Political Correctness aims to make people examine the words they use and show them they have an effect on people, that they’re never just words, they can change the way people think and can lead us into patterns of thinking that are in contest with peaceful coexistence.
For example, the term ‘Black People’ is a much better term than just ‘Blacks’ or any of the many historical terms because it has in it the essence of the thing it describes. ‘People’ is the key word. ‘Blacks’ and ‘Whites’ can oversimplify the groups, turning them into almost like teams in a sports match, creating an ‘Us verses Them’ dynamic.
‘Black People’ and ‘White People’ are better words because they focus on the fact that they are all people. They are not ideal as ‘Black’ and ‘White’ are not binary variables; the line between them is blurred and is becoming more so with the growth of multiculturalism.
On the topic of immigration, those opposed to immigration and who want to shut out immigrants in all forms use terms like ‘Foreigners’ and ‘Aliens’ which focus on that they are coming from an unfamiliar place and it’s not clear if they can be trusted. However, those people often overlook refugees with a genuine fear of persecution and the desperate need for asylum. The term ‘Refugee’ is avoided and it is too easy to empathize with a person seeking refuge from danger. Catchall terms like ‘Foreigners’ lump together economic migrants with refugees and again oversimplify the issue by making it too easy to unconsciously associate the negatives aspects of one with the other.
Political Correctness has gone too far in some cases, but the most popularly cited examples of cases are exaggerated and circulated by those who are opposed to Political Correctness for it’s desire to promote peaceful coexistence. They hunt for excuses to overthrow it and then broadcast extremely localized, specific cases of misapplications, in a context that would lead people to believe that the impact of the misapplications is larger than it actually is. Everyone associates ‘Baa Baa Rainbow sheep’ or ‘Green Sheep’ or ‘Happy Sheep’ with the whole Political Correctness movement, when in actual fact they have affected only a handful of schools that have completely missed the point of Political Correctness.
The movement is not universally successful, it is often ridiculed for its heavy-handedness and some people see it as a contravention of our freedom of speech. But it must be worth something that it is simply trying to improve social cohesion and help people get along smoothly. The heavy-handed are in a minority and it is a voluntary restraint enforced by social pressure, not law. It causes less harm than the benefit it produces, but people’s perception of it hinders the success of its application.
Thursday 19 November 2009
Wednesday 18 November 2009
Terms Used in the US
“Calls for stopping the use of “illegals” as a noun, curbing the phrase “illegal alien””
““Aliens” is a bureaucratic term that should be avoided unless used in a quote.”
There are various terms used both in legislation and in the day to day vernacular of the United States, that could be construed as politically incorrect. One particular term that is used in reference to immigration is the word ‘alien’. This is a word that dates back to the 14th Century AD and comes from the Latin, alienus, meaning ‘foreign’ or ‘strange’. However, more recently, in around 1944 it began to be used in terms of extra-terrestrial beings and has now become a very prominent definition of the word. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists have deemed the term alien, and particularly ‘illegal alien’ as “offensive and dehumanizing”. In place of ‘alien’, they suggest the use of ‘immigrant’, and rather than ‘illegal alien’, ‘undocumented immigrant’ or ‘worker’. This is something that could either be a necessary step to prevent people being offended, or it could be an oversensitive reaction to a term that is not meant in an offensive way.
While for some people this clearly is an offensive term, it depends greatly on your interpretation of the word itself. As it is a word with such a long history of being used to mean someone who is not native to a country with no offensive overtones to it, it seems reasonable that it should remain a politically correct term as this should be the more widely recognised definition. This is particularly true in the US, as it has been used for centuries and is a common word to be used by all people usually not as a derogatory term, more an official government term that is used within legislation to specify immigrants. Its use in conjunction with the word ‘illegal’ then would seem to be similarly suitable governmental terminology, as opposed to a phrase that aims to dehumanise people by labelling them with a negative term.
However, as the more recent definition of the word ‘alien’ is used very commonly, especially in sci-fi films and books, it is becoming at least as recognised as the previous definition and this places it in question. Thinking about how aliens are portrayed in films and other such media, they are shown as being non-humanoid characters with strange features, incomprehensible methods of communication and often as a threat to human civilisation. With this as a meaning that is becoming ever more apparent, it is necessary to understand how this affects its use as a term for people, as it begins to make it sound like anyone who is not a native citizen of that country is strange, unnatural and potentially threatening which is negative and promotes ideas of segregation and not harmonious coexistence.
