tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11340801.post113045136954411803..comments2023-10-06T16:45:25.381+13:00Comments on "Elephants and the Law" by Dean Knight: Proud to be PC!Dean Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03069298298745322597noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11340801.post-1130824759659167152005-11-01T18:59:00.000+13:002005-11-01T18:59:00.000+13:00Andre - you makie some excellent points (which is ...Andre - you makie some excellent points (which is something you see far too infrequently among those opposed in one form or other to political correctness) - my somewhat fallible memory was that the person who felt forced to resign in DC(?) was an elected councillor.Graeme Edgelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03928755583921638414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11340801.post-1130797826562278452005-11-01T11:30:00.000+13:002005-11-01T11:30:00.000+13:00If being PC means no more than upholding fairness,...If being PC means no more than upholding fairness, tolerance and respect for others, then I'm as proud to be PC as the next person. But to the extent that being PC prescribes the "right" way to think on wider issues or values, where reasonable minds may differ in a free and democratic society, it collides headlong with fundamental human rights such as freedom of speech and independent thought. <BR/><BR/>At its height in the 80s & 90s, being PC threatened to become Orwellian, such was the grip it held on public thought. Any value system that leads to a civil servant being fired for saying the word "niggardly" in public, simply because that word sounds too much like "nigger", is a value system run amok. (This really happened in the United States, to a Washington DC local government official, if I remember correctly.) Needless to say, etymologists have been unable to substantiate the link.<BR/><BR/>If we're championing unobjectionable values such as fairness and justice, then I'll march on the PC crusade. But if the real agenda is to silence any criticism of the Human Rights Commission, or of the Waitangi Tribunal, then I prefer to support freedom of speech and the right to criticise public institutions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11340801.post-1130788044065774012005-11-01T08:47:00.000+13:002005-11-01T08:47:00.000+13:00I accept there are (odd) occasions where so called...I accept there are (odd) occasions where so called PCism seems extreme (eg pretending Xmas does not exist so poor kids don't feel bad), but don't think there's a widespread epidemic justifying a shadow Ministry. <BR/><BR/>In time, the anti-PC brigade will see that, despite the rhetoric and anecdotal evidence, there is not such a problem to cure, and on a case by case basis is likely to be defeated in most of its 'crusades'.<BR/><BR/>drcAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com