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}}>Begin
Oh, Man � How to Madden a P.C. Crazy
UPI
Monday, June 12, 2000
LONDON � It's official, at least in parts of Manchester, England. The use of
words such as "lady" and "history" and "slaving over a hot stove" are not only
politically incorrect but cause offense, a college in Greater Manchester has
decreed.
The Stockport College issued the directive in a document titled "Equal
Opportunities: Policy into Practice." The study urged its teachers and 15,000
students to desist from using words such as "mad," "manic" or "crazy" � lest
their utterance or usage in text was misconstrued as insulting to the mentally
ill, the Telegraph newspaper said Sunday.
A college hit list of about 40 words explained that "lady" was just as bad as
"gentleman" because both words implied class. But that did not mean students or
teachers could go for a "woman" � oh, no. The right word to use would be a
person � as in a person in the street (not, repeat not, a man in the street).
"History" was out because, the college explained, the first syllable of the
word was glaringly sexist. But it is perhaps not as bad as a "normal couple" �
an unthinkable indiscretion for those aspiring to be politically correct.
The college said it decided to abolish "slaving over a hot stove" because the
term was often used by students during practical work but sadly invoked
memories offensive to ethnic minorities � oops, another term completely out of
bounds under the new directive.
The expression "nitty gritty" was targeted as being particularly offensive to
people of African origin, the college said.
"It is political correctness of the worst kind," Nick Seaton, chairman of the
Campaign for Real Education, told the Telegraph. "It is amazing that academics
are still indulging in this sort of nonsense. They should be concentrating on
teaching their students, instead of trying to ban words which any ordinary
person would regard as an everyday part of the English language."
The college said it intended to make adherence to its policy a condition of
service and admission for teachers and students. It admitted that pursuit of
politically correct language could sometimes go too far.
However, Internet surfers found that the college had yet to update its own Web
site and continues to use banned words such as "blind" (instead of "visually
impaired") and "ethnic minorities."
The college guidelines came to light a few days after a state-run employment
facilitation center in Walsall, England, refused to accept an advertisement in
which an employer said he was seeking a "hard-working" recruit.
Jonathan Stevenson, the center's manager, argued the phrase could offend the
disabled but relented after David Blunkett, the senior education and employment
minister, intervened.
In September last year, the Roman Catholic Church accused a priest of "absurd
political correctness" for refusing to wrap babies in white christening shawls
because he said the color was offensive to black parents. The priest, who was
not named, dropped traditional prayers and other parts of the baptism ceremony
because they contained references to "white" and "darkness" that he said were
"dangerously divisive" words in multicultural Britain.
The priest's views were published under a pseudonym by the Tablet weekly
newspaper. Joel Edwards, general director of Evangelical Alliance, which
represents more than a million Christians in Britain, accused the pastor of
suffering from "cultural paranoia."
He said, "This is going back to the time a few years ago when you couldn't call
a blackboard a blackboard because somebody found it offensive. We have to be
sensitive about the use of language, but this is going overboard. Those
comments are not an expression of multicultural sensitivity but patronizing and
out of step with what black churchgoers believe."
(C) 2000 UPI. All Rights Reserved.
End<{{
>>>Ah, the conspiracy continues ... back in them olden days when I was a card-
carrying member of NOW, I believed in the "equal rights" and "parity" and
associated issues with regard to balancing the genders. One of the 'hot'
topics was how much was a 'housewife' worth in terms of contributions to the
familial, social, and economic fabrics of our country. I recall about $16K at
the time. What has happened since? INSTEAD of validating the 'traditional'
contributions of woman-kind and providing compensation therefor, it appears
that following in the footsteps of their men (is this Pauline, in the Xtian
sense?) is the only path available. We have adopted a culture in which the
endeavours of men have been not only chiseled into granite, but are worshipped
with glowing adoration each and every day. Instead of making the feminine
aspects of the language, again, valid, they are removed, sanitised, unisexuated
(if not UNsexuated), relegated to some closet -- dark, dank, musty, cobwebby
(with spiders!) -- replaced by "___ - person", "host" (for "host" and
"hostESS"), "guys", mens' wear (and just *why* are only men transvestites?),
mens' sports (WNBA, soccer, boxing, et cetera). This may prove one thing:
continuing to emulate men is the key to validation ("we're okay as long as we
can do the things you've been doing", i.e.). Now we have 'super-moms' (actual
and in training) ... able to fulfill the 'normal' feminine roles (motherhood,
e.g.) while trodding new (really old) social, business, political,
recreational, and other paths, looking disdainfully askance at the locked
closet each time it's passed. Do we celebrate women for being 'women' or for
their 'success' in paying homage to the masculine paradigm? A<>E<>R <<<
A<>E<>R
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