The terms ‘illegal alien’ and ‘illegals’ then accentuates this idea of the person being a foreigner that is outside the law and ergo someone who poses a huge threat to the native population of the country. They also immediately paint an image of a dangerous criminal, when statistics show that approximately two fifths of illegal immigrants are people who have overstayed their visa rather than people who illegally crossed the border to obtain access to the country. In this sense, the word ‘illegal’ is somewhat unhelpful, as while they are illegitimately staying in the country, they were at one time permitted entry and have been living legally in the country for some time.
Another thing that seemingly compounds this idea of an inhuman outsider is that in order to gain US citizenship, one must take a ‘Naturalization test’ that requires knowledge of the country, things such as civics and the governmental structure. The word natural means ordinary, native, established, and an antonym of this is abnormal which makes it seem as though the people who have not taken the test are unnatural and again, foreign. Upon the successful completion of this test, the person will gain permanent citizenship and a ‘Green Card’ complete with a unique ‘alien number’ as proof of this. Until relatively recently (approximately 1989) this card was called a ‘Resident Alien Card’ which subsequently became the ‘United States Permanent Citizen Card’. This may too have been a move in the spirit of political correctness as the altered name is one that has a feeling of inclusion and involvement in the US society, whereas ‘resident alien’ sounds as though the person is still unnatural and abnormal and they have merely been granted permission to live alongside the US culture rather than be involved in it.
In order to assess whether this seems like a reasonable change in terms or an oversensitive remark, I feel it is necessary to refer back to the idea of political correctness as a whole. If we take the definition of ‘political correctness’ to be, at least in part, “avoiding vocabulary that is considered offensive, discriminatory, or judgmental” then this is a necessary step that would prevent people from being labelled with a term that portrays them in a negative or unfounded light. Based on this it seems that it is necessary to find whether it is a term that others find offensive too or whether it is confined to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). I have found that it is something that is more widely spread than just this one group. The NAHJ released a statement in conjunction with the Asian American Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association and National Association of Black Journalists saying, "Except in direct quotations, do not use the phrase illegal alien or the word alien... to refer to citizens of a foreign country who have come to the U.S. with no documents.” In addition to this a state legislator, Sen. Frederica Wilson, has been quoted as saying “I personally find the word 'alien' offensive when applied to individuals, especially to children... An alien to me is someone from out of space.” This goes to show that it is not simply that we are looking at these terms from a culture external to the US where the word alien is not used in quite the same way and thusly the word takes on a different significance. Instead it is an issue that is very real and demands that people take care over the words they use to describe immigrants.
I feel in this case that is unfortunate that the word has these two interpretations, one which is very suitable as a way of referring to immigrants in legislative material amongst other circumstances and one which, though similar, gives a completely different and much more negative impression. Due to these circumstances, I do not feel that it is unreasonable that people might think that it projects an unfortunate image of immigrants and thusly wish for people to avoid it as a term where possible
““Aliens” is a bureaucratic term that should be avoided unless used in a quote.”
There are various terms used both in legislation and in the day to day vernacular of the United States, that could be construed as politically incorrect. One particular term that is used in reference to immigration is the word ‘alien’. This is a word that dates back to the 14th Century AD and comes from the Latin, alienus, meaning ‘foreign’ or ‘strange’. However, more recently, in around 1944 it began to be used in terms of extra-terrestrial beings and has now become a very prominent definition of the word. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists have deemed the term alien, and particularly ‘illegal alien’ as “offensive and dehumanizing”. In place of ‘alien’, they suggest the use of ‘immigrant’, and rather than ‘illegal alien’, ‘undocumented immigrant’ or ‘worker’. This is something that could either be a necessary step to prevent people being offended, or it could be an oversensitive reaction to a term that is not meant in an offensive way.
While for some people this clearly is an offensive term, it depends greatly on your interpretation of the word itself. As it is a word with such a long history of being used to mean someone who is not native to a country with no offensive overtones to it, it seems reasonable that it should remain a politically correct term as this should be the more widely recognised definition. This is particularly true in the US, as it has been used for centuries and is a common word to be used by all people usually not as a derogatory term, more an official government term that is used within legislation to specify immigrants. Its use in conjunction with the word ‘illegal’ then would seem to be similarly suitable governmental terminology, as opposed to a phrase that aims to dehumanise people by labelling them with a negative term.
