Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Trump versus Political Correctness

Political correctness is a scourge. It is a cultural scourge with political underpinnings rather than a political scourge with cultural underpinnings.

As a cultural infestation political correctness tells you what you can and cannot think, what you can and cannot say, what you can and cannot do with your time and your life. If you break the rules of political correctness you will be severely punished. Your reputation and your livelihood will immediately be threatened, if not taken from you.

As I have often noted, political correctness is an extended guilt trip. It criminalizes behavior, makes the least slight or offense into a major crime. Should you, poor unfortunate that you are, commit such an offense, a microaggression, you must do extended penance, beat yourself up, flagellate yourself and show severe contrition in all your public self-presentations. Forgiveness, when it is given at all, is often bestowed begrudgingly. In truth, once you make an offensive remark about a victim group you will be condemned to eternal damnation. The thought police never turn the other cheek.

Political correctness is hardly limited to the ivy tower and wanna-be intellectuals.  When your child goes to school he is taught incorrect grammar and is penalized if he uses correct grammar. He is indoctrinated in the dogmas of climate change and feminism. He is taught that there is no difference between the sexes and that if he thinks that there is he will be punished by losing points off of his GPA. He is not allowed, in many places, to sing God Bless America or to recite the pledge of allegiance because the ACLU will sue if he does. If he disagrees with feminism he is a misogynist. If he has doubts about same-sex marriage he is a homophobe. If he thinks that most terrorist acts are committed by Muslims he is an Islamophobe. If he thinks that boys should not be showering in the girls locker room he is a transphobe.

If he grows up and goes to work in a company, he will be forced to undergo sensitivity training and will be taught what he can and cannot say to various people in the company, lest the company get sued and his career go up in smoke. And, he had best not express support for the family business that is being forced to pay a mammoth fine because they did not want to bake a cake.

If it looks to him and to the rest of the world that President Obama has failed monumentally at his job, he will be send to a counselor for re-education and sensitivity training, the better to rid his mind of unconscious racism. Because, after all, the only reason he thinks that Obama has failed is that he is a racist.

Given the influence of political correctness on our culture, how can we tear it up by the roots and stamp it out? When China faced this problem in its Cultural Revolution, its leaders put an end to the horror by arresting the Gang of Four, the organizing genies of the movement. Over and done with. But, even if we could call back Deng Xiaoping and ask him what we should do, it is highly unlikely that his way of dealing with political correctness would meet with American public approval.

It is amusing, however, to think that Hillary Clinton is the reincarnation of Mme Mao. I will just mention that Mao himself was a serial abuser of young women and that his wife would naturally have enabled this. Take a look at Harrison Salisbury’s book: The New Emperors.

For better or for worse, the man who is leading the fight against political correctness today is none other than Donald Trump. So say Karen Tumulty and Jenna Johnson in the Washingon Post this morning. Better yet, they write, Trump seems to be winning the war. He seems for now to be emerging victorious against every effort to force him to conform to the dictates of the PC thought police. In part, Trump appeals to disaffected Republicans because he spits on weak-kneed Republican congressional leadership, but he also seems to be garnering support by being among the very few who are willing to stand up to political correctness.

Tumulty and Johnson begin by profiling a Trump supporter, a woman who worked in a liberal arts college:

Cathy Cuthbertson once worked at what might be thought of as a command post of political correctness — the campus of a prestigious liberal arts college in Ohio.

“You know, I couldn’t say ‘Merry Christmas.’ And when we wrote things, we couldn’t even say ‘he’ or ‘she,’ because we had transgender. People of color. I mean, we had to watch every word that came out of our mouth, because we were afraid of offending someone, but nobody’s afraid of offending me,” the former administrator said.

Cuthbertson added:

But we’re tired of just standing back and letting everyone else dictate what we’re supposed to think and do.

Political correctness may be afoot across the land. Its enforcers are certainly looking at you. And yet, if the polls are correct, it is wildly unpopular. Through it a minority is imposing its views on the majority of the electorate by forcing people to behave in a certain way.

The polls tell the story:

In an October poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University, 68 percent agreed with the proposition that “a big problem this country has is being politically correct.”

It was a sentiment felt strongly across the political spectrum, by 62 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independents and 81 percent of Republicans. Among whites, 72 percent said they felt that way, but so did 61 percent of nonwhites.

“People feel tremendous cultural condescension directed at them,” and that their values are being “smirked at, laughed at” by the political and media elite, said GOP strategist Steve Schmidt.

While Trump the culture warrior seems, Tumulty and Johnson say, to be winning the war against political correctness, the public does not seem to like him personally:

When the Fairleigh Dickinson pollsters added his name to the same question — prefacing it with “Donald Trump said recently ... the numbers dropped sharply. Only 53 percent said they agree that political correctness is a major problem.

Trump has attacked political correctness by offering up a strong dose of political incorrectness. He can afford to take the hit. Obviously, if he were not a candidate for the presidency, his act would not be having the impact that it has.

Yet, if Trump becomes the Republican candidate and loses to Hillary, as seems likely, his act will have been more show than substance, a prelude to the rule of Mme Mao.



