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No, You’re Not Tired of Being “Politically Correct”

“I’m so glad I don’t have to be politically correct anymore.”

Boy, if I had a dime for every time I’ve heard that since the 2016 Presidential campaign began—today I’d own a country club in Florida where I could spend 33 percent of my year golfing.

Why is it that every time someone claims they’re tired of being “politically correct,” it really seems like they’re saying something else?

It seems like they’re saying they’re tired of being a decent human being.

They’re always using the term while whitesplaining some vulgar attitude toward women or excusing derogatory language about people of color or justifying the bullying of Transgender teenagers or rationalizing reckless politicians or defending incendiary preachers. It’s seemingly always wielded in protest at being asked to compassionately coexist in community with people who aren’t like them.

The phrase politically correct usually accompanies some knuckle-dragging “boys will be boys,” “locker room banter” language, that pines for “the good ol’ days” in America—when white folks could say or do whatever they wanted with impunity.

(White folks, I’ve noticed are almost always the only people who use the phrase politically correct. I wonder why that is.)

Whenever someone expresses outrage at the political correctness they’re supposedly being subjected to by the world, invariably that outrage is because they’re being asked to participate more fully in civilized humanity. They’re being asked to evolve with the rest of us—and they are vociferously resisting.

Political correctness is code language.
It’s a dodge.
It’s citing some nonexistent speech-suppression conspiracy theory, in order to avoid levels of kindness and respect that the rest of us are aspiring to—and that the person in question objects to.

I wish people would just be honest and say that they want to be rude and offensive; that they want to disparage people groups and disregard another’s worth and never listen to anyone else’s expressions of pain or engage in any self-awareness that might require a behavior adjustment.

Friend, I hear you say you’re tired of being politically correct—but I don’t think you are.

I think you’re tired of being called out for the subtly or overtly racist comments you used to get away with.
You’re tired of no longer being able to freely harass women you work with, or make jokes about disadvantaged people, or show open enmity for those who don’t speak English or share your religious views. 

You’re tired of being held accountable for the epithets and slurs that you’ve previously used unabated.
You’re tired of your privilege being challenged instead of accommodated and celebrated.

Please don’t tell me this is about being a “straight shooter” or “telling it like it is” or “speaking truth” because that’s nonsense.

This is about you not getting to be as horrible to people as you’d like, and to the degree to which you’ve grown accustomed—and about how odd a feeling that is for you.

This is about you seeing the expectation of living with dignity as a punishment, the request to be respectful as personal oppression.

It’s about showing every human being the decency they deserve, even if you don’t want to—and you don’t seem to want to.

You might find these words completely offensive, and if so, I’m sorry.

I’m just being a straight shooter and telling it like it is. I’m speak truth to you.

Guess I’m through being politically correct too.

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