Where Did We Get Here

With the generations changing, people are becoming more cautious about what they do or say or even let their children go out and do sensitivity is a growing at an alarming rate with the demand for “safe spaces” at college campuses across the United States, with a high rise of students demanding certain subjects from schools to be removed from institutes. Students are trying to get rid of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause them to feel uncomfortable and offended. Students are attempting to get rid of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause them to feel uncomfortable and offended.

Throughout the past few years people have started to become more cautious of what they say and do in public because everyone reacts differently to all kinds of things and it is not hard to offend someone. In the essay “Coddling of the American Mind” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, they discuss the rise of microaggression, which fosters a culture where young adults are sheltered from concepts that give offense. They focus on the idea of removing offensive words, ideas, and subjects from college campuses because they believe it is disastrous to protect the words and ideas that may cause “microaggression” from college students. In order to persuade the readers that colleges are distorting and coddling the minds of their students, Lukianoff and Haidt use modes of persuasion, examples, and definitions.

In her article, “The Word Police”, Michiko Kakutani said “many gung-ho advocates of politically correct language seem to

For one thing, in the op-ed “Can We Start Taking Political Correctness Seriously Now?” the author Chait summarizes that the protesters in the student demonstration at the University of Missouri besieged a photographer. Most supporters on the left think that young people want to keep themselves from any offense, and they believe that political correctness only occurs on campus; however, the truth is that political correctness will spread beyond the campuses. Next, Chait compares the Columbia event to the New Haven scene. Both of them express doubt in the “political democracy.” Finally, the author claims that the political correctness is excessive on campus, and leftists cannot escape the problem of political correctness. On the other hand, in the op-ed “The Delicate Little Flowers on Today’s College Campuses,” the author Goldberg explains that the Yale riot is due to the reply of a caution to stop wearing Halloween costumes. Also, as the scientist analyzes, current college students are so delicate that they always think they are offended. Then, Goldberg gives us the conclusion that it is the problem of education rather than political correctness itself. At last, he visualizes that these students flow into the society with “emotional cocoon” in the future. Although Chait’s Op-ed shows effective self-presentation in his claim about the leftist ideology of the political correctness, Goldberg does a better job by providing concrete evidence in logos and pathos in

Students of today are not being challenged as they should. Political correctness has become to run rampant and has come to silence great, intellectual minds. They are unable to speak out on different topics because what they have to say may be harsh, or hard to hear. Students do not want to be challenged, they want to be coddled. They want to go back to kindergarten and have their nap times, to have a “safe-space” that they can retreat to. They want juice boxes and puppy piles, to not face a harsh truth that can help them grow as a person. They know nothing of a harsh life, no hardships any more. Simple words in a books have become too much, they cannot handle reading a book that may “trigger” them. They have no sense of ownership. Everything has to be PC, to fit the norm. To go against the grain, to tell the truth when the truth may be an unpopular opinion, to do this is a sure-fire-way to get a very harsh backlash. Which, when thought about, seems to be rather ironic and hypocritical. When a person sees a wrong and tries to speak out against it and is unable to because of the fear for the backlash that is sure to follow, that is where being PC is harmful. A well known comedian, Jerry Seinfeld has this to say,

The old idiom, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” has been used for decades, and although a good sentiment, can be disproven by any person with an basic understanding of their feelings. The power of the words one hears can greatly affect their self esteem and confidence. The fact that words hurt is an issue everyone faces, but some words hold too much power, power that can be used in not so ideal ways. Slurs, or words that are used to oppress minority groups, are used too casually in the modern world, with grave consequences on the minorities they are used against. The word faggot, a term used to describe gay men, has become popular in modern America between school boys as a way to either mock their peers or intentionally hurt an actual queer person. This word in particular moves farther away from offensive and can be categorized as oppressive due to its both psychological and social ramifications. The use of the word faggot is an act of oppression when one looks at both the social and psychological effects the word has on both the user and the recipient of the slur.

