Political Correctness

[Clueless Morgan]

While I enjoy Carlin and think he makes some good points in this video, there's some in there that I disagree with.  For instance, when he lists of the terms that have changed in his lifetime like motels becoming motor lodges, used cars becoming previously owned vehicles, etc. I mean, c'mon, some of those are marketing ploys, not matters of being politically correct.

His point -- that language is watered down to protect fragile sensibilities -- seems very apt for this thread, because while you're right that much of it is about marketing, much of it (his best example, imo: cripple > handicapped > differently-abled > "handicapable", which thankfully had a short shelf life) is exactly what is happened when PC establishes its language police (in a manner of speaking).

I agree that clouding terms in euphemisms is bullshit and agree with his statement that words are just words and it's the context in which they are used that make you an asshole or not; my contention is that some of the terms he listed have WAY more to do with marketing than with being PC.

Had he used the used car example in particular with regards to "used car salesmen" not just "used cars" ** and called them "previously owned vehicle acquisition facilitators" THAT would be bullshit to me because it would be clouding a clear term for a person's job with euphemistic craptrap because "used car salesman" has become something of a pejorative.

** I've never in my life heard the term "previously owned vehicle" used anywhere except in the context of someone trying to sell a used car. My parents bought a used Honda a few years ago and they never ever refer to it as their "previously owned" Honda.

That is what bothered me about that list. There were some terms he could have left out of that list and, I think, driven home his point about PC bullshit without appealing to terms that are clearly more about marketing than being PC.