Not all P.C. crap comes from the Left
June 5th, 2007You hear me all the time railing the Left for political correctness. I hate political correctness for obvious reasons, being a Freedom lover. Sometimes, the most stupid p.c. crap comes from the Right.
The firing of Joycelyn Elders
For example, the firing of Joycelyn Elders. Whether you loved her or hated her, she got canned for about the most stupid firing I’ve seen in politics. At a U.N. AIDS conference, someone asked if with AIDS around, should we promote teaching masturbation. She simply answered affirmitively.
Now, teaching masturbation is silly, because if someone can’t figure out how to masturbate, I think there are seriously deeper issues involved there. However, you don’t fire someone for answering a simple question. The blame for this falls 100% on the Right, for it was their bitching and whining that led to her dismissal for that simple reply.
John Ashcroft covering a statue’s breast
Then there’s John Ashcroft. I loved him when it came to guns. I hated him when it comes to Puritanism. What immediately comes to mind is his covering of Lady Liberty’s exposed breast.
It’s a freaking statue. When I first heard about that, I thought it was a joke. What scared me is that it wasn’t a joke. No wonder Ashcroft lost an election to a dead guy. Heck, if I weren’t such a gun nut, I would have voted for a dead guy over Ashcroft.
Breasts are some of God’s greatest creations. Your mother’s breasts fed you, and gave you immunity to all the diseases she built up immunity to. Imagine all the millions of people who would be dead today if it weren’t for breasts. Breasts are not sex organs, and America’s backwards beliefs about breasts frankly disturb me. If I were running the show, if a man could take his shirt off at a beach, so should a woman. Sure folks would stare at first, but we’ll get used to it sooner than you realize.
Movie ratings
The whole movie rating system is completely out of whack, and I’ll put more blame on the Right than the Left for this one. You can see someone get decapitated and have their head roll by your feet (Indiana Jones 3 - PG-13), blow tons of people away (just about every action movie in Hollywood), and even see someone explode into a mass of blood (Mission to Mars - which was PG, not even PG-13) and not get an R rating. Throw a naked body in there, you get an R rating.
In real life, what do you think would screw up a kid more? Seeing someone’s head get sliced off or seeing someone naked? I think we got this one backwards.
I’m also a big hater of p.c. as it’s totally illogical. What is pc now won’t be as soon as tomorrow and it’s all based on feelings which change even more frequently. Ugh.
I was just mentioning Ashcroft and his puritanism yesterday. That naughty,naughty art.
i was thinking maybe ashcroft was gonna throw a burqa over the statue…
you nailed this one. got it right on all counts.
I want to state first of all, that I think PC is worthy of ridicule and that you are right that both sides of the aisle are guilty of it. At the same time I think that there is a distinction, be it ever so subtle between political correctness and a sense of public decency.
First, to Ms. Elders… I am not familiar with the details of this case. Nonetheless, it sounds like the issue at hand was not one of political correctness. Ms. Elders held a public position as an extension of a representative office. From the information you provided it sounds like she made a public statement on the platform of her office. This is different than a private individual stating a private opinion in a private context. If Johnny Next-Door says that he thinks the cavalry should have finished the job and killed all the Indians to his KKK buddies over some Wild Turkey, that is different than the Secretary of
State expressing that opinion or the CEO of Winchester saying that. If they were to make such a statement, the Sec of State should be removed (as she is over Indian Affairs I think), and the board of Winchester should sack the CEO. It is not just a matter of someone expressing an unpopular opinion, it is a matter of someone in office directly advocating a behavior that much of the constituency considers to be morally wrong. Besides which, masturbation as a solution for AIDS? She should have been fired immediately for having even answered such an idiotic question in the first place, much less answering it in the affirmative.
The statue breast thing I don’t get. I don’t remember what the statements were in favor of the covering. If you can’t recognize the difference between the tasteful artistic nude and smut, though, I don’t even know what to say. Even if you have a problem with it, make a new statue. Don’t mess with the artist’s aesthetic. That is ridiculous. But again, it is not PC.
Political correctness has to do with speech about people groups who are perceived to have been discriminated against. It has more to do with racism, sexism, and the like.
I agree. Breasts are good and can be particularly pleasant in the right context. I don’t agree that nudity is as simple an issue as you put it. I agree we should be less obsessive and inconsistent about it. But when Adam and Eve ate the fruit and saw that they were naked something happened. God clothed them and seems to have killed animals to do it. That is significant. Even if you don’t believe the Bible it shows that at the root of Judeo-Christianity there is some sense about this.
There are definitely inconsistencies in the violence/nudity in film ratings. For an interesting perspective, check out ‘On Killing’ by Dave Grossman. He looks at the desensitization to violence in war and in the media from a military psychologist’s perspective.
All in all, America is moralistic. Whether you are incensed by racism, by nekkid statues, or by the violation of free speech, it is often a sense that morality has been violated. I think a lot of the problem is that many of us have strongly held moral judgments without a solid basis or framework for why we hold them.
Part of the reason that all of this craziness goes on is that we have pushed the concept of free speech (a 20th century idea not guaranteed by the Constitution or the Bill of Rights) to such a great frenzy that we end up tilting windmill giants. And in the end we have lost perspective on a sense of polite decency. So in the end officially advocating masturbation as public policy and covering Liberty’s (or Justice’s… can’t remember) nipple actually sound rational and polite to some people. Crazy.
(Please pardon the long comment.)