However, as the more recent definition of the word ‘alien’ is used very commonly, especially in sci-fi films and books, it is becoming at least as recognised as the previous definition and this places it in question. Thinking about how aliens are portrayed in films and other such media, they are shown as being non-humanoid characters with strange features, incomprehensible methods of communication and often as a threat to human civilisation. With this as a meaning that is becoming ever more apparent, it is necessary to understand how this affects its use as a term for people, as it begins to make it sound like anyone who is not a native citizen of that country is strange, unnatural and potentially threatening which is negative and promotes ideas of segregation and not harmonious coexistence.
The terms ‘illegal alien’ and ‘illegals’ then accentuates this idea of the person being a foreigner that is outside the law and ergo someone who poses a huge threat to the native population of the country. They also immediately paint an image of a dangerous criminal, when statistics show that approximately two fifths of illegal immigrants are people who have overstayed their visa rather than people who illegally crossed the border to obtain access to the country. In this sense, the word ‘illegal’ is somewhat unhelpful, as while they are illegitimately staying in the country, they were at one time permitted entry and have been living legally in the country for some time.
Another thing that seemingly compounds this idea of an inhuman outsider is that in order to gain US citizenship, one must take a ‘Naturalization test’ that requires knowledge of the country, things such as civics and the governmental structure. The word natural means ordinary, native, established, and an antonym of this is abnormal which makes it seem as though the people who have not taken the test are unnatural and again, foreign. Upon the successful completion of this test, the person will gain permanent citizenship and a ‘Green Card’ complete with a unique ‘alien number’ as proof of this. Until relatively recently (approximately 1989) this card was called a ‘Resident Alien Card’ which subsequently became the ‘United States Permanent Citizen Card’. This may too have been a move in the spirit of political correctness as the altered name is one that has a feeling of inclusion and involvement in the US society, whereas ‘resident alien’ sounds as though the person is still unnatural and abnormal and they have merely been granted permission to live alongside the US culture rather than be involved in it.
In order to assess whether this seems like a reasonable change in terms or an oversensitive remark, I feel it is necessary to refer back to the idea of political correctness as a whole. If we take the definition of ‘political correctness’ to be, at least in part, “avoiding vocabulary that is considered offensive, discriminatory, or judgmental” then this is a necessary step that would prevent people from being labelled with a term that portrays them in a negative or unfounded light. Based on this it seems that it is necessary to find whether it is a term that others find offensive too or whether it is confined to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). I have found that it is something that is more widely spread than just this one group. The NAHJ released a statement in conjunction with the Asian American Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association and National Association of Black Journalists saying, "Except in direct quotations, do not use the phrase illegal alien or the word alien... to refer to citizens of a foreign country who have come to the U.S. with no documents.” In addition to this a state legislator, Sen. Frederica Wilson, has been quoted as saying “I personally find the word 'alien' offensive when applied to individuals, especially to children... An alien to me is someone from out of space.” This goes to show that it is not simply that we are looking at these terms from a culture external to the US where the word alien is not used in quite the same way and thusly the word takes on a different significance. Instead it is an issue that is very real and demands that people take care over the words they use to describe immigrants.
I feel in this case that is unfortunate that the word has these two interpretations, one which is very suitable as a way of referring to immigrants in legislative material amongst other circumstances and one which, though similar, gives a completely different and much more negative impression. Due to these circumstances, I do not feel that it is unreasonable that people might think that it projects an unfortunate image of immigrants and thusly wish for people to avoid it as a term where possible
Student Immigration: 'The new points system'
The UK is facing in 45 years one of the biggest shake-ups in ‘Immigration’, the new ‘points-scheme’ system targets to strengthen its control on immigrants and international students coming into the country.
Originated from the Australian ‘points scheme’ system, where only the most skilled and beneficial migrants would be accepted into the Australian border with the intention of contributing to the growth in development of the, still young and new, country.
The ‘points-system’ in the UK is currently a new law that had been carried forward at the beginning of 2009. Its objective is to retain the existing UK migrants and welcoming immigrants that obtain valuable skills for the succession of maintaining Britain’s status on the succession ladder in Finance, Business and Technological innovation. It also intends to help target and the cut down on bogus institutions accepting illegal immigrants posing as students and targeting employers employing illegal immigrants, whom haven’t applied for a licence. The ‘points-scheme’ comes under Tier 4 ‘education department’ of the UK Border Agency; planning on only accepting students whom have undertaken certain regulations before admittance into the UK.
