2008 Woodie Awards
Political correctness reaches peak during Christmas time
Anthony James
Issue date:
12/5/07
Section:
Opinion
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Few things make me
cringe more than political
correctness.
During December, the PC
police come out in force,
calling Christmas trees "holiday
trees" and calling the
ornaments which decorate
the trees "holiday ornaments."
Correct me if I'm wrong,
but I don't think you hang
a plastic Santa Claus in a
sleigh on a menorah.
One study showed that
96 percent of Americans
celebrate Christmas, but
only 78 percent of citizens
are Christian. Can't we just
call a Christmas tree and a
Christmas ornament what
it really is? Will it really
offend someone of another
religion who doesn't celebrate
Christian holidays? I
think not.
More forms of political
correctness exist as well outside
of the Christmas controversy.
What set me off and
led me to writing this editorial
was someone using the
term "Atta person," a gender-
neutral version of the
age-old "Atta boy" term.
Give me a break.
Racial terms have long
been a source of political
correctness. The problem
with the friendlier terms
is that The Olympian and
most U.S. newspapers use
Associated Press style,
which teaches describing an
African-American as black
and a spokesperson as a
spokesman or spokeswoman.
Why?
The problem with a term
such as African-American
is that a black person may
be from the Caribbean, but
labeling them as an African-
American would be incorrect.
To flip this issue around,
never has someone from
another race called me
Caucasian or European-
American. Besides being
long separated from my
European ancestors, the
two terms are like African-
American - they can be misleading
or inaccurate.
The only reasoning for
being politically correct
seems to be an attempt to
not offend anyone. Is this all
part of America's desire to
make every soul in Europe
like us?
This country is dead set
on making sure no country
cringe more than political
correctness.
During December, the PC
police come out in force,
calling Christmas trees "holiday
trees" and calling the
ornaments which decorate
the trees "holiday ornaments."
Correct me if I'm wrong,
but I don't think you hang
a plastic Santa Claus in a
sleigh on a menorah.
One study showed that
96 percent of Americans
celebrate Christmas, but
only 78 percent of citizens
are Christian. Can't we just
call a Christmas tree and a
Christmas ornament what
it really is? Will it really
offend someone of another
religion who doesn't celebrate
Christian holidays? I
think not.
More forms of political
correctness exist as well outside
of the Christmas controversy.
What set me off and
led me to writing this editorial
was someone using the
term "Atta person," a gender-
neutral version of the
age-old "Atta boy" term.
Give me a break.
Racial terms have long
been a source of political
correctness. The problem
with the friendlier terms
is that The Olympian and
most U.S. newspapers use
Associated Press style,
which teaches describing an
African-American as black
and a spokesperson as a
spokesman or spokeswoman.
Why?
The problem with a term
such as African-American
is that a black person may
be from the Caribbean, but
labeling them as an African-
American would be incorrect.
To flip this issue around,
never has someone from
another race called me
Caucasian or European-
American. Besides being
long separated from my
European ancestors, the
two terms are like African-
American - they can be misleading
or inaccurate.
The only reasoning for
being politically correct
seems to be an attempt to
not offend anyone. Is this all
part of America's desire to
make every soul in Europe
like us?
This country is dead set
on making sure no country
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Kate Easton
posted 12/26/07 @ 12:38 PM PST
Political correctness is in the eye of the beholder and it is different than respect. Your perspective on christmas trees blithely ignores the origins of the practice. (Continued…)
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