1.) It isn't just about you.
If you read the comments section on any news page that is reporting on this giant mess, you will see a large group of people who I'd like to refer to as the, "I-Have-a-Black/Gay/Handicapped-Friend-So-It's-Totally-Okay-For-Me-To-Say-That" group. I think in a situation where people can get offended, we should follow the lead of the ones who are offended. It is very short-sighted to assume that because you are not affected by an objectionable statement, that no one else will be. In fact, I would think anyone who knows something is discourteous to an entire group of people and doesn't care is not "politically incorrect." No, we call those people assholes. Don't believe me? Let me give an example.
Ladies, let's say that you are walking along the street and a guy from your work comes up and says that he would like to play your breasts like they are a pair of bongos. You point out that the statement is offensive and quite frankly, a little disgusting and he responds with, "Don't be so sensitive! I have female friends and THEY weren't offended by it." I guarantee that you would be giving him the side-eye from then until the end of time and if the scenario took place at work, you'd put a call in to Human Resources.
So why are people allowed a pass in this situation?
2.) Because "it happened forever ago!"
Forever and 175 years ago, are not the same thing.
History lesson for the unlearned: The Trail of Tears was a forced massacre of the Native American people. Five tribes (at least) were forcibly removed from the Southeast thanks to President Andrew Jackson and marched to present day Oklahoma. Thousands upon thousands of people died; men, women and children.
When the Third Reich started to slaughter the Jewish people in gas chambers and concentration camps, the American people got involved. Granted our military involvement increased mainly after Pearl Harbor but regardless, Hitler's genocide was not tolerated by most civilized people on the globe. Why is our own personal annihilation of the Five Civilized Tribes not also seen with the same disdain?
Oh, right. We're Americans. The mistakes that we make are white-washed over (pun slightly intended) because, "The Native Americans/African Americans should have known that we would come after them/their land and therefore, not our fault!" I'd like to clarify that while our entire country isn't guilty of this kind of professional victim-blaming, there is a large division of the population who actually believes this crock of shit. Granted they are often also the people who think rape culture exists mainly to poison young women's minds and target innocent boys.
I am positive that these two forms of victim-blaming can absolutely be compared. In one, you are suggesting that a group of people shouldn't be offended because they "got what was coming to them." And in the other, you are suggesting that a group of people shouldn't be offended because they, in a way, "got what was coming to them." They are both suggesting that the fault doesn't lie in the aggressor but in the one that should have remained vigilant of the aggressor's potential actions. We can't just say, "Don't rape" or in this case, "Don't pillage and walk to death several tribes of people." We have to also say, "And don't let yourself be raped" or "don't let yourself be walked to death by those with technology far outweighing yours, numbers far outweighing yours and resources far outweighing yours." If you still can't see a connection after that walk-through of it, I can't help you.
So where is the disconnect? Why won't anyone see that their words can be so much more than they intend for them to be? That minimizing these problems doesn't help but hinders the people that are speaking out against it.
3.) We are just plain lazy.
Every time I read the comments on a news page or a friend's post on Facebook regarding this kind of thing, there are a hundred people out there screaming of their "tiring of political correctness." I don't know about the rest of you but I never tire of being respectful of other human beings. Except maybe the human beings that tire of being respectful of other human beings. (Ha! See what I did there?) But seriously, every single link I find suggesting that learning more appropriate terminology to approach political correctness is merely a Band-Aid to cover-up the problem as a whole makes me want to bash my head into something.
Maybe the blatant racism/sexism/etc. that exists in our society today is the bigger problem. The bleeding pustule of a problem, no less. But to keep this wound metaphor rolling, what do you do when you have a wound that is infected and needs to be treated by a doctor? You clean it and cover it with a bandage of some kind until the problem can be properly addressed. Yes, political correctness will not solve the problems of the world but it will definitely set a guideline to what is acceptable in our society. If racist jokes and sexist remarks are acceptable in our society, then we are promoting a society of racism and sexism. We are saying it is copacetic to slight millions of people and their everyday struggles. And that is not okay.
Saying things like "that's gay" or "totally retarded" is a great example of this problem. Sure, you can say those phrases. Chances are you are going to offend someone, since there are both gay and mentally handicapped people at large in our world. Instead of using them though, how about you use better and more descriptive vocabulary words that don't provoke others? Is it too difficult to find an alternative? I haven't found that to be so.
Now for story time, where I also share how I have also been part of this sad blight on humanity: A year ago (maybe longer) I was having a conversation with my friend on the phone when I said how I had been "gypped" by the telephone company. He immediately stopped my story and asked me if I knew what "gypped" meant. I knew what the definition was but I had no clue what the origin of the word was. I was absolutely humiliated when I realized what it meant and that I was propagating a stereotype. I do believe at that moment though, I immediately went on the defensive. That is also normal. It is normal to feel embarrassed once you are made aware of distasteful phrases that you use. What is not normal is being advised about it and ignoring it entirely. It is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to learn. We are human beings and will spend the rest of our lives learning and growing. Don't let one of your mistakes be that you refuse to change an existing problem when you have the power to do so.
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