My Views on Political Correctness
One typical "politically correct" practice is the tendency to give certain Americans hyphonized names in order to accentuate one's ancestral heritage. I view this as utterly pointless. As citizens of America, we are all fundamentally AMERICANS. However, proponents of political correctness feel the grating need to assign people "special names" based on skin color.
I don't believe in using the term "African-American" to refer to black Americans. The only individuals who are truly "African-Americans" are those who have dual citizenship in both Africa and America. I have a friend named Jonah who possesses dual citizenship in both the United States and Kenya. Jonah also happens to be a white albino. By definition, Jonah would be a true "African-American", even though he is white.
I see nothing wrong with using the term "black". Most black Americans were born in America, not in Africa. Therefore, their sociological identity must be complimentary to that of white Americans in order to maintain equity.
Likewise, as a white American I don't believe in being referred to as a "Caucasian" or "European-American". After all, I don't have dual citizenship in both America and Europe. The terms "black" and "white" are sociologically complimentary - - and inoffensive. If you want to literally trace my ancestry and apply it to my personal cultural identity, I would technically be an "Italian-Swedish-German-Serbian-French-Austrian-Dutch American". Isn't that a mouthful?
Of course, with modern political correctness a double standard exists between how blacks and whites are referred to. According to common "political correctness", it is perfectly acceptable to simultaneously use the terms "African-American" and "white" if speaking jointly in regard to a black person and a white person. This flawed psychology relates to a root stigma of guilt layered within political correctness, a concept which I shall momentarily address in greater detail.
Did you know that in the United States there exists something known as the "one-drop law"? If there is even one drop of "black blood" in your veins, you are federally considered an "African-American" and required to designate yourself as an "African-American" on federal forms - - regardless of your actual skin pigment. Yet, if there was hypothetically only one drop of "white blood" in your veins, there would be no stipulation designating you as a "European-American". Nor would such a "one-drop" law apply to Latino or Asian ancestral blood. And so inequity prevails.
I also don't believe in using the term "Native American" to refer exclusively to Americans who are descended from early North American tribal nations. Technically, anyone who is born in America is automatically granted American citizenship. Therefore, anyone who was born in America should be considered a "Native American" by definition, regardless of skin color. Even though I'm white, I was born in Wisconsin, which is in America - - so consequently, I am proud to call myself a "Native American" with blunt and straightforward honesty. But I don't believe in referring to descendants of early North American tribal nations as "Indians" either. An Indian is a person from India. The appropriate solution is to refer to each individual's culture according to his/her applicable ancestral tribe or tribes (i.e., Iroquois, Sauk, Sioux, Cherokee, Navajo, Ojibwa, Apache, etc.).
So what about people of mixed race? That's easy. Someone whose heritage is a blend of various skin pigments should be considered biracial or multiracial.
Let me tell you about my former Sociology instructor, Leonard. When I was finishing my high school credits at WWTC through evening courses, I had Leonard's class once a week, every Wednesday night for 3 hours, September 1st through December 22nd (of 1999). Leonard was a reciter of standardized political correctness - - in a nutshell, he constantly rehashed the reminder of how whites often oppressed non-whites throughout history (and Leonard is white!). He'd use terms like "Native American", "African-American", and so on, to refer to specific ethnic/cultural races. Leonard would constantly use the plural first person ("we") - - a subtle reference to all the white students in the classroom and our ancestors - - when describing oppression inflicted by whites. (Example of LeonardSpeak: "We [white Americans] stole their [early North American tribal nations'] land".) It was very irritating, to say the least.
While we must study history in order to learn from the past and to avoid repeating past mistakes, there is no justifiable reason to make white people feel guilty for what our ancestors might have done in the past. And it should be said, not ALL white people's ancestors were racists or genocidal murderers. Many were poor farmers or even objective-thinking humanists. Too often, political correctness unfairly assigns guilt to white Americans due to transgressions committed by certain whites throughout history; in turn, this causes a backlash of hostility from white Americans. Such "white ire" can be attributed to the racist implications of political correctness toward whites. Unfortunately, this "white ire" also contributes to the abominable racism found within such discriminatory sects as the Ku Klux Klan or the Skinhead Nazis. While I don't agree with or condone the violence, philosophies, and methods of these groups, I still recognize how their anger and hatred has been polarized because of - - at least partially - - the social tumor known as political correctness.