This shows that African American students were deeply troubled by the racial incidents. The racial incidents affected students both emotionally and mentally, so much so that some black students did not attend their classes since they did not feel safe. One student tweeted, “my head hurts, I’m exhausted, I’m currently emotionally unavailable, and I’m behind my coursework. This is not like me” (Kenz). These events not only show that racism exists, but also show that there is a lack of cultural competence on Xavier’s campus, which needs to be

“When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom.” These wise words are said to be quoted from Confucius, a great philosopher and teacher from thousands of years ago. It seems that this man had predicted the future of our society. Our society has become a place where words lose their meaning due to sensitivity that a word may cause. We try so hard to ensure that someone isn't offended, and by doing so we lose the meaning of words. While I agree that there is some need for political correctness in our society, I believe that efforts have been taken to the extreme, causing many words to lose their meaning, and people to lose their freedom of expression.

The meaning of words change over time. Some of the words that were considered highly offensive and unacceptable in the past are now presently used in a kind hearted manner and a way to communicate in this current generation. A major factor includes the time period. For example the term “bad” is used to describe somebody or something

Political Correctness (Revision #1) In “Not a Very P.C. Thing to Say”, Jonathan Chait explains how the meaning associated with political correctness has changed over the years. In the 90’s, political correctness was first seen in academics and has now made its way to popular culture and social media. Debate is now seemingly impossible because people are afraid to be criticized for what they have to say. Audiences also choose to perceive a speaker’s message based on his race and gender.

In recent years, America has become softer as a country. The term recently that has come to light is politically correct, or as it is commonly referred to “PC.” In today's society people have become so focused on what's PC that the smallest offensive action can result in a massive lawsuit. America's recent development of political correctness is essentially a train the too many people hopped on, and then the train caught way too much speed. This trend has obviously spread like wildfire in the liberal college environment, and has even inhibited colleges from hiring commencement speakers. The point is, everyone in this country has a right to his or her own opinion, and this right should be honored unless it directly threatens the safety or well-being

The “Politically Correct” movement’s purpose is to bring historically condescending terms, offensive music and art, and controversial educational content to an end and replace them with more positive and less-offending references. Offensive and demoralizing efforts are wrong, but the censorship and deletion of words and phrases that do not contain the intention to demoralize are taking political correctness too far. Politically correct (or “PC”) antics have created a social decline that is growing worse with each generation, specifically regarding areas of art, education, language, and our right to freedom of speech; the degradation they have brought to the American psyche has even led to

They contribute to a prejudiced and limited perspective of Asian Americans that does not reflect the group’s heterogeneity. Not all Asian Americans are smart, nor are they all quiet, short, and unacculturated. There are more than thirty ethnicities categorized as Asian American, and they need to be portrayed in the media with characters that celebrate this grand diversity. Many Asian American students, myself included, waste time and energy worrying about whether we are acting in accordance with these stereotypes and consequently divert our attention from our studies to less productive activities. We internalize these stereotypes and often feel alienated from mainstream society because our culture, an integral part of our identity, is constantly being made a caricature, to the extent that Asian Americans themselves propagate these stereotypes and degrade their own culture. Microaggressions that accumulate conversation after conversation, day after day, year after year, question our sense of belonging and erode our individuality. Some Asian Americans, desperate to avoid fulfilling stereotypes, attempt to act “white”. Having only white friends becomes a sort of a

It is of my belief, that this has strongly influenced PC, or politically correct, culture. That you need to be perfect, and even if you are right in saying something, if it offends someone you shouldn’t say it. This is an absolute mockery of Western Values. The ability to have an open discussion amongst people is key.

“Don’t Be Offended But….”, is a phrase that defines many of our interactions with people and reveals how we are perceived by them. This common phrase is never followed by a pleasant comment and almost commands to be followed by an insulting label. This human fault to empower themselves at the jeopardy of others’ confidence perpetuates the enforcement of social discrepancies through ignorant language, evident throughout time in literature like Shakespeare's The Tempest and current issues.