Political Correctness
Pomi finally put the postcards away and turned his attention towards my collection of books.
” Anything in particular you are looking for?”
” Something about political correctness.” Pomi grinned.
” I thought you were not interested.”
” I am not, but if a simple word can get me into trouble maybe I should be interested.”
” Let me explain: political correctness is about improving the quality of life for many by not making anyone feel offended, diminished or excluded.”
” Ok, let’s assume it makes me sad when someone calls me small. You stop using the word small because you don’t want to hurt my feelings. Will I be happier? Will I forget that I am small? What are you really thinking? That being small is bad? Why? Because it means being different? And is being different something to be ashamed off? Are you trying to spare my feelings about who I really am?”
” It is not like that!”
” What is it like then? What is it about? Looking good in the eyes of others. Gaining approval? Trying to influence the way people think about you? ”
” No, but by being inclusive in extending consideration and respect, the comfortable world in which some people feel privileged is being challenged.”
” People are just trying to disguise the truth. They give in to social pressure and pretend to be tolerant. I think people should speak their mind. That way you know the other person’s opinion and don’t have to listen to a reality subverted by political trend. Political correctness is an attack on free speech, thinking and discussion. Preaching tolerance has got nothing to do with a person’s actual opinions or thoughts.”
” Pomi!”
” Yes, that is my name. Pomi. And I am proud to be Pomi. A small person. I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Why did you make me this height? 25cm, 10 inches?”
” I don’t know. It seemed like the perfect height.”
” Perfect? You just made my day.”
Hmmm, Pomi is becoming rather a deep thinker!! I’ve often thought about this myself: is this business of “political correctness” phony, does it do harm? Or does it help to create more respectful relationships between people? Maybe both. The problem is: the people who are most willing to accept the restraints of “political correctness” are generally the people who are already more sensitive to others! While this is a very interesting episode, I think the discussion between you and Pomi could be more casual and conversational. This level is okay for me, but would be a little hard for a child to follow. But I do love that you and Pomi aren’t afraid to tackle some challenging topics!!
🙂
A child would of course not be interested in this. Pomi on the other hand likes to have a serious conversation every now and then :-).
Yes, I do like the fact that Pomi has his playful side and his serious side. 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂
Wow! This is like a flashback to those stop-action animated cartoons, Davey and Goliath, only not preachy. I love it!
Thank you!!!
Davey and Goliath 🙂 ? I’ve never heard of them before and I shall ‘google’ them now.
Pomi is curious, and so am I :-).