Summary Of A Critique Of Politically Correct Language

The PC police have spoken. Are these call outs for cultural insensitivity appropriate or does being politically correct do more harm than good? One side of the argument, some say that substituting the harmful phase does not have an effect. In the essay, “A Critique of Politically Correct Language,” Ben O’Neill claims that politically correct language is irrelevant as long as the social stain continues. O’Neill contends, PC suffers from a recurring bullying problem: new words replace injurious language, but individuals remain stuck in a cycle which words are continually being replaced. “Garbage Man” will eventually become “Disposal Professional” and in lieu of “Mailman” one will label as “Dispatch Engineer.” The dilemma is the lexicon tends to be taken up by the same persons with the same purpose. In brief, the elemental slanderous intention never changes.

Researchers have examined different ethical behaviors and their association to their prejudice. Their paper speaks of the theory of “Moral self-licensing.” “Moral self-licensing...occurs when past moral behavior makes people more likely to do potentially immoral things without worrying about feeling or appearing immoral.” Each time a John Doe does something they think is good, they add +1 and if they do something harmful -1 bringing the overall balance to zero. Which they later use this method to absolve from any claim of being a racist or a bigot. In short, a person might feel like acting the right way in one case balances out immoral actions elsewhere. If PC language is supposed to stitch the wound of malicious speech — to create a form of expression separated from the injury and traditional baggage of bigotry — one should ask: Does it actually