Originally posted by Orin
The problem with people moaning about 'PC gone mad' is that they're so willing to take anything that supports their pet peeve at face value, without questioning the either the validity or authority of the source. It comes down to whether you're gullible enough to believe that 'obese' is now a taboo word, or that 'car horn' could be considered derogatory.
When Brundle made the 'Pikey' comment I thought it was crassly out of character for him. It wasn't a big deal, it was a poor joke which inadvertently made him sound like some Colonel Blimp figure. Thankfully nothing has come of it. Why this has turned into a discussion about political correctness eludes me, presumably the people complaining about "Jerry Springer: The Opera" were also labelled as politically correct? It seems to be the put-down du jour of the lazy-minded.
The problem with people moaning about 'PC gone mad' is that they're so willing to take anything that supports their pet peeve at face value, without questioning the either the validity or authority of the source. It comes down to whether you're gullible enough to believe that 'obese' is now a taboo word, or that 'car horn' could be considered derogatory.
When Brundle made the 'Pikey' comment I thought it was crassly out of character for him. It wasn't a big deal, it was a poor joke which inadvertently made him sound like some Colonel Blimp figure. Thankfully nothing has come of it. Why this has turned into a discussion about political correctness eludes me, presumably the people complaining about "Jerry Springer: The Opera" were also labelled as politically correct? It seems to be the put-down du jour of the lazy-minded.
I totally agree with your assesment of the "PC gone mad" crew. You should try reading the UK news board on the bbc http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbfivelive/F2148564
It is full of "PC gone mad" nutters, who are also of the opinion that immigration is the cause of crime, unemployment and global warming, (I kid you not, they actually think that immigration causes global warming, like all immigrants come from a different planet so their carbon footprint would impact a different planet if they stayed put
). They also all say with absolute certainty that "it is rediculous how XYZ criminal will obviously be treated like a king whilst the victims are ignored", even before the person is even suspected of a crime. Altogether, it can be quite a funny place.
On the other hand, I did find Brundle's comments quite funny.