Is “Hello” PC?

Bill Neinast

neins1@aol.com

“Hello” may be the only word in the English language without   a politically correct (PC) protest about it.  The indefinite “amy be” is used instead of the positive verb “is” because, with all the other PC protests, there could be one or more protestors out there complaining about using “hell” in any word.

The PC movement in this country is out of hands. It is out of control because there are no rules.  For example, how many have to be offended by a word or action to deem it politically incorrect?  Who makes the determination that something is politically incorrect?  How are these referees or umpires chosen?

One of the strongest movements for political correctness seems to be on college campuses.  There is where free speech, diversity of opinion, and open dialogue should be at the highest levels in the country.  

Sadly, this is not the case.  Consider what is going on at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, as an example.  An investigation is under way there to determine who is chalking support messages for Donald Trump on campus sidewalks. 

As noted by Jonathan Turley in his blog, “Nothing unusual about that. Students often chalk up statements on sidewalks for causes or candidates. It would not be seen as in any way unusual and the next rain brings a clean slate. However, the statement of support for Trump has led to a protest calling for the supporter to be punished or expelled and for the President to express condemnation of such political affiliations. The students want a statement of support for Trump to be treated as the same as the writing of a swastika. The students have said that they feel threatened in the wake of the statements of political support for Trump.”

This is not an isolated incident.  The same thing is also going on in at least one other public institution.  The incoming student government leadership coalition at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is still demanding a fellow representative step down after helping chalk a message supporting Donald Trump.

As noted here on several occasions, I am no Trump supporter.  To claim, however, that pro Trump messages are threatening and akin to waving a flag of Nazi Germany is politically incorrect in its own right.

This juvenile behavior on some college campuses probably started when the students were in grade school.  There they were told not to wish each other a Merry Christmas or take a Christmas break.  The word “Christmas” might be offensive to some, so, to be politically correct, they were required to wish others Happy Holidays and take a winter break from school.

Anyone old enough to remember the 1940s must be shaking their heads in disbelief.  They cannot imagine any American back then being upset on hearing about the evil Germans or Nazis.  Anyone trying to prohibit the use of the derisive terms “slant eyes’ or Japs would have been ridden out of town on a rail.

The really bad news, though, is that PC is not limited to juvenile liberals in far away states.  It is right here in our backyard.  Recently, the Lifetime Learning organization had to change the title of its presentation on gun violence because it used the word crazy or crazies.  The dictionary notes that crazy is a synonym for more than a dozen other words for mental illnesses of various terms.  So why crazy is now politically incorrect is just another mystery for old timers.

So here’s the perspective.

So how many do have to be offended to make a word, phrase, or action politically incorrect?

The discussion above indicates that the answer is just one, particularly if that one is the President.  

And who decides what is politically incorrect?  The answer seems to be the press.  If just one or two say they are threatened by ads for a political  candidate, that makes headlines over and over because just like the adage of “if it bleeds, it leads,” if it’s stupid, it leads.

So be politically correct.  Do not utter a word that might upset even one person.  That is hard, but we must be politically correct at all times. 

enough