What was there before the concept of Political correctness or is this a modern invention?

Question

Any anecdotal older contributors opinions on the matter?

Answer 1

The Victorians had their own sort of political correctness; just read Dickens. He uses expressions like "nether garment" instead of trousers, probably mocking the correctness of the day when legs were supposed not to exist!

Basically political correctness is a form of hypocrisy: you think one thing but are forced to say another. At least that's how it is for many of us, who have decidedly "incorrect" views but don't express them for fear of transgressing the social norms. Hypocrisy, of course, has a long and honourable history.

Answer 2

"In the olden days" we would use a thing called common sense. I would use it, the police would use it, teachers would use it and every thing worked quite well,We would say "dont be silly" when the blind man wanted to train as a flight controller,  "we would say dont be daft " when the double amputee wanted to play professional football. Now we have to say okay we'll pay thousandsof pounds out of the public purse to train you for a job you patently cant do. We have lost the right to be HONEST with people, and this is the main reason we have so much violence on the streets and in the schools, its why the muslim bombers can walk our streets claiming benefit, and its why we can take the GREAT from BRITAIN I'm afraid. The government has finally screwed us to death.

Answer 3

Political correctness is certainly a modern invention. Before this was something sadly lacking in society at present. It was called "common sense".

Answer 4

I think it was 'manner's "Mind your manners!" was a frequent watch word to those who stepped outside of the social sense of what was right. Punishment for being habitually not mindful of manners was social ostracism.

I think we were very much kept in check by fear and shame - There were very many things we couldn''t talk about.

There was a system of respect and who was due it. teh elderly etc - Social controls were exerted almost invisibly by all elders - anyone even a few years older than you could pull you up on manners etc.

there was a lot of acceptance in our small town in south london - there were divorced people and people living together and lesbians unmarried mothers all within the social fold and potentially shameful yet not allowed to be spoken about, protected by a ring of complicit silence.

i think we need pc now as that sytem has been blown out of hte water. We need ot protect vulenrable peopel  in some way. PC isnt the best but what else is there?

In N.ireland a g*y man was beaten up and nearly died and the first ministers wife the health minister suggested publicly that he was an abomination and should get himself made straight The first minister is now saying that the media    has hounded her so much that he thinks christians should be specially protected - This is maybe why we need some sort of social control.

Answer 5

Simply been repressed in the past

Answer 6

Political Correctness is simply backlash, smoke screening masking any serious attempts to challenge racism, sexism, homophobia and class issues.

So, we know racism is wrong, using terms that are derogatory to black people unacceptable, but those who believe that racism only takes the most simplistic form and is not enshrined in culture and language start yelping that 'it's all gone too far and we can't even sing baa!baa! black sheep!'

We focus on the absurd having our attention diverted from the issues which are really affecting people's life!

Now to be accused of being PC is a double edged insult, nobody wants to be dismissed as absurd, ridiculed for having no humour, or concentrating on stuff that should not matter, but I was brought up to understand that knowledge/language is power and if that does not reflect us all then some of us are powerless! Being oppressed is not a modern phenomenon, age old! Unfortunatley, like me....

Answer 7

Open discrimination and prejudice.

Answer 8

I believe PC is borne of mid-1960's. Before PC came along, people kept their mouths shut and by their upbringing knew how to be polite.

Maybe PC was originally intended to encourage consideration for others' feelings, but it has turned into its own monster. It has given holier-than-thou pseudo-intellectuals a tool to emotionally quash the masses, a way to control people according to their whims.

PC is imho BS.

Answer 9

What was there before the concept of Political correctness?

Idealism.

Idealism has existed as long as thinking man. The trouble with idealism is it can go in any direction left and right.

Hitler was idealistic, yet so am I, yet I have no desire to want to segregate, hurt or kill people.

This is where the modern political correctness poses us all problems. Who's idealogy do we accept??

It's a bit like common sense. What's common sense for me isn't necessary common sense for you.

Answer 10

Mary Whitehouse, Lord Longford, the Inquisition, McCarthyism, OGPU, HUAC, the CHEKA,... in short: any organisation, group of people or ideology that wanted every one to think and act in the same way as themselves.

Answer 11

Animal Farm portrays Political Correctness to perfection. The masses simply guided by rules that were changed at the whim of the 'masters'.

Political correctness is simply another form of control.