Can you be too P.C.?

When you are being so considerate and PC that the result is clear separation and differing treatment between groups, you’ve probably gone too far and you eventually have the opposite effect.

Be nice, respect cultures and emotions as best you can, apologize for fuck ups and ask what’s appropriate when in doubt. That’s all the PC behavior you really need.

I do not worry too much about it.

Whenever I’m accused of being too P.C., the other party simply doesn’t want to hear that there is a more sensitive way of being and they want to remain as racist, sexist, hurtful as they wish without being bothered by these ‘activist kinds’ like myself. I suppose I am too P.C. for people who don’t really get the definition.

I’m more of a linux person

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I have read some of your answers (givin you lurve). Personally I agree with you alot :)
My question is more directed to those who think they have to act a certain way, but end up showing how un-pc they really are. I was inspired but this question, which I thought was ridiculous.

@Deja_vu: Your question seeks to place my opinions and beliefs within your categories.

I’m sorry, what I think is not co-extensive with your beliefs – your discourse is not mine

Maybe you should actually talk to those whose positions you seem to wish to understand.

I just want to state that I’m not against political correctness. I believe that I’m a very PC person. So no attacks Please.

Sometimes being too PC comes off worse than we are really trying to say, and people can sense our discomfort in choosing the “right” words as to not hurt anyone. Anyway, I find most people to have a good sense of humor and don’t get easily offended by words. Unless it’s blatant racism, sexism…then that’s a different story.

I try to keep my conversations as inclusive and bias free as possible.

@the100thmonkey I’m not sure you understand where I’m coming from with my question.

Political Correctness is a label used for courtesy and respect that people feel they are compelled to extend in a growing climate of tolerance and respect for differences of many types.

What does it say about someone who resents being expected to treat others decently? To me it suggests a boor who would prefer to denigrate or belittle people different from themselves.

Can you be too PC? Only if you truly resent gender-neutral terms, basic decent behaviour towards people with different levels of ability, and respect for the rights others have to live and love differently. If you feel forced to respect others and resent it, then you may be a nasty, intolerant person who prefers to abuse others rather than too live and let live. Such a person can be too PC.

@Deja_vu

You said:

My question is more directed to those who think they have to act a certain way, but end up showing how un-pc they really are. I was inspired but this question, which I thought was ridiculous.

But later:

I just want to state that I’m not against political correctness. I believe that I’m a very PC person. So no attacks Please.

I wonder how these statements can be reconciled…but of course, as the person who asked the question you thought was ridiculous, I may be letting my personal bias to get in the way of understanding…

Also yes – personally, I believe that something can get too P.C. that it leads to someone being un-P.C. – pretty much when someone feels like they can’t say something because it might be construed as offensive, because then you don’t have people talking.

Like – I think I’m getting too P.C. when I never tell my friends how I get a little hurt every time I’m invited to their weddings even though I can’t get married because I want to respect their feelings, even though there’s a way to do it where I wouldn’t offend them, but may actually help the cause of gay rights. In that way, I’m afraid to offend, so I end up not helping.

@iamthemob I am GAY!

@Deja_vu

I didn’t say you weren’t…what’s that got to do with it?

Yes, I think you can be too P.C. This can happen when you use so-called “politically correct” terms to refer to people who would rather you use a different term. (For example, I’ve heard from many black people that they preferred to be called “black” instead of “African American”; if they specifically request that, it would be “too P.C.” to go against their wishes). The same kind of thing happens black British people are referred to as “African American”. I also believe that some terms, such as “person of size” (that was really meant as a joke when I heard it) are a bit ridiculous and completely skirt around what they are trying to say. My aunt was overweight, over 100 pounds overweight, and she would have been the first person to insist that “overweight” was a good enough term.

So, in other words, being “too PC” happens when you use terms that are seemingly devoid of any real meaning and when you ignore people’s requests to be addressed or referred to in certain ways for the sake of “PC”.

As @Simone_De_Beauvoir pointed out, most accusations of being “too PC” are from people who just plain don’t want to change their offensive behavior.

@DominicX

The same kind of thing happens black British people are referred to as “African American”.

HA! Oh wow…never even thought of that.

@iamthemob I think marriage is beautiful thing, and straight marriage isn’t going to make me upset or uncomfortable. Thus I thought your question was ridiculous, as you obviously think my question was so.

