Right-hand man, gentleman's agreement and whiter than white are the latest phrases to fall foul of the political correctness lobby.You cannot ever avoid causing offence, unless you wish to spend your life in a small room, doing nothing and speaking to no-one.
Government quangos have issued fresh lists of phrases they are seeking to ban to avoid causing offence.
So, what ‘causes offence’ for these quangos? Oh, the list is long and ridiculous:
Staff at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission have been advised to use 'miserable day' instead of 'black day'. The Commission claims that certain words carry a 'hierarchical valuation of skin colour'.You might ask why they think they won’t be held up to ridicule for these sorts of proclamations.
Well, because they thought no-one would ever find out, until Labour shot themselves in the foot:
The examples of political correctness emerged in answer to a series of Freedom of Information requests.Heh…!
Some of the examples quoted make me think that the 60s are alive and well at least in the minds of some quangocrats:
The Learning and Skills Council wants staff to 'perfect' their brief rather than 'master' it while Newcastle University reckons 'master bedroom' can be problematic.Wha…?
The National Gallery in London says the phrase gentleman's agreement may be considered offensive to women and suggests using 'unwritten agreement' or ' agreement based on trust' instead./headdesk
Advice issued by the South West Regional Development Agency says: 'Terms such as black sheep of the family, black looks and black mark have no direct link to skin colour but potentially serve to reinforce a negative view of all things black.There’s no black coffee for sale in the canteen, I take it?
'Equally, certain terms imply a negative image of black by reinforcing the positive aspects of white.
'For example, in the context of being above suspicion, the phrase whiter than white is often used. Purer than pure or cleaner than clean are alternatives which do not infer that anything other than white should be regarded with suspicion.'
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Most people assumed that this sort of PC madness went out in the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher reined in the Left-wing councils, so it's unbelievable that it's rearing its head again.Well, Matthew, most people probably did think this, but then, a lot of people realised that they were still there, and suffered no public opprobrium or real job-related consequence for their incompetence, so why wouldn’t they simply bide their time until the stars aligned in their favour again?
'This nonsense proves that quangos need to be culled. They're unaccountable, undemocratic and wasteful.'
And we can make the argument that if they have time for this stuff, they must be seriously overmanned…
Marie Clair, of the Plain English Campaign, said: 'Political correctness has good intentions but things can be taken to an extreme. What is really needed is a bit of common sense.'Yes. Not just here, either.
We need it in a lot of other places too…
But I thought political correctness was a right wing myth promoted by people who want to keep slaves and all that.
ReplyDelete"Right-hand man, gentleman's agreement and whiter than white are the latest phrases to fall foul of the political correctness lobby. "
"Right hand man" is doubly offensive, perpetuating negative stereotypes about both women and left handers (I suppose we aren't allowed to call them sinisterists any more!).
Political correctness is no myth!
ReplyDeleteAnyone fancy BBQ'd dog?
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8219427.stm
ReplyDelete"http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8219427.stm"
ReplyDeleteAwww, there go all those funny lists that circulate on the Internet!
I agree "Right-hand man" is extremely disrespectful to onanists everywhere and should be banned
ReplyDeleteThis kind of nonsense has continued to grow in every public sector occupation/service. The police forces of the UK have been terminally infected by this bollocks. Meetings can be a PC nightmare for the unwary - stuffed to the gunwhales with those from the permanently aggrieved and easily offended communities. Senior police officers aren't just that, they are 'champions' too, diversity champion, women's champion etc etc. No one can say 'manning up' - has to be 'required an increase of staff' (some even say 'staffing up' - what?). I have it on good authority that asking anyone if they want their coffee 'black' can bring on strokes and heart attacks should a slightly non-white person be present. These people are language fascists, they bully, hiding behind such guidelines. Despite previous rows people still gasp when someone say 'nitty gritty' or that so and so is 'a good egg'!!!! I kid you not - It is a bloody disgrace.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that these vermin were indeed 'reined in' under Maggie's tenure. Vermin don't respond to being reined in. They respond to trapping, poisoning and shooting. The Cameroons are going to be utterly hopeless when they eventually gain power (or, rather, have it thrust upon them by default.) They lack any sense of the scale of ruthlessness that is needed.
ReplyDeleteGenuine human misery on a scale unprecedented since the de-industrialisation of the early 80's needs to be inflicted on New Labour's cockroach army. Mass sackings. Abolition of every quango. A five year recruitment freeze into the Civil Service. Withdrawal from the EU and vigourous, militant enforcement of fishing grounds with Spanish trawlers sunk with all hands if they don't behave. The BBC gone. 70% of Ministries gone. Every five-a-day councillor and dog-walking outreach worker transferred from one balance sheet of the Exchequer (salary) to another (income support). Child benefit abolished. Comprehensive education replaced with 100% selective education funded directly at the school level (no more LEAs). Compulsory school attendance abolished. Advertising any post that might become unavoidably vacant in the Guardian or Independent to be a sackable offence. Teacher training colleges gone. University funding gone. Restrictions on tuition fees gone. Chief Constables given a black sack and told to get out within 30 minutes. Elected sheriffs. All the documents of defunct bureaucracies to be surrendered to a mass-destruction facility to pre-empt their rebirth in the event of counter-revolution. Property crimes to be punished by custodial sentence on the first conviction. Automatic parole to be scrapped. Concurrent sentencing to be outlawed. Prison spending to be expanded to whatever extent is necessary (I've saved £200 billion a year with my laundry list above). Immigration to be substantially unchanged except if you look at our reforged Western liberal settlement squinky-eyed you're on the next plane to Yemen. No benefits for qualifying immigrants for seven years after arrival; then you can apply for citizenship. Polygamy? Forget it. Arranged marriages? Not a chance. Sharia? Out you go. Jew-bashing? Ten years.
Basically every single thing that would make Polly Toynbee cry* needs to happen before Britain becomes inhabitable gain.
* which is to say, sovereign individuals acting under no other guiding principle than that their right to swing their fists stops at someone else's face
So, who likes thier dog rare and who's for well done?
ReplyDeleteI can assure you it has been killed humanely although I'm unsure of an religious needs and if they have been properly catered for in our proposed meal's short but happy life.
"The police forces of the UK have been terminally infected by this bollocks. Meetings can be a PC nightmare for the unwary - stuffed to the gunwhales with those from the permanently aggrieved and easily offended communities."
ReplyDeleteAppeasing these people is never the answer. All they will do is take it further and further...
"The Cameroons are going to be utterly hopeless when they eventually gain power (or, rather, have it thrust upon them by default.) They lack any sense of the scale of ruthlessness that is needed."
I very much doubt they are able to focus on the heart of the problem anyway. They may realise that people are fed up with it, but I suspect their 'answer' will be to ensure it isn't committed to record instead!
I would vote for David Gillies in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteIs a black pot suitable for cooking dogs in or is it some referance to something smoked by people from a specific ethnic group?
ReplyDeleteYou cannot ever avoid causing offence, unless you wish to spend your life in a small room, doing nothing and speaking to no-one.
ReplyDeleteYou know what, Julia? I think you've just hit upon the solution of what to do with all the quango staff who come up with this shite. If only the bastards had been living in small rooms, doing nothing and speaking to no-one all these years.
David Gillies for PM. I might print that post out so that I can reel off my demands when canvassers come knocking on my door at election time.
ReplyDelete