Let me be clear, I say, “happy holidays” because I want to include my friends who don’t celebrate Christmas, not because I feel a need to follow some prescribed way of talking. And for those who feel compelled to knock the idea of political correctness, just say what the fuck you want — that’s how you knock the idea, not by knocking the idea, you see?
But none of that’s really important, what’s really important is how the idea of political correctness has actually damaged this country. Let’s get down to that.
While I was emailing with my aunt recently about the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, she said, “It’s like nothing has changed since the 70’s.” So true and so frustrating.
Speaking as a white guy who grew up in an all-white, rural suburb, racism is real. It’s very real and always has been. We’ve definitely made progress since the civil rights movement, but here’s the problem. We’ve made progress on the surface, but not underneath. The progress we’ve made has been in policy and perception, but not in reality.
policy and perception, but not in reality… That really sucks.
“Political correctness” has created a situation where we’ve just wallpapered over the real, underlying issues. Policy has created practical change on the surface, but is resented by some because they fundamentally have not changed.
This fundamental change of the underlying issues is what will lead to lasting. The real challenge to this is that we’re going to have to start having a very different conversation and everyone is going to have to admit they are wrong in some way, large or small.
Photo Credit: Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
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