For those few of you who haven't figured it out already (probably because you have IQ's equal with your shoe size), I am someone who could and should be considered Politically Incorrect. Now many people wear this scarlet letter in shame (OK, letters ... glad to see you were counting). I however wear it as a badge of honor. Why you might ask, when being incorrect in anything is normally the last thing that anyone would want to be, or admit to (and anyone who knows me that I normally don't admit to being incorrect without a fight) . Well, I will tell you why:
I can and do have opinions that I espouse without taking an opinion poll.
There is nothing more frustrating these days than people who won't voice an opinion on a subject without finding out if it's popular first. Our politicians are the most guilty where this offense is concerned and actually hire professionals to test the waters for them on what their beliefs should be. The process and the people using it sicken me, and what it ultimately says is that these people believe in nothing. This blog does not get edited for popularity by anyone but me before a posting. (Hey, no cracks about the obviousness of that, please.)
I can and do say things or make decisions without wondering whether anyone's feelings will be hurt.
I often seem to have a great deal of difficulty engaging my brain before I speak or act. As a consequence I sometimes say and do things that hurt others feelings. It's a character flaw I admit, but my intention is never really to offend (well sometimes, but I usually make that pretty clear to those involved right up front). As sorry as I am that I may hurt someone accidentally, I prefer being occasionally insensitive to mostly dishonest.
I do not apologize to any minority group for anything that might have happened to them in the past, nor do I feel that I should make it up to them.
I don't believe that I am prejudiced against anyone, with the exception of those who appear to have adopted laziness or aggressive stupidity as a way of life. Bad things have happened in the past. Black people put up with slavery, Indians dealt with the lies that the US Government told them, the Irish and Indian peoples put up with abuses by the British government, much of Eastern Europe put up with Russian's cold war policies, the French and the Germans put up with each other, and women put up with men. Sorry people, all of these things were really bad, and all of them are in the past. Beating your breast and declaring yourself a victim does nothing except give you an excuse for self-pity. Get over it and move on, the world doesn't owe you anything!
I don't believe in "popular" causes and the badges of them.
I believe that there are wrongs to be righted in the world, and in my small ways I do what I can to seek meaningful change. I do not however, wear ribbons on my clothes or bracelets on my wrists. It is not that I am insensitive to the causes espoused (OK, I am sometimes, but only the really silly ones), but more that I think that many of the people wearing these items are doing so only because they want to be seen as doing so. This is not to say that there are not people that genuinely care about legitimate causes, only that society today is mostly more superficial than substantive. The wearing of these symbols is often the full extent of their efforts at solutions, supplying them with a modicum of self-esteem for showing their compassion. The few genuine causes and the truly dedicated people who work toward real answers easily get lost, buried under a pile of tripe too odoriferous to contemplate. I don't want to save the the farting cockroach, the only known stand of 'piano leg' trees, or the survivors of erectile dysfunction.
I do not engage in discussions of feeling, only fact; and have little respect for those who do.
A local talk show host here in Toledo, Brian Wilson on 1370 - WSPD, (yeah, I know, a pretty shameless plug) often talks about the difference between what people "feel" and what they "think" and dismisses the former. He is absolutely right. Discussions of feelings can be amusing, but are usually not worth the spit that carries them. They are semantic exercises that hold a null value as logical argument. Discussions of what someone thinks are always of value, even when those involved do not come to agreement on the subject. Discussions of thought concern facts which can be agreed upon or disputed in a rational fashion (except on TV talks shows). They offer at least the chance that the subject in question can be advanced towards resolution.
The bottom line here is that Political Correctness has turned mankind into a bunch of spineless jellyfish. It has become a disease that leaves many people unable to do, think, or say anything. Be afraid of it people, for it allows those who would do evil upon us to shame and berate us into immobility while they perpetrate their nefarious acts upon us. This bit of distraction likewise diverts and dilutes our attention from legitimate concerns. Any complaint against this shallow form of misdirection is met with scorn and ridicule for those not willing to accept what the politically correct deem to be right, and the fear of offense prevents us from calling out these villains and carnival con-artists.
As for me, the definition of a Curmudgeon is a cranky, old man. By self-definition therefore, I am only doing what I am supposed to.
I can and do say things or make decisions without wondering whether anyone's feelings will be hurt.
I often seem to have a great deal of difficulty engaging my brain before I speak or act. As a consequence I sometimes say and do things that hurt others feelings. It's a character flaw I admit, but my intention is never really to offend (well sometimes, but I usually make that pretty clear to those involved right up front). As sorry as I am that I may hurt someone accidentally, I prefer being occasionally insensitive to mostly dishonest.
I do not apologize to any minority group for anything that might have happened to them in the past, nor do I feel that I should make it up to them.
I don't believe that I am prejudiced against anyone, with the exception of those who appear to have adopted laziness or aggressive stupidity as a way of life. Bad things have happened in the past. Black people put up with slavery, Indians dealt with the lies that the US Government told them, the Irish and Indian peoples put up with abuses by the British government, much of Eastern Europe put up with Russian's cold war policies, the French and the Germans put up with each other, and women put up with men. Sorry people, all of these things were really bad, and all of them are in the past. Beating your breast and declaring yourself a victim does nothing except give you an excuse for self-pity. Get over it and move on, the world doesn't owe you anything!
I don't believe in "popular" causes and the badges of them.
I believe that there are wrongs to be righted in the world, and in my small ways I do what I can to seek meaningful change. I do not however, wear ribbons on my clothes or bracelets on my wrists. It is not that I am insensitive to the causes espoused (OK, I am sometimes, but only the really silly ones), but more that I think that many of the people wearing these items are doing so only because they want to be seen as doing so. This is not to say that there are not people that genuinely care about legitimate causes, only that society today is mostly more superficial than substantive. The wearing of these symbols is often the full extent of their efforts at solutions, supplying them with a modicum of self-esteem for showing their compassion. The few genuine causes and the truly dedicated people who work toward real answers easily get lost, buried under a pile of tripe too odoriferous to contemplate. I don't want to save the the farting cockroach, the only known stand of 'piano leg' trees, or the survivors of erectile dysfunction.
I do not engage in discussions of feeling, only fact; and have little respect for those who do.
A local talk show host here in Toledo, Brian Wilson on 1370 - WSPD, (yeah, I know, a pretty shameless plug) often talks about the difference between what people "feel" and what they "think" and dismisses the former. He is absolutely right. Discussions of feelings can be amusing, but are usually not worth the spit that carries them. They are semantic exercises that hold a null value as logical argument. Discussions of what someone thinks are always of value, even when those involved do not come to agreement on the subject. Discussions of thought concern facts which can be agreed upon or disputed in a rational fashion (except on TV talks shows). They offer at least the chance that the subject in question can be advanced towards resolution.
The bottom line here is that Political Correctness has turned mankind into a bunch of spineless jellyfish. It has become a disease that leaves many people unable to do, think, or say anything. Be afraid of it people, for it allows those who would do evil upon us to shame and berate us into immobility while they perpetrate their nefarious acts upon us. This bit of distraction likewise diverts and dilutes our attention from legitimate concerns. Any complaint against this shallow form of misdirection is met with scorn and ridicule for those not willing to accept what the politically correct deem to be right, and the fear of offense prevents us from calling out these villains and carnival con-artists.
As for me, the definition of a Curmudgeon is a cranky, old man. By self-definition therefore, I am only doing what I am supposed to.
No comments:
Post a Comment