Re: Political Correctness.
 

Ha ha, I recall someone asking who was the funny looking little indian chap sitting in the carriage with the Queen of Tonga on the way to Westminster Abbey, to which someone replied "Her lunch!"

Not very PC, but very funny, or at least it was at the time. Context is everything. And , moreover, I am sure that the Queen of Tonga would have seen the joke too.

Re: Political Correctness.
 

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.

Re: Political Correctness.
 

Stanaccy - isn't that what I said...maybe not in the same words, but essentially.....I said it depends on circumstances and situations....and also your own relationships with the people to whom the cliche was used.
Multiculturalism is like the Emperor's new clothes.....we have been bamboozled into thinking it was good for us and for the ethnic minorities(and I don't just mean the Asian population here) when in actual fact it has done harm to communities by singling them out as different.
And I don't agree that we would never have tried the different culinary delights of other nations - the advent of global travel has meant that people are more exposed to different foods and cultures....though personally I do not have any kind of longing for foreign food, be that Pizza or curry...give me the stuff I can identify.
I agree that there has been much dismantling of our own culture, and I think it is seen with suspicion - this cannot be good for the ethnic minoities it was supposed to help....you see when most people in this region mention ethnic minority, Asian is the only ethnic minority that is recognised....and there are many other minorities that need to be accepted.

Re: Political Correctness.
 

Margaret I speak from experience living in an area of London close to Lunar House (Then Main calling point for immigrants in this caountry).

In the area I lived 147 different languages were spoken.I said it depends on the recipient as to what you say wheter it be offensive or not.

Benefits of Multiculturism include (in no particular order) discovering how people celebrate different festivals (take Mardis Gras for instance, what we know as Shrove Tuesday) Notting Hill Carnival, The Mela, music, foods, clothing, generally everything we do, eat and wear has come from other cultures.

There is no such thing as Englishness we are an amalgam of different cultures following different invasions, be it Roman, Anglo Saxons, Norse, French etc. Unless there aare people on here who can trace their origins back beyond the Celts. The great thing about British and English culture is it picks the best of others and amalgamates it.

It is part of our heritage that we accept differences and celebrate them and include them,e.g. Christmas trees, Easter Eggs, pancakes, fireworks etc.

I love my country as well but we have to accept our culture has always been fluid and it is not wrong to accept new aspects but as I said earlier not at the expense of our old ones.

Re: Political Correctness.
 

Terribly, terribly "Un-PC" quote from Noel Coward.

Queen Salote, who was a very large lady indeed, rode through London in an open carriage. Beside her was a very small man. Someone asked Coward who the little man was, to which Coward replied,
"That's her lunch."

;)

Re: Political Correctness.
 

I don't really think it needed multiculturalism to teach us about the difference between races...and I think I mentioned that I have no qualms about people celebrating their heritage and their culture.......and I also accept that there is no pure English/British nation. I worked in the NHS along side people of different culture and creeds, it never presented a problem because we are tolerant.......and to be honest I don't think you can legislate for tolerance.......when you do legislate to such an end, it drives the intolerant underground where they make mischief.

Re: Political Correctness.
 

These are two very pertinent statements.

We accept all sorts of things into our culture without even thinking about it - coffee houses, trick or treat, french fries, soccer, etc. But I think the reason they are accepted so easily is because of TV - American TV programmes come over here and use these references to a point where we just accept them. Ask any kid which number they should call in an emergency and I'll bet a fair share of them say 911. But this isn't a criticism, it's a good thing that we absorb and evolve. Perhaps, the more simple reason why asian based things aren't absorbed so easily is because we are always going to have that language barrier - for instance, I'm not going to sit down and watch a Bollywood film because I wouldn't understand it.

Multicultural things can easily be absorbed without losing the current culture. Traditions are traditions and should be maintained.

Re: Political Correctness.
 

Re: Political Correctness.
 

yes, Willow, and I think I alluded to that fact in a previous post......i suppose it could even be called pussy footing:)

Re: Political Correctness.
 

You can do that with no problem.......It's when it is shortened it causes offence.

Re: Political Correctness.
 

Re: Political Correctness.
 

I think we have it because it encompasses the many differing people and cultures from the Asian sub-continent......although as you say, when we say Asian we usually are referring to Pakistanis/Bangladeshi'/Indians

Re: Political Correctness.
 

I would assume that that is PC. Crackers is'nt it?

Re: Political Correctness.
 

beats me think its stupid n errodes peoples identity. which i am sure the differant races are very proud of.

Re: Political Correctness.
 

Asian is just a general term - in the same way as European.
South Asian is often used to denote Pakistani/Bangladeshi and Indian. Again, that's like calling Polish people Eastern Europeans.

It's just location, not religion! No one is offended by being called Asian, just as we aren't offended by being called European.

Although, they sometimes should be, in my opinion - as it's used to describe ethnic origin, which is defining people by their skin colour and their parents heritage and not always the place that they were born. For example, why should my friend be described as Asian when he's rarely been there and was born in Lancashire?