Students are required to have proceeded with the following:
· A certificate of sponsorship from their sponsors (intended place of University/college with a licence)
· Present a valid passport and a valid photograph
· Evidence of commitment of study
· Evidence of self support for a duration of 1 year
· Application form, obtained from Embassy/consulate
· Finger print Visa – this new system is 1st line of defence in stamping out illegal immigrants by identifying people before they cross the border. 1 fingerprint can be compared to 8,000 others on one system, allowing this procedure to be an efficient, successful device.
The fingerprint visa has been approved for the purpose of strengthening the population restrictions of the UK and it status/reputation against other countries.
Charles Clarke from the Labour Party states: “ The UK needs a world class system……while at the same time being more robust against abuse”.
In this statement it mentions the quality of the country being able to prepare itself to withstand stresses and pressures that might impose it. This suggests the necessity factor of which the new fingerprint visa will be enforcing.
The UK has had to face a high percentage of rejections from the vetting process of educational institutions; it has already seen from 2,100 applied licences, 460 applications were not accepted. This is due to bogus institutions allowing asylums into the UK posing as international students and having a place of study to get past going through the application for working Visa and strict regulations. Although it has its optimistic values for the country, it does bear some problems to the UK citizens, one of the regulations for immigrants and migrants requires ID cards do not only apply to them, but to UK citizens also. An argument has risen from this intention that the country not only controls a watchful eye on the border control, but has the ability to spy on UK citizens, in order, to run a country of long-lasting leadership and fair regime. This imposes a ludicrous regulation on the operations carried through by the government and its interaction with its society (a negative connotation on the ‘Points-system’).
“The current open-door policy and unrestricted, uncontrolled immigration…”
The BNP.
“ Extremely difficult process and very little support from the UBA (UK Border Agency). In the end you are forced to seek legal advice to get answers or assistance”.The ‘points-system’ states that immigrants coming into the UK are required to apply for a visa in the country from which they will be migrating. Its diligent administration on the numbers of people coming in and out of the country, allows a comfortable amount in, in which will imply beneficiaries to the country. Australia, America and other countries apply to this as they are developing at a rate of increased, constant development and necessitate prospering factors.
The link to student immigration and political correctness, which is in matter to our topic change, has a substantially small connection. Requiring valid image base sources were hard to come by and anything with a related value was not strong enough to link up with area of topic.
Relevant links to Summary
Hull local opinions forum
The Angry Black Woman Blog
Is Political Correctness good or bad?
Reference.com
Fuck me, you have to be careful what you say in there these days."
The Angry Black Woman Blog
Is Political Correctness good or bad?
Reference.com
Wikipedia:politically correct – marked by or adhering to a typically progressive orthodoxy on issues involving esp. race, gender, sexual affinity, or ecology.
(Dictionary.com Unabridged)politically correct -
1. Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.
2. Being or perceived as being overconcerned with such change, often to the exclusion of other matters.
(The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)political correctness – avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to exclude or marginalize or insult people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.
(WordNet)
Political correctness (often abbreviated to PC) is a term used to describe language or behavior which is intended, or said to be intended, to provide a minimum of offense, particularly to racial, cultural, or other identity groups. A text that conforms to the alleged ideals of political correctness is said to be politically correct.
The term “political correctness” is used almost exclusively in a pejorative sense. However, terms such as inclusive language and civility are often used to praise language that is seen by critics as “politically correct”. Those who use the term in a critical fashion often express a concern about the dilution of freedom of speech, intolerance of language, and the avoidance of a discussion of social problems.
Fuck me, you have to be careful what you say in there these days."
"I think that, amongst all the complaining, what we forget is that ten years ago political correctness itself was known as "Spastic Gay Talk""
Immigration PC TERMS
An Immigrant - a newcomer
Broken Home - Dysfunctional Family
Ghetto / Barrio - Ethnically Homogenous Area
Racist - genetically discriminating
Refugees - asylum seekers
Slum - Economic Oppression Zone
Vocal Minority - target equity group
White American - racially challenged
White - melanin-impoverished
White Boy - rhythmically challenged
White Trash - caucasian culturally-disadvantaged
Broken Home - Dysfunctional Family
Ghetto / Barrio - Ethnically Homogenous Area
Racist - genetically discriminating
Refugees - asylum seekers
Slum - Economic Oppression Zone
Vocal Minority - target equity group
White American - racially challenged
White - melanin-impoverished
White Boy - rhythmically challenged
White Trash - caucasian culturally-disadvantaged
Tuesday 17 November 2009
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