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From: tonyw@ubvax.UUCP (Tony Wuersch)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Politically Correct?
Message-ID: <266@ubvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Jul-85 21:36:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: ubvax.266
Posted: Mon Jul 22 21:36:32 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 25-Jul-85 21:22:01 EDT
References: <504@unisoft.UUCP>
Reply-To: tonyw@ubvax.UUCP (Tony Wuersch)
Followup-To: net.women, net.nlang
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Organization: Ungermann-Bass, Inc., Santa Clara, Ca.
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In article <504@unisoft.UUCP> tim@unisoft.UUCP (Tim Bessie) writes:
>
>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?

I first heard it as "PC", which confused me to no end for a time.

The "political" in "politically correct" is not a subjective kind of
political.  It refers to a context (for those whom I heard it from,
the context was women organizing) in which a strategy has been laid
out, and it's clear how people who want their politics to succeed
ought to behave.  That is, a politically correct move is one which
furthers a political goal in an effective way.

"Politically correct" also tends to refer to questions of immediate
statements, or personal style, rather than to group strategy.  That
is, it refers to how individuals should act as representatives of
a broader movement which has them as an active part of it.  Some
people associate it with being willing to "put your body on the
line" and things like that.

One subtlety:  acting AS IF one is politically correct is often not
BEING politically correct.  Sometimes people bring resentment and anger
down on themselves and the cause(s) they think they represent, by acting
as if their politics are better than the politics of those they are
supposed to be trying to convert or persuade.  Contrary to some points
of view, it is possible to be politically correct, shut up, and listen
at the same time.

According to books I read and people I know, many in white progressive
movements, both on the left and among women, made this error in trying
to incorporate women, gays, and nonwhites into their organizations or
activities in the '70s.  They talked about fellowship and solidarity,
but they practiced elitism and interpersonal one-upsmanship.  They
didn't care to learn about historical, ethnic, class, or sexual differences.
And so forth.  That is, they gave political correctness a bad name and
almost drove it into the mud.

Around Berkeley, perhaps this didn't happen, since there are still many
"politically correct" buttons around.  The term hasn't become pejorative
there as it has in New York City.  In NYC and New England, "politically
correct" is mostly used as a joke or with an albatross of qualifications
surrounding it.  If used seriously, it can imply political alignment
with a specific feminist, solidarity, or left organization or party.

Tony Wuersch
{amd,amdcad}!cae780!ubvax!tonyw

"And if you don't believe all the things I say,
 I'm certified prime by the USDA!"