Baylon, Melvie Mar R.

2008-44523

Political Correctness as Acceptability

Political Correctness in language is the concept of orienting speech so that it will achieve

general acceptance. Then, the basis of it is acceptability. A speech is politically correct when it is

accepted, and not if it's not. Acceptability in nature is relative. A thing that is acceptable for someone

might not be for others and vice versa. Then, transitively PC is also relative.

I came across an article in the Inquirer.net of an special educator which critics the use of words

like mongoloid and retarded in the movie Kimmy Dora. She contested the use of these words because

with its normalization it is putting the influence of media to waste. It is use to educate people, she said,

not to pull them in dark ages of ignorance and apathy. The writer regard the given terms as demeaning

and are in need of action. They should be politically corrected.

On the other hand the mentally challenged as politically correct term for someone who is

retarded, and the like, is even more negative for me because it gives me the sense that they are not just

now retarded but also insane—with the fact, of course, of knowing that mental hospital is an institute

for individuals with mental disorders. Acceptance is base from our training and environment, and so

with PC.

Let's consider this situation. You have just finished a presentation, then a someone, a holistically

normal person, came over and criticize you about the use of the word brainstorm in the presence of

some epileptic audiences. Trying to settle the argument you approach the persons with epilepsy and ask

them if they had been offended, and they answered, “No.” . Relatively, usage of brainstorm was not

acceptable for the normal person while acceptable for the ones with the epilepsy. If this is the case, then

PC is really a concept of acceptability.