Quote:
Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington
Stanaccy...I like your last sentence and I think it is very relevant...but as far as saying that some of the phrases you have quoted are insulting and harmful......they are just cliches that are the currency of everyday speech and we should not be taking offence at them, unless of course they are used
pointedly (I'm not sure if you get what I mean by that....but if you were to say to a group of non-white people 'play the white man'...then they might take offence....but then again they might not...it all depends on the situation and the circumstances). I think it is so easy to cause offence by pussy footing around so that the people you are trying NOT to offend, realise that YOU see them as different. Differences should be accepted and celebrated. Multiculturalism has done more to harm relationships within communities than anything else, because some of the methods employed have meant that other cultures have been celebrated at the expense of our own
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I disagree Margaret with regards statements, you may mean one thing when you say it but whether it is insulting or not depends on the recipient and how the statement is perceived. Which is why I am saying Political Correctness in its purest form is down to basic respect and manners.
If you said something to somebody and they found it insulting I am sure you and most people on this site would apologise beginning the apology with "Sorry I didn't mean it like that" and then in furure be a bit more careful about how it was phrased. In some areas this is seen as "being PC". Hogwash it's basic good manners.
Multiculturalism is not an evil. It's about acceptingdifferences and finding out more about them. FFS If we hadn't embraced parts of other cultures in the past we wouldn't be eating Sweet and sour dishes or curries, wearing jeans or moccassins.
The main problem with councils and goverment agencies is that due to the fear of offending they have pushed it too far and are dismantling our culture at the expense of others, rther than embracing them all and celebrating the diverse communities we have.
I agree the pendulum has swung too far and it needs redressing however we have to be careful when it comes to rebalancing and not push it too far the other way.