Political correctness, a word that has had quite an up and coming in recent years. But what is political correctness? The definition is the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against, however today the word refers to much more. Political correctness has taken the form of avoiding anything that might offend someone.
Now don't get me wrong, I think being a jerk is as bad as anyone, but the fact that there is not a need for an increase in political correctness is evident. Saying words like the "n-word" and other racial slurs are obviously hurtful and should not be uttered, but other words such as "black" draw crowds of people yelling, "that's racist!" Racist is defined as a person who believes that a particular race is superior to another. Black has become a politically incorrect term, and there is no reason for that. The word "black" is not bringing the race down, just as the word "white" doesn't have racist intentions towards white individuals.
Now racism is still an issue in the world today, that is quite evident. In the world of black individuals, the Ku Klux Klan is still a very large issue. Just as with radical Islam extremists, that one group represents a whole, and whites are represented as racist people who think that they're the best. That just comes with people's perception of things, and the increase of the media.
Speaking of the media, a main factor in the increase of political correctness is this society. The media has many methods of manipulating viewpoints, thus causing strife among many. This picture to the left is a prime example as to how the media can show different perspectives to influence the common opinion. Every day on the news, you hear tragic stories about deaths, "20 die in plane crash," or "3 dead in theater shooting," however this is shadowed out by other minor issues involving a controversial issue, such as gay marriage or racial violence. A prime example is the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin incident in which George Zimmerman, a white-Hispanic male was out on a neighborhood patrol. He noticed Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old African American male, and called the police, reporting him for "suspicious activity." Their was then an altercation between the two individuals, which led to Zimmerman fatally shooting Martin in the chest. Zimmerman originally was not charged with anything, due to his claims of self-defense. The story is not necessarily the main point, but the fact that after the shooting, riots and protests blew up nationwide due to the fact that a white male killed a black teenager. You don't hear of riots if a crime is white on white, black on white, or any other mix of races. White on black crime is labeled as "hate crime," while murder is just plain murder. I don't care what race you are, if you commit murder then you get put away or given the death penalty. On the other hand, self defense is a justified act. Even if the victim is a black teenager, if self defense was actually put into play, it had a justified reason. The issue here isn't race, it's the fact that people make it an issue of race.
All in all, people need to stop being offended so much. Basic things turn out as huge issues because a small group of people get offended. Cloyd Rivers, if you're reading this, I appreciate you checking out my blog. Oh, and by the way, Merica.
For more information on the issue of political correctness, visit here.
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