Hello, I thought your jokes were funny and I don't think anyone would be offended by them. But just to be clear when you talk about AIDS - EVERYONE who practices unsafe sex, has a pre-existing STD, or uses IV drugs is at HIGH RISK for contracting HIV/AIDS. Worldwide, more than 90% of all adolescent and adult HIV infections have resulted from heterosexual intercourse. Females are at as much risk as Males; it is wrong to think of AIDS as a Gay disease.
solicitors---a minority that would be better as an endangered or extinct species
Well… I have heard it said that political correctness is the belief that it is actually possible to pick up a turd from the clean end…
Make of that what you will.
Indeed I was a policeman, a sergeant in Notts and I too had to endure hypocritical PC lectures focussing on how not to offend anyone. However throughout my 26 years service I was regularly insulted and abused, not only directed at me, but also referring to my mother, my wife, my children. Did I take offence? No, never, in fact I found it laughable. Nobody in this world could offend me by taking a poke at my colour, race, gender, the colour of my eyes and hair, my tastes, even my shortfalls. The fact is that I have confidence in myself.
Littel rant about H&S following Davids post above, slightly off topic.
Lets face it Elf & Safety most of the time is common sense, but lets look beyond this, why is everyone so scared of H&S, or more to the point why do people not want the responsibility. I work in construction industry insurance in the UK, the saying of sledgehammer to crack nut is very applicable here.
People may disagree with me here but on every street corner is a "conditional fee solicitor", yes we all know them and they are in my opinion a disgrace to the legal system. Legitimate claims dealt with by "proper" solicitors I have no problem with, the issue I do have is that these pretend solicitors are only there for one thing and thats the money. Why do they take on a claim that may be a bit dodgy, because if they lose they get paid anyway - yes for those that dont know they insure against the loss, there moto should be WIN IF WE DO WIN IF WE DONT.
So why I have just had a rant about the legals, the fact is that no one wants the responsibility because one false move and you can guarantee that one of these legals will be around, as for the claimant, well they have nothing to lose, just worth a go isnt it.
H&S is vitally important in the construction sector, yes it should be there but it should be realistic, luckliy and I dont know when this is happening but at last someone in the UK has seen sense and is removing around 3000 stupid requirements.
Anyway, just thought I would have my two peneth on H&S
The really distasteful fact that has emanated from the Equal rights legislation is the number of organisations that have sprung up often funded by government or the local authorities that seem to have no other function other than to stir up prejudice in the name of equality.
well said Paul, I was with the Police for 14 years and the RFA for 14, less time spent doing the job than spent in filling in the colour , race and creed forms
Not scared of it- I detest it with a vengeance! As a former employer we used to find it harder and harder to employ the people we wanted to despite the fact that we did actually employ people of all races and backgrounds. We gave up doing work shadowing for youngsters as it became painful (i'm not talking about race issues) so the local youth missed out with my business and others. Certain local authorities used to make us fill out a form about race and other issues when we made planning applications. In making those now one is obliged to submit hordes of documents about various topics to tick the boxes but they are scarcely read and seldom considered when making planning applications. As for elf'n'safety yes get construction procedures right but get rid of the clipboards and the boring people carrying them. Most people in the UK are petrified of doing anything lest it should offend - result- little gets done - another reason for economic inactivity and excessive costs of doing anything. It's almost like the war " Carless Talk Costs Lives". Those who wish to speak their minds have to skulk about and whisper in secretive corners. As for humour I must say that as an unreconstructed fossil I find older comics funnier than those who spend hours on the television mumbling obscenities for hours in an English language that one has trouble in understanding. I receive loads of emails etc from friends around the world that give evidence to the sorry state of affairs but of course one has to think of the safety of one's family. One of my son's already had to move as he was a victim of a crime which happily resulted in a significant prison sentence to a gang of dangerous criminals and one is often led to the conculsion that the cost to society of the pathetic practice of political correctness is immense.
PC, the ideals of fairness and respect adulterated by its champions to become the biggest source of Bullying and fear in the workplace.
When a wrong word or a misconception can lead to disciplinary action is a weapon readily used by the PC Brigade to bully and harass their colleagues into agreement with their aims, surely what it was meant to prevent.
I have worked in many countries with people of different colour, creed and religion to myself. Good working relationships are built on respect and trust, a minority group is simply that and shouldn't attract positive discrimination which is in itself a divisive tool.
PC allows some inadequate souls to become the bully, the aggressor and powerful beyond their worth. Those people have bastardised the system for their own ends.
It is not PC that is wrong just some of the people that abuse the power it gives.
It never bothered me who I was working with, man, woman, black or white as long as they had the wherewithal to do that job, in my later working life I was forced into working with people who did not have that wherewithal to satisfy a minority quota.
There are lots of things which offend me, but I keep them to myself because I know that no one would give a toss.
I wish others did the same.
At the same time, I don't set out to offend anyone overtly, but that is just a case of respecting others. However, one thing guaranteed to rile me totally is do-gooders in local government (in the UK for example) changing the way things have been done for centuries because it 'might' offend someone. Why should anyone care what that hypothetical person thinks? If it doesn't like it, tough.
I like that!
Emily, I agree and I think that most offence is feigned. Someone I know who originates from the Isle of Wight gets very upset if I refer to immigration in England and calls me racist but does not, himself socialise with the French. Despite living in a ghetto of English, the French refer to me as l'anglais and I frequently call myself by the same term. Having previously worked for Royal Mail prior to retirement, I have seen at first hand that "political correctness" only applies in one direction. My wife says that because she considers me an expert in repartee, I remain impervious to it. It only offends me when it is not true.
Once upon a time we had Alf Garnet, Love thy Neighbor was it, can you imaging that being televised now, OMG the PC brigade would be out in force, was it the Dam Busters (one of the war films anyway) the dog has had to have a change of name, something like digger!!!! For fear of offending people! Please... So lets get real, why change names to suit the PC brigade.
Get rid of political correctness, things are what they are...
Of course it’s gone too far. You ‘can’t’ say anything these days without some namby pamby do-gooder sticking their oar in.
I spent 11 years in the RN. 78-89, if I or any of my shipmates took offence at many of things that were said, well we’d never have made the grade. It’s not offensive it’s good old fashioned banter.
I later joined The Police we all had to do a Political correctness course. Two days of tosh it was. Our instructor during made an error during a lecture and audibly called himself ‘an idiot’. Well he spent about 5 minutes apologising for using the word idiot and personally aske each of us in turn if we were offended by him calling himself an idiot ! What the heck was all that about?
My view is that it is banter between mates, if your mate gets offended by banter, well not so good a mate is he? Common sense says you don’t go out on the streets as a bobby and act or speak so as to bring the force into disrepute. I didn’t need two days of rubbish to know that, but of course we had to take the course so as we could disciplined if we did step out of line.
We were told that even if we were having a joke in the rest room and someone down the corridor overheard and was offended by any comments, then we could be ‘in trouble’ . My view is that they shouldn’t be listening to my conversation. Yes I know is just doesn’t work like that, but it should.
Finally, recent prosecutions. Two Muslims burnt a poppy during an 11/11 ceremony, they were both fined by the court.
There was another similar offence committed by similar persons, agained they were fined.
Then there were two white chaps who painted a poppy on a Mosque they both went down for 3 months!
Judging by that maybe we should be scared of it? Personally I’m not but PC has gone too far…
Political correctness is for wimps. It has taken itself into a realm beyond belief.
I remember all the jokes and incredulous comments about the PC nonsense back in the seventies. It was ridiculous then and it still is today. Offend and be damned.