You ever find yourself stumped as to what word to use when describing someone? Is it African American or black? Is it Oriental or Asian or Asian American? Can I call this person short or is it ‘vertically challenged’ now?
In situations like these, you find yourself between a rock and a hard place – you don’t want to offend (and you certainly don’t want to get your ass kicked for pissing off the wrong person) but you can’t accurately describe someone without using racial or gendered modifiers. You can’t tell that joke you that made you laugh because it’s not “PC”.* You can’t speak your mind because you’re straight-jacketed by this social contract.
I dislike “political correctness” because it reaffirms the assumption that if it is racial then it is racist. If it is gendered, it is sexist. It doesn’t matter that someone is just using an adjective to describe a characteristic; the mere acknowledgment of the characteristic, the pointing out of “difference”, is racism/sexism/homophobia/whatever-ism.
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For certain crimes, there is an element called mens rea which looks into the state of mind of the actor. Was the act intentional or negligent? Was it planned and malicious or was it just an accident? Mens rea is important as it can decide whether someone is convicted of first degree murder or involuntary manslaughter.
I mention mens rea because it provides the best analogy of how I approach racism. It helps me distinguish between a fight worth fighting from one that is merely cosmetic. I look at a situation and ask myself, essentially, “Is this something I should be concerned about?”
Take for example last month’s uproar about Senator Harry Reid’s comment that Obama has “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” After reading a few articles about it, I brushed it off as negligent (well, actually stupid). I did not see a malicious intent in Reid’s comment. I didn’t read it as Reid purposely being racist against blacks or then-candidate Obama. I realize there is an interpretation of the comment that leads to the conclusion that Reid implicitly believes that the “Negro dialect” is uncouth and would hinder a Presidential candidate from winning the Presidency. But hey – I believe it’s true that not all manners of speech are treated equal. I do not expect a candidate that only speaks in Hawaiian pidgin to win many votes. But I digress. I didn’t see a racial intent behind Reid’s words, I just saw him saying “Obama appeals to all audiences”, much like news anchors.
The problem with political correctness is that it treats this kind of negligent statement the same as fire-hosing Civil Rights protesters. The former makes me face-palm at the inanity, the latter makes me want to actually do something to change it. Doling out the death penalty for a two-buck crime just takes away from actual progress. Keep your cosmetic hang-ups to yourself, I rather work towards a real solution, kthxbai.
What really gets to me about political correctness is the hypocrisy of it all. You don’t want people to be racist? Stop being racist yourself. Do not hide behind your “protected” status when you seriously say “nigger” every third word. Do not tell me how you assume every white guy that dates an Asian girl has an “Asian fetish” and then proceed to hiss and boo at them, loud enough for them to hear your displeasure.**
I make politically incorrect jokes at the expense of my race and sex. I am fully aware that I am allowed to make these types of jokes because of my race and my sex; I am given a free pass. But why am I given this free pass? I have never felt that I, personally, was denied something because of my race or sex. Why is it not questioned more by the politically correct as to the existence of this double standard?
“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
I make politically incorrect jokes ironically, to point out this hypocrisy that I see in it all.*** I don’t make jokes (or say anything) with the purpose to belittle someone. I don’t judge someone based on their skin color, but based on their merits, the “content of their character” as it were. I admit that I hold certain stereotypes in my head, especially those concerning Asian mothers, because there is some truth to it. But I know it’s not applicable to every individual and I don’t write off everyone I meet based on stereotypes. This is where the mens rea requirement for racism comes in for me, and I believe it’s an important distinction when looking at racism.
I used to be one of those people who saw racism and sexism in everything. Someone calls me “exotic”, they’re racist. “Dragon lady” Asian female character in a movie – racist. A commercial that has two women saying a tray of grapes was “lunch” – sexist writer. Requirement to check one box for what race you are, with righteous indignation I’d check “Other.” “Race and gender are social constructs, dognamit! Hear me roar!” I was trained to see the world through a hypersensitive-lens. Hell, I was an Asian American Studies major with a minor in Women’s studies. Everything was stacked against me because of who I am and that’s how it always was unless I get pissed off and nit-pick everything.
But even in this stage in my life, something felt off … felt wrong even. I praise the work of many of my fellow students. They actively tried to fix things for their communities. But there was an uneasy feeling when I was involved with this activist Asian American community. It was hard for me to see things as just an Asian American issue or any kind of minority issue. That was not my vision of the world. I grew up believing that everyone was equal. As such, I knew there was an inherent unfairness if one group of people got something denied to another. I didn’t want to fight just for the Asian Americans in the United States, I wanted to fight for Americans.
Part of the reason why I decided to go to law school was for the cliche of wanting to help people. I wanted to get in the “inside” and change the system. I wanted to give everyone the same opportunities. I didn’t distinguish between one community to another, instead I went the Miss America route of “world peace.”
This fundamental belief in true equal protection hasn’t changed all that much, although my political views may have changed. And I certainly don’t see racism lurking behind every corner. I see individuals as the ones who are free, the ones that should be given the same opportunities as others, not groups. I figure once we get there, then political correctness would fall to the wayside. Until then, I’ll keep making my jokes and actually work towards equality, actually fight the fight worth fighting.
*For example: “What do you do when your dishwasher stops working?” …. “Divorce her and marry a new one.”
** A classmate of a former roommate told me she did this. In fact, she went further to say that she disliked Asian guys dating white girls because it narrowed down her dating pool. I asked if she would hiss if she saw my parents together, and she said “That’s different.” Yeah, I don’t get it either.
*** My ironic jokes do not compare to some discussions about political correctness I have witnessed. Believe me, the jokes are tame in comparison. Though I, myself, would not use such tactics, I can appreciate the point being made.
Comments
4 responses to “Political Correctness: The Doctrine that Cried Racism”
Cogent, penetrating insider view. Insider because you are Asian & therefore a “race”. But you get that, right? You’re Asian, hence smarter than me. ;p
Tabin – fabulous, simply fabulous! After the very thought provoking chat last night, you have certainly hit on many of the subtleties of the topic. Your future clients will be lucky to have you on their side.
I would suggest that calling out Sen. Reid or VP Biden or any Democrat on his or her racist statements has little to do with political correctness and everything to do with making them play by their own rules. Or attempting to, at least, since it never sticks to anyone but Republicans.
George Allen got virtually drummed out of office for calling someone an extremely vague racial epitaph that he could have had no idea held such a tone. Rush Limbaugh lost a job because he pointed out that there was racism of the soft bigotry of low expectations type (to borrow from George W. Bush). There is no doubt that had a Republican or conservative said what Reid or Biden had that they would have been forced to resign.
“The notion of political correctness declares certain topics, certain expressions, even certain gestures, off-limits. What began as a crusade for civility has soured into a cause of conflict and even censorship.” – George H.W. Bush
But seriously, I’d otherwise agree with you.
Eric: I noted to AB when discussing this that the reason why Reid got a pass was because of the health care bill, IMO. I agree with you that had it been a conservative or Republican, the “politically correct” outcome would be to kick them out of office. The “reverse” political correctness was an interesting way of bringing up the hypocrisy – maybe that would be a better way to term what happened.
I don’t like PC.