Lots of replies so far, but it's a pretty good gamble that none who have replied are "niggers, pakis, poofs, queers, dwarfs etc". Try living in their shoes and you might not answer as you have. It's easy living as a straight, hetro, non-disadvantaged person in societies like we have.
@ Geoff: I was waiting for someone else to question this, but since no one has, I'll be the one. Would you please explain what you mean by "an unbiological act"? I didn't understand your "straight talk".
"AIDS......still mainly passed on by promiscuous homo-sexual males" Are you sure Martin? I don't think that is the case in Africa.
On your wider point I do believe that things are out of control. My 85 year old mother still talks about the "nigger" brown jumper she knit for me when I was a kid because that was how it was described in UK woolshops in the fifties. If she started reminiscing about this in public today we could be arrested. On the other hand the PC acceptable term "gay" is used by teenagers and twenty-somethings as a term of derision. It's not the words, in my opinion, it is the sentiment that counts.
Absolutely spot on, frankly I think it's gone far too far and some people can't even have a normal conversation any more without fear of causing offence.
I'm a luddite, I have a sense of humour some people may call robust, others have a less than kindly description. Do I worry ? Not in the slightest, I was brought up to be direct and to the point to avoid any ambiguity, as you can guess I'll never make a politician but you know exactly where we both stand.
Will I change ? Never ! if a gay person commits a unbiological act I say so and believe it or not they acually respect you for straight talking.
In my experience if a minority group see a weakness in your resolve they will exploit it to the full and have and subsequently have greater voice than their numbers deserve.
Stand up for your principles and speak your mind, if people don't like they can go elsewhere.
When I tried to get a pro bono human rights barrister, I came across a brick wall!
They are probably re writing Swallows and Amazons (all those water sports), and as for Biggles (all that leather, boots and goggles and swooping on "natives" in African colonies). Do you think I should take down the assegai somebody in my family pinched off an angry Zulu?
I worked in local government (in London) in the 70's and 80's when there was much policy written and practice changed. Some of the things we did then now seem ridiculous and tokenistic, but they were underpinned by very sound principles, one of which was to be centred around the interests and sensitivities of the service user, the customer. And in the 90's we started to think about service users as customers in order to reframe the way that service providers related to them. It is good to remember that service users were often disadvantaged in many ways, some by their spoken language, some by their physical capabilities, some by their economic status and home circumstances, some by their lack of literacy and numeracy, and this is not an exhaustive list.
It seems to me that in trying to be sensitive, the trying became too hard and became insensitive, because it was by rote, but its important to note that in the UK the edge has become softer.
The term "political correctness" was used pejoratively by critics of this attempt, to undermine the attempts to avoid using insensitive, sometimes insulting, language against people less fortunate, less powerful than the people who had power over them.
I had a gollywog as a kid, and still have somewhere, I also have a number of Robertsons Jam gollywog badges as well, nothing wrong with them in their time, there is still nothing wrong with them today. They were around before most of this PC B/S existed.
Ha ha, that's brilliant. However remember how I started this discussion?
"I well remember the jokes and incredulous conversations we had at the advent of political correctness (sometime back in the seventies). The ideas proposed seemed laughable, as if one day we really would be talking of “chalk boards”, “chair persons”, “visually impaired”, re-writing or banning nursery rhymes and so on"
Maybe in another few decades your now humorous story will indeed be a reality.
Excellent stuff from Paul Clark. I used to be in the RNR and one had dreadful fears of being posted to HMS Dainty. They wouldn’t get away with that now. My poor old mum, died 97 was brought up in a world where ladies didn’t work, played goff, went orf to cocktail parties and had a very gay time. My granny was pure Welsh and loved Shirley Bassey “She’s got a touch of the tar brush isn’t it?” The family had a friend who was vertically challenged but he was called a dwarf. I remmeber being very embarrased as a 15 year old going to use a public loo with him. I regret to say my parents later got me into a goff club in the sixties and I didn’t discover until after that they had a policy against admitting jews (ties only in the club house please and shirts must be tucked in on the fairway); the joke was that we had some jewish blood anyway but that was “hushed up”. What would they all think about the fact that four years ago I married an asian lady of somewhat younger years? I think that they would have been very shocked but then I did some research on my family on the internet and found that shall we say bigamy appears to have been not unknown in the family although evidence was well hoovered up. The world has changed and yet not changed but I still don’t believe in political correctness!
Even The Royal Navy are at in now...... hehe.