8 comments:

  1. Another blog about Trump?!

    When did this battle begin? Was it dismissing Megyn Kelly's charges just about resisting PC?
    https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2015/08/07/what-has-donald-trump-really-said-about-women/fI2Er9DLsOwMitPV6oYZrL/story.html
    -------
    KELLY: “One of the things people love about you is you speak your mind and don’t use a politician’s filter, However, that is not without its downsides, in particular, when it comes to women. You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.”
    ...
    TRUMP: The big problem this country has is being politically correct. I've been challenged by so many people and I don't frankly have time for total political correctness. ... Frankly what I say and oftentimes it's fun, it’s kidding, we have a good time. What I say is what I say. And honestly, Megyn if you don't like it, I'm sorry. ...
    ---------

    Actually I like about his honesty "it's fun, it’s kidding." What's good about admissions like this is he's saying "You can trash talk me too, nothing personal." You feel safe being able to trash talk someone, especially when they can say "You're fired"

    And it reminds me of the St Paul police a BLM march, blocking the State Fair, and their chant "Pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon." and when the PC people tried to call out their offensive chant, the organizer said something like "It was all on good fun, even the police officers were laughing, and one said 'I like bacon too.'"

    So that shows how refreshing it is, how we can escape the PC language police and be ourselves, and make fun of people who can shoot you at will.

    I'm sure everyone just laughed along with the BLM chant right? Well, I guess not. It wasn't "it's fun, it’s kidding." rather it was "spewed violent anti-cop rhetoric."

    So either not all PC police are on the left or maybe we can consider Trump "Spews violent anti-women rhetoric?"

    So is it "fun" or is it "hate"? I guess it depends on how much of a sense of humor you have, how safe you feel.

    http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/29/black-lives-matter-protesters-chant-pigs-in-a-blanket-fry-em-like-bacon-video/
    ------
    Black Lives Matter protesters marching on the Minnesota state fair on Saturday spewed violent anti-cop rhetoric just hours after a Harris County, Tex. sheriff’s deputy was ambushed and executed at a Houston-area gas station.
    --------

    http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2015/09/02/exposing-black-lives-matter-for-what-it-is-promotion-of-cop-jilling-n2046941
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    It's time to expose the Black Lives Matter [BLM] movement for what it is: a racist, violent hate group that promotes the execution of police officers. The evidence is in their rhetoric and written on their shirts.
    ...
    The day after the resolution was passed, BLM activists in Minneapolis chanted, "pigs in a blanket, fry em' like bacon," as they marched down the street. This rhetoric also came just one day after the execution of Texas Sheriff Deputy Daron Goforth while he was filling up his patrol car at a local gas station. If you aren't familiar, "pigs in a blanket" refers to the bodies of dead police officers in body bags.
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    Oh, maybe this is serious, body bags!! How can you joke about body bags?

    Trump would never joke about killing people.
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/21/politics/trump-putin-killing-reporters/

    Well, that's different. Joking is different. You can joke about women, but NEVER threaten police officers because they put their lives on the line every day.

    And journalists are never killed for speaking truth to power, right? Oh, wait, that's what Trump was joking about in Russia.

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  2. And, at long last, your point is?

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  3. The Four Agreements would seem to say offensive language and behavior should be allowed without guilt tripping.

    http://www.toltecspirit.com/
    ----------
    2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
    Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
    ----------

    Although it does not recommend trash talking others as helpful way to make your point.
    ----------
    1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.

    3. Don’t Make Assumptions
    Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

    4. Always Do Your Best
    Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
    ----------

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  4. Assuming that Hillary will beat Trump would seem to be based on conventional wisdom, part of which is that Dems will cheat. I say it is too soon to tell.

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  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZESdMIaa6Sg

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  6. Trump will wipe the floor with Hilary in the general.

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  7. "Trump spews violent antiwomen rhetoric"? When? He's gone after specific women who are his equal. And violently? No. Are you being impeccable w/ your words?

    He never joked about Russian reporters getting killed. You're making stuff up and not being impeccable w/ your words again.

    Stuart, good piece. But, you're wrong about Trump losing to Hillary. How can anyone possibly believe that she will beat him? She's a terrible candidate. She's a known liar. She has no energy. She will never be able to keep up w/ trump. He's already taken away her biggest weapon against him...the woman card. He's going to crush her. He's going to win in a landslide not seen since Reagan. He's going to take NY, NJ, PA,OHIO...

    Wait for it.

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  8. I would suggest that Obama, by trying to stay relevant, will alienate a significant number of what would be a natural constituency for the democrats and drive them to vote for someone other than Hillary or stay home. One should recognize that many democrats are blue collar voters who have been hurt by Obama's policies and appear to be the foundation for DRT, many are gun owners who find Obama's efforts unconstitutional since he cannot make law, and ignorer to win one needs the independents who are none too happy with Obama and his slow erosion of people's rights and the growth of government.
    I would also suggest that one take a look at the women placed behind Bill Clinton and their look and body language. Notwithstanding the small size of Clinton's audiences. I suspect that many millennials are also unhappy with what the democrats are doing. The few "snow flakes" are just that "few" and not indicative of that generation. Further I suspect alumni and state governments are going to demonstrate what the childish behavior of academe wrought. Add to that the continuing alienation of others by the "Black lives matter", and others like them, will produce people who will want to teach others what pejoratives and name calling result in.
    Obama has done his best to divide us and I would suggest that will be the sword that does democrats in. DRT's backing maybe understated to the point that any conclusion by others maybe wildly off the mark. People may not want to deal with pollsters, but when they go to vote those pollsters will not be with them.
    I would be careful writing any republican off because things are not what the media thinks they are. This is an ANGRY electorate that wants to strike back. Far too many of them want to be Americans and not some hyphenated stereotypical interest group beholden to a government that has little use for them.
    First session is nigh.

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