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From: tim@unisoft.UUCP (Tim Bessie)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Politically Correct?
Message-ID: <504@unisoft.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Jul-85 14:31:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: unisoft.504
Posted: Thu Jul 18 14:31:57 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 21-Jul-85 00:54:08 EDT
Reply-To: tim@unisoft.UUCP (Tim Bessie)
Organization: UniSoft Systems, Berkeley
Lines: 35


     I've heard the term 'politically correct' from some friends (both
male and female) times, seen the buttons with this phrase on it, etc. many
times.  In asking people what was meant by it, I got many wide-ranging
answers, none of which satisfied me.  Maybe it means many things to many
people.  Seeing it used on the net recently, I was reminded again about
wanting to know what it meant.  So, I'd like to get an idea from people
out there what it means to THEM.  I don't know if this term has been
discussed before, but I am interested in finding out what people mean when
they say "politically correct."
     Taking it at face value, without any cultural or political nuances
I may be unaware of, the phrase seems nothing short of ludicrous.  How
can anyone be "correct" when it comes to something so subjective as
politics?  In the whole realm of human existance, I have yet to find
anything that is "correct" or "incorrect."  The statement "You are
correct in saying that I feel [this or that way]" is the only one in my
mind in which the idea of "corectness" can mean anything.  Any universal
standard of ANYTHING (good, evil, hot, cold, beautiful, ugly, sexy, or
correctness) is silly, as all of these ideas are only given meaning on
a highly person and individual basis.
     Anyway, I'd appreciate hearing from people about this, or other
such words often taken for granted.


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     It is, predominantly, fun.  It wasn't always that way, but it is now.
There seems to be no limit to it, this delight.  Vistas are constantly
opening up.  Older generations would have a hard time understanding this,
because of various psychological hang-ups, such as the Protestant Work Ethic
and Freud.  But we don't think about the past, not any more.
				- Thomas Disch
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					- Tim Bessie
					{ucbvax,dual}!unisoft!tim