Political correctness is something that on the surface looks like an agenda everyone can get behind. No one wants to promote negative stereotypes or hurt people’s feelings, so we should all watch what we say and try not to offend anyone with generalizations or slang. In fact, we should change some words so they are more inclusive and ban the use of others because they’re just too hateful. While we’re at it, we should also stop using words in anything other than their original contextualization. Plus we don’t want to be gender-specific, because the archaic roles of yesteryear have started to level out. And…
You see where I’m going with this.
There are several groups of thought on being “PC.” First you have the racially minded folks who just have to have their own special label for every creed and color. African-Americans, Native Americans, and Canadian-Iranian-Americans are all allotted titles that accentuate their differences in a supposedly polite way. Then there are the people who are trying to stamp out the usage of hate words entirely, which apart from being slightly ridiculous is also impossible. After all, we’ve seen the various attempts to force people to comply with or meet a power-dictated regime throughout history, and it’s never been successful. Finally, you have the language police: “Don’t use the term ‘lame,’ it’s an insult to people who are actually physically inhibited!” “I’m not short; I’m vertically challenged.” Possibly the most irritating, this group refuses to realize that the English language is fluid and has been changing for hundreds of years. Yes, words have literal meanings, but they are often used in warped or informal ways in various subcultures.
There’s nothing wrong with being concerned with the way people use and abuse the English language. I tend to tweak out irrationally if I see someone misuse any form of “you’re.” But you have to take into account the fact that the modern vernacular is always changing. Examine, for example, the word “cool.” Traditionally, it refers to a temperature that is neither too hot nor too cold, but is instead a pleasant sensation just below warm and often accompanied by a breeze. Over the years, it’s changed to mean something exciting, interesting or awesome. The delightfully modern expression “cool beans,” used as an exclamation of pleasure or discovery, didn’t exist in Shakespearian England. Should we unfurl the protest banners?
At some point, you have to sit back and realize that constantly worrying about what you’re going to say next is unhealthy and unproductive. Let’s face it, certain terms that crop up in daily conversation could be taken as offensive but are almost never meant to be. Words like “gay,” “lame,” and “retard” are now frequently used pieces of society’s lexicon. Is this wrong? Should we be concerned by it? In a word, no.
We will never be able to stamp words out of existence. There will always be those outliers of society who try to break down the bridges of world community by spreading dissent and anger. That’s just an unfortunate part of the human experience. What we should be focusing on is the development of thick skin. The old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,” despite being consistently wrong, is actually good advice and a goal we should aim for. Another strategy is to adopt the slur as a part of racial or social tradition. The black community has taken the n-word, long considered one of the worst racial slurs out there, and turned it into a greeting within their own social circles. While this concept may seem confusing to some, the frequent usage of the word weakens it, drawing out the poisonous intent and leaving an ironic amusement and sense of unity. Frowning upon and banning hate words is attempting to control a symptom, not striving toward a cure.
Words are just words, people. You can use them to help or hurt, promote or discredit. A word is only as powerful as the meaning behind it and the fellow words around it. When someone is learning English for the first time, he or she sees no cultural significance in isolated words because those words need context to carry weight. We need to acknowledge that the average middle school student busting out a frustrated “retard!” during a debate with friends isn’t trying to hurt anyone’s feelings. It’s just become a socially accepted expression. Let’s instead devote our energy toward continuing to build those bridges of interracial trust and respect, rather than concern ourselves with the semantics of terminology.
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