A Matter of Being Politically Correct

Lately, there's been a few incidents I've been involved in or heard about that have strucken me as over the top.

On the day before Australia Day at work we had all made the effort to celebrate this wonderful country we live in. A part of why I love Australia is the fact that it is a multicultural society and we should embrace the vast amount of cultures that brighten our cities. We dressed up in Aussie style clothes, ate lamingtons, vegemite and meat pies. The day was relaxed, and fun. In the spirit of the upcoming day and festivities, I sent a "global email", to my fellow colleagues, of a poem entitled "Australia". It wasn't offensive, suggestive, or deragatory in any manner, however a work mate advised me that generally permission needs to be gained from a manager to send an email to all staff.

"Because it crowds up our inboxes?" I'd asked.
"No, in the event you offend someone."

I accept that as reasonable, but it was a short, old poem about Australia. No offensive language, no suggestive imagery, or vulgar images.

In the event you offend someone...

It's all too reflective of this hypermedia, social blunder driven, over political society we live in. Politicians fob off undeserving people with benefits for fear of rocking the political boat if they challenge them of their worthiness, yet deny people in dire and desperate need with the excuse that tax payers shouldn't have to accommodate these people.

School's and work places have unwritten social conventions and guidelines that imply the code of conduct that will not offend anyone. You can't even use the word blackboard in school's anymore.

While I don't agree with the Liberals policies, (especially the blatant and very politically incorrect "No Boats" campaign), Tony Abbott's Channel 7 stitch up left me for once on his side. His comment was offensive to the soldier's family, but in the context that there was sufficient support for the soldier, it was a sound comment. He was speaking to soldiers, who are in a war and watch innocent, undeserving men die for their countries. They don't agree with it. It shouldn't happen, but unfortunately it does sometimes. His comment was that of what another man in that situation would have said. While his follow up 30 second silence was journalistic gold (in a commercial news sense), and really didn't help his situation, he was just a man who made a mistake, like any of us.

I recently was involved in a petty argument over a major broadcasting error from CNN reporting on Cyclone Yasi. They had labeled Tasmania as Queensland. Considering the enormity and influence of CNN on the world's news, and the vast demographic who watch CNN, it was a huge blundering error and would love to know how that one got through the stringent fact checking of a huge news corporation. My comment was taken too seriously from a stranger and then a whole group of people were backing up that in the context of the situation, I was not being offensive. I apologised, however, but she did not want to let it go.

Language changes. I used a word that was originally a medical term, and the development of language has shifted our use, meaning and even (thanks to a film) our pronunciation of it.

I know of a policeman who's position is in critical jeopardy due to the complaints of how he handled a situation when he was in charge of a shift; though wrongly I feel, had the victim been of a Anglo-Australian heritage, there would have been no grounds to pursue the family's complaint seriously.

Equality is something I passionately want in this world; particularly gay rights. But I believe the emphasis that there is differences in the world, and people who do treat minorities differently (not necessarily worse; but walk on eggshells around them for fear of being offensive), is exactly the reason why we live in a world full of racists, homophobes, sexists and fascists.

We are all individual. We all have the right of freedom of thought, and of speech. My writing is for me, and for you if you want it, but I understand that I will offend someone, and to please everyone would be unrewarding and dull. Debate is a part of democracy. If we have to think every time before we speak, or dilute everything we say to inoffensive, generic and/or, he/she, kind of language, the freedom of our speech will no longer be a privilege but a challenge. I'm not at all advocating that we become blatantly offensive, but I think us shielding away from the sheer, in-offensive facts ("she's gay", "he's black", "they're Muslim"), when we project our thoughts into society are the most incorrect of politics.