Much of the meaning in a message can be missed because we try to be too politically correct.

When I was in college, I had a business communications teacher that believed that a sentence was only good if it only had those words that were integral to the meaning of the sentence. All other words should be removed to “cleanse” the sentence. Shorter was always better. And for the most part he was correct.

Too often our message gets lost in the political correctness. We’ve all heard the cliche “Keep it Simple Stupid.” However, it seems that when it comes to marketing and advertising, people forget the basics. I’ve found that by following my old professor’s advice and keeping things simple, my message was clearer and easier to understand.

Get to the Point
People like it when you get to the point. My wife always accuses me of belaboring the beginning of a story so much that the real important message is lost. Just get to the point. Once you’ve gotten to the point, remember the great Dragnet motto, “Just the facts Maam.” State your position and then back it up with “the facts.” As you describe the facts the prospective client will come to realize that your product really is the key to his success. I like the quote by Blaise Pascal that says:

We are more easily persuaded, in general, by the reasons we ourselves discover than by those which are given to us by others
As they get enough “facts” they will have enough information to make an informed decision. They will come up with the correct reasons for themselves. And that is all I have to say about this.

Shamelessly lifted from, but now I am giving credit to

Any PC is too PC.

I think creating a word to be even more neutral or accommodating than anyone in the named group has requested can be too PC.

E.g., I could be wrong, but I think most albinos don’t mind being called albino when it’s done appropriately and respectfully; and I’ve never heard of an albino asking to be called “pigment-deprived” instead.

Another example would concern women. AFAIK, most women don’t mind being called women, and I’ve yet to hear of a woman requesting that she be called a “gyno-terrestrial” or a “gyno sapien” instead. ;-)

Woman = w/o a man = woman.

@Deja_vu

Nope – I thought the comments here regarding the question there were ridiculous. But as I said, I’m bringing some baggage to it maybe. So let’s neither of us play the victim about that. ;-)

And I think @rts486 really has it right. Being P.C. ends up stopping you from talking. However, refusing to acknowledge how they way you’ve phrased something or done something might be harmful is just stubborn. I don’t think continuing to behave that way, after being told about the potential or actual harm, should have anything to do with whether you are P.C. or not. What it might make you, however, is kind of an asshole.

@Deja_vu:

My apologies, my initial post was too brief.

Essentially, I reject the term “P.C.” – it’s a loaded term designed to be prejudicial to reasonable debate.

Describing something as politically correct rather than, say, morally correct, or even just correct, we are invited to dismiss the validity of the opinion or behaviour out of hand.

This is why I wrote that my discourse is not co-extensive with yours – you accept the term P.C., and as such accept that there are beliefs whose justifications are not worth seeking or evaluating.

@Deja_vu The company I worked for required that we all go through discrimination and harassment training every year. The bulk of the workshop’s content was devoted to how to be PC, like do not comment on someone’s hair style, as it might be a wig, or do not compliment someone’s clothes as they might interpret it as implying that what they wore that day was a much better choice than what they normally wear. It got to the point where, over years, our work environment became overly professional, and we lost the friends/family type atmosphere. Compliments were whispered, and hugs were given when others weren’t looking. That is being too PC.

@the100thmonkey Thank you for putting words to how I feel about the generality of being PC. We have a perfect case-in-point going on here. @iamthemob has expressed how he feels when his straight friends are allowed to get married, and more than once, he has stressed that these are his personal feelings and not necessarily something that goes for the entire gay community in the US. Deja_vu has stated stated that she finds his question on another thread as being ‘too PC.’ It isn’t.

When it comes down to it, the bulk of the problem is in lack of communication to our friends on how we want to be treated or how we feel. And when that information is shared, a true friend would honor it.

When it comes down to it, the bulk of the problem is in lack of communication to our friends on how we want to be treated or how we feel. And when that information is shared, a true friend would honor it.

This is a profound and simple way of putting it – thanks @Pied_Pfeffer. I feel too often that when someone says they are offended by what we say, we often tend to be put on the defensive. Then, we accidentally end up defending the kind of thought we never meant to express in the first place!

The workplace is the perfect example of the too-PC environment. People aren’t supposed to talk because it could lead to lawsuits – therefore, silence is maintained because of the fear of reprisal. That fear is what stops us from moving forward.