bunch.

Well the thing is that it's not only what you say but how you say it, to quote Pygmalion here.

For instance if you say that not going in a certain neighborhood will lower your chances of being victimized in cases of rape you're grossly missing the big picture, that most rape crimes are done by relatives or someone the other person knows by far than stranger rape.

And certain rape jokes and murder jokes are funny, but not all of them, and someone who is trying to make a good joke knows this. If the other person feels uncomfortable it is only polite to apologize and remind oneself that there's a limit to everything with everyone you hang around with falling in several different degrees from your norm.

All in all, PC isn't about censorship, it is a movement to make you aware of what you say and how you say it so you don't hurt other people. It's literally what we used to call "don't be an asshole" while I was growing up, there is no difference.

Which is different than censorship which is state suppression of opinions, see: North Korea and China.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Political correctness is essentially a form of censorship. It's politically incorrect to be against welfare, even though welfare hurts a nation(IMO since it tends to create more leeches compared to how many people it may help, plus I don't much like taxes in general)...

See, political correctness is about being sensitive to the feelings of others. In some cases it can go to far, but must you use the word "leeches?"

I know, I know. It is your absolute right to say that under the first amendment. I am not saying you don't have the right to say it. However, could you at least try to use a term that won't potentially hurt others? This isn't about being allowed to do something. It's about thinking of other human beings.

A more appropriate sentence would be:

"Welfare can have some disadvantages, and it has a tendency to create dependency on public aid."

Exact same point, and it doesn't hurt others.

You know? Just yesterday I saw this little portrait in the office of an old friend of my father. The portrait said, and I will recall that always "It is nice to be important, but it is important to be nice" I think people have forgotten the fact that being nice is important, and PC addresses the same issue in my opinion. That to be taken seriously you must be nice towards others.

[Union Of Canadorian Socialists Republic]

Instead of whining that you are being offended, cling to your cause even more.

Person X publicly hates gays? Make your homosexuality even more obvious. Embrace who you are. If you are of any culture, don't shy away from your traditions, show them off. Don't moan about having your culture offended when you yourself know nothing about your own origins.

[Lalaki]

See, political correctness is about being sensitive to the feelings of others. In some cases it can go to far, but must you use the word "leeches?"

I know, I know. It is your absolute right to say that under the first amendment. I am not saying you don't have the right to say it. However, could you at least try to use a term that won't potentially hurt others? This isn't about being allowed to do something. It's about thinking of other human beings.

A more appropriate sentence would be:

"Welfare can have some disadvantages, and it has a tendency to create dependency on public aid."

Exact same point, and it doesn't hurt others.

You know? Just yesterday I saw this little portrait in the office of an old friend of my father. The portrait said, and I will recall that always "It is nice to be important, but it is important to be nice" I think people have forgotten the fact that being nice is important, and PC addresses the same issue in my opinion. That to be taken seriously you must be nice towards others.

I fully agree.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Instead of whining that you are being offended, cling to your cause even more.

Person X publicly hates gays? Make your homosexuality even more obvious. Embrace who you are. If you are of any culture, don't shy away from your traditions, show them off. Don't moan about having your culture offended when you yourself know nothing about your own origins.

Huh?!