My favorite example right now is that I can watch ‘Law and Order’ during the day and early evening and have no warning that it might not be great viewing for kids, but when ‘Law and Order - SVU’ comes on it has a warning. It’s just weird that the violence is okay, but anything of a sexual nature isn’t.
Also, although I’m not a big Bible fan myself, I think it’s interesting to note in the Garden of Eden story that God created Adam and Eve naked and left them that way. It wasn’t God who was embarrassed by the nudity, it was Adam. I’m not sure what that means about humanity…
In a side question on the Garden story, if Adam and Eve had no knowledge of good and evil before they ate the fruit, how could God be mad at them for doing something they had no concept of being good or bad?
Yikes. But good on all counts. There is so much out there I dont know about.
Actually, you’d be surprised how much need there is for teaching masturbation. Not necessarily ‘technique’ but teaching that it’s nothing to be ashamed about.
Parents often give non-verbal cues to kids that inadvertently or not give kids the impression that “down there” is “bad.” For instance, when kids are learning to talk, and they point to their nose and you say “nose!” and they point to their foot and you say “foot!” and they point to their genitals, and a lot parents either say nothing or even pull the kids hands away or point to a different body part… this teaches kids this is something not to be talked about. Don’t even get me started on religion and sexual well-being either. Remember the whacko in Florida who had the marquee for the theatre forcibly changed from “Vagina Monologues” to “Hooha Monologues?”
We’re still a very sexually repressed culture, despite the over-sexualization of the media.
I think your right. P.C. crap is flying at us from every direction right now…
Laura - Masturbation isn’t bad…but it does make you go blind. Everyone with glasses or contacts raise your hand…errrr…your free hand!
I believe in being kind to each other, WITHOUT gov’t interference!
I totally agree with you ZS!
You’re incorrigible Shawn! That must be why I love ya.
Just - Yeah. That dang statue. She should know better than to leave a breast exposed. What about the poor, defenseless children!
Lime - Heh. Glad we finally agree on something other than what is sexy.
(and food and humor, of course)
Yonder - I was pondering what you said, and I thought of MM, the coach of the Green Bay Packers. Well anyways, the press likes to ask all the questions to embarrass, because it sells. So they ask all the uncomfortable questions. “Why didn’t you guys get Randy Moss?” Tries to avoid question. “So, who failed in your organization getting Randy Moss?” Tries to avoid question. “Who’s the blame for letting Randy Moss slip?” Finally, he cracks and answers and suddenly, thousands of people around the world hate certain Packers high up in the organization.
Probably the same thing happened with Elders.
And no, I’m getting away from what the real definition of P.C., but the whole point is, I’m trying to point out that it’s not just the Left that’s to blame for censorship, although they’re definitely bigger culprits recently.
Shawn - Good point about Adam and Eve. But if you remember, they covered their gentiles. They left their chests exposed. There. Proves my point.
Right on too about Law and Order.
As for your final question, I’m taking the 5th.
Tweety - There’s so much I don’t know about either. I’ve learned so much from blogging. I wish there was one more hour in the day I could devote to blogging.
Laura - Right on! One of these days, I’d love to do a post on what you just said.
SME - Yup. And I don’t like any of it.
Shawn again - Masturbation not only makes one go blind, but it makes one have hairy palms. But you have to weigh things here. What’s worse, having AIDS or going blind + having hairy palms? I’d have to say having AIDS. One can always wear glasses and shave one’s palms.
Tshsmom - I believe in being kind to each other, WITHOUT gov’t interference!
Short, simple, and perfect.
you are correct about the right and left both being responsible for censorship. i would just ask whether there is such a thing as good censorship, especially in a climate where many have such an underdeveloped sense of self-censorship.
elders may well have been harried into answering the question. but that teaching masturbation would have any impact on AIDS is simply absurd.
and for the record, adam and eve covered themselves with aprons of fig leaves first, but then God covered them with the skins of animals.
a thought-provoking post, as always, Z!
Yes, there is good censorship. It’s called the conscience, and it would actually be nice if folks were more decent. I just don’t want to see laws made. I strongly believe 90% of laws need to go. We have too many laws in this country.
And that reminds me, I need to read Genesis again. Thanks for filling me in. And skins of animals are extremely comfortable. When winter hits, we whip out the skins. Much better (and warmer) than comforters. Another reason to hate PETA. I love wearing skins, and skins are biodegradable, unlike pleather which is an environmental disaster (takes forever to break down pleather in a landfill).
Conscience is decaying in our society, and no amount of PC crap, regardless of its origins, will save us. We live in a morally bankrupt society.
Hahaha, good one. PC don’t really think before they speak. they jsut want to make a fuss by being shocked at anything. I’m sure they’d have something to say if someone wore blue socks with black trousers. In Netherlands, they teach masturbation to young children and they have the least teen sex in the world, so it might just work.
You hit it right on about censorship in film - I always proposed the same analogy - if a kid walks into a room and finds two people making love, what will the psychological effect be, long term? If a kid walks into a room and sees someone blow someone’s head off with a shotgun, what will be the long term effect? Curiously, and of possibly no relevance here, my favorite song by the Cure is from their album “Pornography”, and it is titled “A Short Term Effect”. Anyway, back to something relevant - perhaps someone responding to your post already mentioned it, but the reason the MPAA gives lighter ratings to movies depicting violence than those showing nudity is to desensitize people at as young an age as possible to acts of violence, and likewise to glorify killing, so as to keep a steady crop of young folks enlisting in a military infrastructure, with no real psychological preconception of the brutal reality: the absolute terror of war.
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