Political correctness hits new heights of idiocy

In my last post, I didn't mention one of the British towns that the Local Government Association chastised for their substitution of the phrase "idea shower" for the word "brainstorm." The members of the town council had decreed the new phrase because they felt that people with epilepsy might be offended by the term "brainstorm." Strange to say, when members of the area Epilepsy Association finally were asked for their opinions, they stated that "brainstorm" didn't bother them at all.

It's good to be sensitive, but it's always best to go to the source if you don't know what to say. That's what happened years ago when we were unsure about the word "handicapped." When associations that served that population were asked what to do, they came up with what they called "people first" language, that is "people with a disability." Years and years ago, the first association that served those with cerebral palsy said that they perferred "affected by" rather than "afflicted with" cerebral palsy.

Yesterday on campus I heard a middle school student who was attending a camp there refer in all seriousness to a young man she was working with as "vertically challenged." He was shorter than she by far, but I noticed there was no word for her "condition." Is she "vertically superior?" "Vertically enhanced"? He's short. She's tall. That happens in middle school. Kids know it. They may be uncomfortable about it, but we don't have to wrap them in cotton and speak in code about a simple fact.

Could we just use common sense? Of course, we want to call people what they want to be called, but fashions wax and wane, and not everyone prefers the same term. If you don't know, ask the person what he or she would like. Does she prefer "African American" or "black"? Does he mind if you refer to him as a "diabetic" or would he rather you say, "My friend has diabetes"?

We have become so afraid of offending one another that we often avoid meaningful discourse altogether. As I read about George Carlin's death--the man who noticed that in his lifetime "toilet paper" had become "bathroom tissue" -- I thought about what a field day he would have with "idea shower." He certainly had a wonderful ability to skewer the whole PC parade, and I hope that in his memory, we might all become more linguistically honest.

The First Amendment v. obnoxious

The Kathy Griffin statement at the Emmys has certainly stirred up a hornets' nest. Because millions of Americans have died for her right to say whatever she darn pleases, I have to defend the First Amendment here. However, was it offensive to hundreds of thousands of people? Of course. Was it offensive to me? Yes. But she's been offensive before, and in fact, that's been her stock in trade. Why should anyone be surprised? Her act has always been foul-mouthed, and sometimes she goes over the edge. In my opinion, this particular speech was way past the edge. It was tasteless, uncivil, rude, uncouth, vulgar, and loutish. And I think it probably hurt some of her other causes.

It seems disingenous to me for a bemused Kathy to ask if she's the only Catholic left with a sense of humor. She had to know that her statment would create a firestorm. She's a writer. She knows the power of words.

But will I demand that she be muzzled, thrown off the air, ridden out of town, and forced to make a public apology because she said something that was personally repugnant to me? Nope. If I find her speech offensive, I don't have to listen to it. My TV can be turned off as well as on. America is still the land of the free, and that's good for all of us. Let's not make Kathy Griffin our very own Salman Rushdie.