Sick of having to be Politically Correct over nearly everything

[SickofThisCountry]

Dont want to cause some big debate but is anyone else on here getting sick to the back teeth of having to watch their p's and q's through fear of offending every tom, dick and harry.

So you're not actually prepared to say specifically something you want to say that you feel you can't because of political correctness.

Funny that. Nobody ever can.

Why on earth would anyone persist in arguing against something that makes things better? TSH is being deliberately obtuse god knows why.

Seeker..well, she does seem keento use the word 'retard'to describe a medical condition

As you do if you are in a 1950s timewarp.

Or being a rather childish rebel.

I wholeheartedly with treating people with respect, not saying offensive terms, respecting that some terms which may seem innocuous are offensive etc etc. If I said or say a term that somebody finds offensive I will happily be corrected and wont say it again.
But ... why on earth do those who defend political correctness always have to have such a sneering, patronising, self-rightiousness, often just plain rude tone? Seriously guys, you're obsessed with not hurting people's feelings by using the wrong terms or whatever but you are happy to come on threads like this and be sarcastic, rude, talk down to people or pick them up on how they phrased something just because they take a different view to yourselves or perhaps just arent as educated as yourselves or whatever.
I think it is fair to say there is a reactionary movement against the concept of 'political correctness' and that this is the case is because of people like you.

I'm completely missing your point now Harpy. So you don't want to use the terms "retard" or "handicap", you want to accurately describe the condition a person is suffering from? Is that not what everybody does already? Not seeing your problem?

How is it passive ad unthinking to strive for change and progress? Anything else screams of someone stuck in the past ruled by fear of moving on

I like the term 'stupid'. I don't like when used to describe someone because they have a learning disability.

I like to use it about the 'hard of thinking'. There seems to be quite a lot of people on this thread who are 'hard of thinking'.

Yes..and the people who sneer at political correctness are really deep thinking and never sarcastic and rude

"But ... why on earth do those who defend political correctness always have to have such a sneering, patronising, self-rightiousness, often just plain rude tone?"

Please could you show me where?

Having said upthread how l hate my DGD being defined by her disability/condition especially by teachers and the like who should know better , on reflection l do think context comes into it. So for example l once overheard a head nurse in a chest clinic saying to her colleague - 'my CF children will start to arrive soon'.
Now that didn't bother me because obviously her and the other DCs CF was the defining reason they were there and had to be distinguished from other conditions etc.
Maybe she could have said it slightly differently with the emphasis on them being children first to be absolutely pc but in that context and said in a caring tone it didn't offend me.
Mums,teachers who point her out in a whole room of DCs as the 'poorly' or 'CF child' does wind me up for fun however

Harpy. No you haven't.

Why is it hypocritical to not want to cause other people offence?

"Essentially because they're hypocrites... Not motivated by genuine altruism but by pure smuggery and the warm sense of satisfaction this affords them."

That is just such a cynical attitude.

Why?

Seriously guys, you're obsessed with not hurting people's feelings by using the wrong terms or whatever but you are happy to come on threads like this and be sarcastic, rude, talk down to people or pick them up on how they phrased something just because they take a different view to yourselves

There's no contradiction at all. I think some people hold stupid views - I am directly judging what I believe to be a stupid view, that they have chosen to hold (usually after someone has tried to persuade them otherwise). I'm not judging attributes they can't help and didn't choose, or attributes that tell me nothing about them as a person. And I've no idea what anyone's education level is on here - have you?

Essentially because they're hypocrites... Not motivated by genuine altruism but by pure smuggery

Nothing remotely smug or condescending about this of course, because if there were it would mean you were being hypocritical.

And Cat has got it spot on. I will be as hypocritical as I effing well choose if the alternative is stamping on peopl'e feelings

The thing is with words like 'retard' is that I have never heard the word used in a non-aggressive way and therefore those are the connotations attributed to that word.

If my ds was approached by someone who used that word at him he'd probably not understand it but he'd get the 'aggression' behind the word and would react very badly to it.

TSH, I don't want to monitor your language- you are not stupid, you understand perfectly well what different words signify, and I think you have a good measure of their general offensiveness.

The difference is, you don't care what using them may (rightly or wrongly) say about your beliefs.

In the same way as I weigh up the risks of using the word 'cunt', and decide to use it, running the risk that people may think ill of me.

By all means, use words like 'retard'- I think you are aware that what it signifies has developed from its original meaning; if you've assessed the risks of using it and are happy to take them, knock yourself out. I just hope you don't misrepresent your own beliefs by doing so.

And Lotta, much kudos for the 'Countdown semi-finalist'

Thanks Cat