Political Correctness is Killing Us
Aug. 23rd, 2008 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spidraI remember when I first heard the term "politically correct" in 1986. More than 20 years later, even progressive l'il me is heartily sick of it and the mindset behind it.
The East Bay has been plagued by a gaggle of takeover style robberies of restaurants. It actually started even earlier than the papers are saying because there were a number of takeover style robberies targetting Asian restaurants earlier this year. I don't think all of these robberies are being committed by the same people. I think there are copycats out there.
Last night, The Nomad Cafe on the Berkeley/Oakland border was robbed this way. I found out through an email by the owner to the neighborhood association list (for the neighborhood association in southernmost Berkeley). He gave a description of the perpetrators that mentioned their height and weight and how they were dressed. That's all. This is common in reports in the San Francisco Chronicle. What people read between the lines is that the perpetrators are African-American. They know this because the person doing the reporting is scared of being labeled a racist if they simply report the facts, esp. as part of a description that one would hope would help people to call in tips on the perpetrator/s. If the perpetrator were of Latino, European, East Asian, South Asian heritage, etc., it would be mentioned. So when it's not mentioned, people know why. IT IS UTTERLY RIDICULOUS.
How good would you be at calling in tips on possible suspects if this were the description??:
6 feet tall, weighing 150 pounds, wearing a dark sweatshirt and black jeans
5 feet 4 inches tall, wearing a dark sweatshirt
This mindset is killing Berkeley. It's already killed Oakland. Fuck Political Correctness! Save the fight for real examples of racism. There are many true incidents of racism that need to be spotlighted and eradicated. Spending time censoring things simply because people want to live in a fantasy land ignores the real issues. And creates an atmosphere where useful dialog on genuine racism is hard, if not impossible, to have.
The East Bay has been plagued by a gaggle of takeover style robberies of restaurants. It actually started even earlier than the papers are saying because there were a number of takeover style robberies targetting Asian restaurants earlier this year. I don't think all of these robberies are being committed by the same people. I think there are copycats out there.
Last night, The Nomad Cafe on the Berkeley/Oakland border was robbed this way. I found out through an email by the owner to the neighborhood association list (for the neighborhood association in southernmost Berkeley). He gave a description of the perpetrators that mentioned their height and weight and how they were dressed. That's all. This is common in reports in the San Francisco Chronicle. What people read between the lines is that the perpetrators are African-American. They know this because the person doing the reporting is scared of being labeled a racist if they simply report the facts, esp. as part of a description that one would hope would help people to call in tips on the perpetrator/s. If the perpetrator were of Latino, European, East Asian, South Asian heritage, etc., it would be mentioned. So when it's not mentioned, people know why. IT IS UTTERLY RIDICULOUS.
How good would you be at calling in tips on possible suspects if this were the description??:
6 feet tall, weighing 150 pounds, wearing a dark sweatshirt and black jeans
5 feet 4 inches tall, wearing a dark sweatshirt
This mindset is killing Berkeley. It's already killed Oakland. Fuck Political Correctness! Save the fight for real examples of racism. There are many true incidents of racism that need to be spotlighted and eradicated. Spending time censoring things simply because people want to live in a fantasy land ignores the real issues. And creates an atmosphere where useful dialog on genuine racism is hard, if not impossible, to have.
