Wacky Wednesday--It’s Good To Be Politically Correct

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~Every culture has taboo subjects. It doesn’t necessarily matter what the taboos are, at least in the sense that it’s important for people to know that some things are off limits.
~This gives clear boundaries to our thoughts and our discussions.
~The notion that everything should be questioned or that every idea should be entertained might be fine for college students, but not for general society all the time, especially not for kids.
~Historically marginalized or oppressed people should not be held up to criticism and scorn.
~White, male, Christian culture is and long has been imperialistic, and you’ll notice they’re the ones complaining about this the loudest.
~Politeness is an essential social skill, and PC is just politeness in a multicultural context.
~We have a range of social taboos that most conservatives accept including against blasphemy, lewdness, and profanity. Why these and not other taboos?
~If we can use language as neutrally as possible so as to not demean and also so as to include people in the conversation without poisoning their identity from the outset, isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t that a Christian thing?
~Reducing people to stereotypes not only is unkind but it limits their ability to participate fully in society if such boundaries are allowed to persist.
~If current language use is a barrier to people treating others with dignity and as human beings, then forcing them into uncomfortable language use will also force them into uncomfortable and beneficial social attitudes and interactions.
~What we really are trying to do is to get people into the habit of talking like those who love the groups or categories they are discussing rather than like those who hate them by their identity.

Links:
Political Correctness (Wikipedia)