If you want to avoid male, white, majority culture self-flagellation, I suggest that you stop reading right now. Still with us. Good. Let’s start by saying that I am ashamed of myself, though I didn’t do anything at all. Maybe this has happened to you. Here’s what happened. I was told a racist joke. I didn’t laugh or anything. But I also didn’t say something, and I probably should have. We all know that silence is the skanky little petri dish that hatred and bigotry thrive in. How do I live with myself now?
The trouble, you see, is this political correctness stuff. Instead of saying what I really felt I was politically correct, and remained silent. You see, I was at an intimate family gathering with people that I didn’t know well and whom—for the sake of a beautiful, intelligent and, despite the appearances in this context, extremely open-minded woman—I would have liked to, if not impress, then at least not offend. So given the circumstances, what I did—i.e. nothing—was the politically correct thing to do.
Ironically, political correctness is probably exactly what I would have been accused of if I had actually mustered the courage to say something—which just goes to show how confused the phrase “politically correct” has become in everyday use. I mean, if political correctness doesn’t mean saying something (or in this case nothing) for the sake of appearances and not because you genuinely believe it, then I don’t know what it could possibly mean.
According to this logic, it would seem to me that true “politically correctness” would be things that people were afraid to say even though they seemed quite true (or at least valid). Things like saying that capitalism might not really be the best economic system, or that Native Americans deserve reparation for the lands which have been taken from them, might fall into this category.
Things that are generally understood to be politically correct, on the other hand (such as not being racist, not being sexist, and not being homophobic, or being willing to at least give communists the benefit of the doubt), wouldn’t fit the definition at all. At least, sincerely doing any of these things wouldn’t fit the definition. But, truth be known, why should we judge someone on the basis of their race, their sex, their sexual orientation or even their physical appearance when we can all be a bit more straightforward and judge people on the basis of the ignorant and bigoted things that might come out of their mouths? It’s just calling things as they are.
And that’s why I say: It’s not political correctness vs. racism et al. (as we’ve all been given to understand) at all. Political correctness can itself be a form of racism. It’s not about doing the right thing, it’s about appearing to do the right thing. So let’s really do the right thing. Let’s try to be correct and not politically correct. It’s as easy as not following my example.