The Royal Navy is proud of its new fleet of Type 45 destroyers. Having
initially named the first two ships HMS Daring and HMS Dauntless, the
Naming Committee has, after intensive pressure from Brussels , renamed
them HMS Cautious and HMS Prudence. The next five ships are to be
named HMS Empathy, HMS Circumspect, HMS Nervous, HMS Timorous and HMS
Apologist.
Costing £850 million each, they meet the needs of the 21st century and
comply with the very latest employment, equality, health & safety and
human rights laws.
The new user-friendly crow's nest comes equipped with wheelchair
access. Live ammunition has been replaced with paintballs to reduce
the risk of anyone getting hurt and to cut down on the number of
compensation claims. Stress counsellors and lawyers will be on duty
24hrs a day and each ship will have its on-board industrial tribunal.
The crew will be 50/50 men and women, and balanced in accordance with
the latest Home Office directives on race, gender, sexuality and
disability. Sailors will only have to work a maximum of 37hrs per week
in line with Brussels Health & Safety rules, even in wartime! All the
vessels will come equipped with a maternity ward and nursery, situated
on the same deck as the Gay Disco.
Tobacco will be banned throughout the ship, but cannabis will be
allowed in the wardroom and messes. The Royal Navy is eager to shed
its traditional reputation for; "Rum, sodomy and the lash"; so out has
gone the occasional rum ration which is to be replaced by sparkling
water. Although sodomy remains, it has now been extended to include
all ratings under 18. The lash will still be available but only on
request. Condoms can be obtained from the Bosun in a variety of
flavours, except Capstan Full Strength.
Saluting officers has been abolished because it is deemed elitist and
is to be replaced by the more informal, "Hello Sailor". All
information on notices boards will be printed in 37 different
languages and Braille. Crew members will now no longer be required to
ask permission to grow beards or moustaches and this applies equally to
women crew members.
The MoD is working on a new "non-specific" flag because the White
Ensign is considered to be offensive to minorities. The Union Flag had
already been discarded.
The newly re-named HMS Cautious is due to be commissioned soon in a
ceremony conducted by Captain Hook from the Finsbury Park Mosque who
will break a petrol bomb over the hull. She will gently slide into the
water as the Royal Marines Band plays "In the Navy" by the Village
People. Her first deployment will be to escort boat loads of illegal
immigrants across the channel to ports on England 's south coast.
The Prime Minister said, "While these ships reflect the very latest in
modern thinking, they are also capable of being up-graded to comply
with any new legislation coming out of Brussels ."
His final words were, "Britannia waives the rules."
Just came across this while surfing and remembered your comment http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21474066
@ Doreen: Ever noticed why practically nobody contributes to Anglo-Info at the week-ends.
Mmmm. Call a spade a spade eh? Presumably call a honky a honky as well. That's what I love about English. Such a diversity. It's this diversity and vigour which PC tries to corral. I find some of the contortions of PC quite risible, "persons of color" springs to mind. We all have varying degrees of colour, certainly no-one is White nor yet Black. PC fashion tells me that I must call people of African origin Black yet I can't call Chinese Yellow men. All very puzzling for somone a quarter Dago.
and don't even mention traffic wardens......
makes for a good debate though
not a problem with disagreement or debate--just dont make it personal as it was starting to get in some replies.
I came across many lawyers during my life, professional and private, in the UK and in France. I was in fact successful in getting damages off a Notary by using avocats from Paris. I have more than one lawyer in my own family! One pays lawyers for professional services and advice and my own experiences have been generally OK but some exceptionally bad and sometimes completely unprofessional. I had many lawyers as clients myself some were absolute honeys (returning several times as clients and giving recommendations) but some were fundamentally dishonest and used their profession as a shield to protect them from paying bills. I even had a judge who told me that it would be useless to sue him as everybody would believe him not me. I withdrew but he was later accused of theft and mysteriously withdrew from the world of law (a lawyer friend told me he was "Well known" as being a bad egg but it was all carpeted over). Some lawyers have given me exceptionally good advice and got me out of difficult situations, or successfully sued for me on matters of breach of copyright or non payment of fees. One even served a writ on a competitor in a round the world yacht race as he landed, effectively impounding the yacht and thus getting immediate payment! I just don't think that you can condemn all lawyers, but you could I think say with impunity that they are all far too expensive.
People are simply disagreeing, part of the point or not? You hold one view, others disagree. All's square. If they cannot put disagreement into words then what is the point?
why--would you?