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rhondabrwn -> What Exactly IS Political Correctness? (6/30/2015 4:04:19 AM)
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Political Correctness is not a law, no law has ever been passed to stop someone from using racist and bigoted terms and symbols to attack groups they don't like. No one will ban the Confederate flag or all the related paraphernalia sold in trashy souvenir stands everywhere.
Political Correctness is a measure of public opinion and attitudes which are constantly changing. Years ago, people could freely tell ethnic jokes about different races, religions, sexual preference etc and be the "life of the party". Gradually society came to see that as racist and bigoted and just hateful. People quit laughing... people turned away... people decided you were a "racist/bigoted a$$hole" but you still had/have the freedom to tell your jokes.
When I was a child, our household proudly displayed multiple American and Confederate flags on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, 4th of July etc as a tribute to the fallen warriors on both sides of our Civil War. We even made it into the local newspaper. We lived in a racially mixed neighborhood and no one had a problem with those flags. They recognized it as a historical tribute to our honored dead.
Would I do that today? Absolutely not... the Confederate flag has been appropriated by hate groups as a symbol or their hatred and racism towards Blacks and other minorities. It is a "White Power" symbol now. Many people now find it offensive and that number is growing in reaction to the controversy over flying that flag over state government grounds as an admitted response to the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. The flags went up as a statement of support for segregation and racism as their state's status quo. They weren't flying before 1964 except at war memorials and graveyards (which is still appropriate in my opinion).
A critical mass has been reached where anyone driving around with a Rebel battle flag flying on their trucks (as happened in Dalton, Georgia this week) are going to be viewed, not as southern patriots, but as Redneck, White Trash, A$$holes. They will still have every right to display their symbols.. or wear their sheets... because we have that freedom. The reaction that people will have is what has changed and that isn't a matter of law... that's a matter of doing the right thing as a decent human being.
Some businesses will decide that it isn't profitable to offend a large percentage of their customer base and will remove merchandise from sale. That's their legal right. Other businesses will quite happily step in to sell Confederate flags and novelty items (people are getting rich right now over the hysteria to "get a flag before they are banned"). Apple had a kneejerk reaction to the possibility that perhaps their app store might contain some offensive games. It's possible... imagine the reaction if someone had found a racing game where trucks flying confederate battle flags scored points for hitting Black targets? I would hope someone would have caught something like that before it was accepted for distribution, but, mistakes happen... Apple was being overly cautious. Once they actually took a look at Ultimate General: Gettysburg and various Tiller ACW games, they realized they were over-reacting and restored them. Tempest in a teapot! There was never any possibility that major game producers would suddenly redesign their games and packaging to remove the flag. We're a niche hobby... people who play wargames are smart enough and adult enough to understand flag imagery as used in any historical content... books, maps, illustrations, wargames, movies etc etc.
What does look bad for our hobby is if we jump on board the campaign to "protect our rights" to fly the Rebel flag anywhere and anytime we want because a lot of those people... are not people that I want to be associated with :( We need to accept that displaying a Confederate flag is going to get associated with racism by a lot of people UNLESS... UNLESS it is used in an historical expression that is clearly NOT an expression of "White Power" or racism. That is the line we need to draw and draw clearly by condemning any use of Confederate symbols as a racist statement. It's going to be about educating people with sound historical facts and arguments, not tantrums and boycotts.
I've honestly been concerned about the tone of some of these threads and it's been bothering me for several days. Just finally had to put these thoughts out there. No offense intended to any individual.
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