Frequently, political correctness is utilized by teachers in the classrooms of American schools, especially the public schools. In my opinion, educators who engage in "politically correct" dialogue during class discussions are doing a great disservice to their students and our children. We cannot morally deliver the message to our younger generations that they (and we) must atone for sins of the past. Since there is no way of going back and changing the past, it is pointless for us to place generalized blame on Americans of the contemporary era. None of us can reverse the years of damage that have already occurred throughout history. The generalized concepts of "We [early North American tribal nations] were here first" or "You [whites] did this to us [insert cultural group-in-question]" are glaringly unenthical when we are supposed to be living and functioning together cooperatively as a multicultural, pluralistic society. It is impossible to ensure equality for all in an environment where people are subjected to racial animosity and being punished (via political correctness and affirmitive action) for superficial circumstances which aren't even their fault.
A liberal ex-friend of mine (who like-mindedly opposes political correctness) once told me how he feels that political correctness is "a white man's crutch" - - a way to easily differentiate one culture from another. But my friend was mistaken. Political correctness is not a "crutch" - - it's an amoral social expectation enforced upon whites. Political correctness is an obligation burdened upon the white population by "politcally correct" portions of society; white people are commonly expected to use political correctness in exchange for not being branded by society as "racists" or "bigots". Political correctness contains a prejudicial component of disparaging "the white man". And this is exactly why political correctness must end if we ever wish to begin healing the racial wounds of our nation.
I have been droning on and on about race. But what about gender and sexual orientation? The same concept applies. Men should not be made to feel guilty just because women have been historically oppressed. But I cover that more thoroughly in my section dealing with Feminazism. Besides, contrary to popular belief, males have been historically oppressed in addition to women (through assigning gender roles/identities to both sexes and by mandating Selective Service registration for all male citizens). In fact, males are still oppressed today every bit as much as females, albeit in different ways.
As far as sexual orientation goes, homosexuals and bisexuals still haven't gained social or legal equality. However, I do not blame ALL heterosexuals for the fact that there are some ignorant orientationists in the world. Furthermore, orientationists can be gay or bi, the same way racists can be non-whites and chauvanists can be females (despite what political correctness fanatics may want you to believe). While I don't use the term "straight" to refer to heterosexuality (because I don't like how it sounds, and it implies that homosexuals/bisexuals are somehow "crooked" - - which we aren't!), I feel it is completely acceptable to use the shortened terms "hetero", "gay" (or lesbian), and "bi", to refer to heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, respectively. And someday, when homosexual couples finally gain the rightful liberty to attain a simple marriage certificate, I won't be pointing fingers at the entire generalized heterosexual orientation for oppressive actions of select orientationists. I don't believe in holding entire groups of people accountable when only a minority of their populace is guilty of prejudice or discrimination.
Leonard told our class that there are some "positive prejudices"; for instance, the example he gave: a stereotype that blacks are skilled athletes. But are "positive prejudices" really so good? There are talented athletes of all races. Aside from that fact, it is unfair to assume that just because a person is black or dark-skinned that he/she is necessarily skilled at athletics. Jumping to such a "positive" conclusion means that you are not treating that person as an individual. Leonard's example is making an assumption based on skin color - - and regardless of how "positive" that may seem, it's still downplaying a person's individuality. What if hypothetically a specific black person isn't a good athlete? What if his or her talents lie elsewhere within a different category of interest? Such a "positive prejudice" is subtly placing a preconceived expectation on that person. So much for that theory, Leonard! Certain white men can jump!
Why are some people so incessantly ignorant?! As a white American, I am sick of being called a "transplant" (especially by other whites who are PC accommodatists) just because my ancestors came from Europe. Do people really need to categorize themselves by race (or gender) on job applications, college applications, registration forms, etc.? What purpose is there for that?! Remember, racism is a multiple-way street, as is sexism and orientationism. Not all whites are supremacists . . . believe it or not, there were even white (gasp!) civil rights workers who were killed during the Civil Rights Era, all because they believed that everyone should be equal in the eyes of the law. If history is to be effectively learned from and properly understood, then we mustn't place blame on each other based on the context of historical events which cannot be altered. History MUST NOT be taught directing generalized hostility toward a broad-based group of people who live in the present. We cannot change our biological differences (race, gender, sexual orientation), but we can celebrate them.
Albeit not every American preaches political correctness, believes in political correctness, and/or follows (or conforms to) political correctness, we must convey the universal consequences and detriments of "politically correct" rhetoric, stereotypes, and mindsets. What can we do to alleviate this stigma? We must avoid using hyphonized names to identify groups baseed on biological characteristics; by celebrating our uniqueness as individuals as well as our common humanity, we will promote the idea of racial unity. We must abolish affirmitive action and Selective Service, and extend marital rights and legal protection to homosexuals/bisexuals and their spouses. This is the only way we will ever achieve universal equality and acceptance of each other as human beings.
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