Surfing The Wave Of The Future

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Yes, I'm about to launch into one of my favorite pet peeves again.  Political Correctness.

Whoever came up with this pile of fetid nonsense should be the poster child for euthanasia.  Apparently, Western civilization has learned nothing from the Puritan and Victorian eras, not to mention the Inquisition, Prohibition and the Salem Witch Hunts.  This vile load of offal should be properly disposed of in a bio-hazardous bin and burned.  And if Donald Trump's "presumptive" nomination is any indication, a lot of other folks feel rather the same.

Frankly, the idea of ridding society of prejudices by prejudicing people against being prejudiced is jus so flipping absurd as to make one wonder just how low the average IQ of Western culture can go.

The thing is, people have always been and will always be prejudiced against something.  I hate beets in any form and will not sit at a table on which beets have been placed.  Nothing you say about the taste and nutritional value of beets will ever convince me that those nasty tubers are rightfully food.  Furthermore, nothing you do or say will ever force me to like, or even pretend to like, beets.  If the National Beet Council came to my door with torches and pitchforks, they could not tie me down and pry my jaw open to receive beets.  Fact of life.

That people feel prejudices against other people for even the lamest of reasons is fact.  It won't change, no matter how much you demonize the prejudice.  Oh sure, you can forbid them from saying anything about it, but it won't change the fact that they cross the street to avoid someone they perceive as a threat, no matter how irrational the feeling is.

I don't know about you, but if someone harbors an irrational hate of red hair or Irish ancestry, I would rather know about it than not.  It gives me a much clearer picture of which side of the room I want to stand on, or why someone is doing their level best to sabotage my career.  I can fight the monster I can see.

I suspect that Political Correctness is causing the massive increase in mental illness in the West.  People are depressed and profoundly confused because on the one hand they are told to freely express themselves, but on the other hand are told that 80% of what they want to express is verboten.  Talk about cognitive dissonance.

Back in the old days, a couple who felt strong mutual attraction only had to worry about finding a relatively private location to indulge their passions.  Now, by the time the obligatory interviews, examination of medical records, and political correctness check list, the passion is pretty much gone.  No wonder birth rates are falling.  And maybe that's the idea.

The whole "safe zone" molly-coddling thing astounds me.  The universities these days are no long a place to explore ideas, test theories and develop life-long curiosity.  Instead, they are places that cauterize intellectualism, foster infantilism, and encourage folks to take offense at the least provocations.

Reminds me of those kids who always went crying to momma if you looked cross-eyed at them.  We used to laugh at kids like those.  Now, it's not only Politically Incorrect to laugh at them, that kind of behavior is held up as the Ideal Western Citizen.

The net effect of Political Correctness has been to create an entire society of whiners with skin so thin you could cut it with a damp noodle.  Once upon a time, the ideal was a person who could stand up to criticism, who understood that not everyone in life is going to like them, and that being offended was just part of going about your business.  If something offended you, you simply avoided it, and if you couldn't avoid it, then the adult thing to do was brass it out.

I daresay the result of Political Correctness has been to make life far more uncomfortable than the occasional offense.  One spends far too much time worrying about whether someone could possibly take offence at a statement, and far too little time formulating interesting and stimulating statements.

As a child, my irrational hate of beets meant that I would refuse to touch my dinner and went to be hungry if there were beets on my plate.  As an adult, I discretely ignore them aside, or in the worst case, eat them in order to make the host happy.  I certainly won't whine to momma and run to my safe zone.

In the good old days, polite and civilized adults didn't seek to offend anyone, and woudl reserve certain comments for the proper settings.  What we are and will continue to see for some time is the same thing that happened at the end of the Puritan and Victorian eras - a complete pendulum swing to the opposite side.  When normal human behavior is banned by society, it builds until it explodes with a violent move towards the banned behavior.

Perpare yourself if you are easily offended.  The Anti-Correctness movement is only beginning.

But know this: I won't eat beets!