Or Political Correctness ("PC") gone mad?
I am writing this commentary with the help of one my childhood friends who just happens to be of African origin. We became friends at primary school some 41 years ago, a time when England was English and the PC brigade did not exist so everyone got along just fine. Sure there was racial tension back then but apart from pockets here and there the majority of people from all areas of the world got along, mostly, just fine without the constant interference from busybodies such as the PC brigade.
I have 5 children (2 from my first marriage and 3 from my second), he has 6 children. He married a white girl and so if ideally placed to comment on such an emotive subject as racism.
In some areas of the UK they are reporting an increase in playground racism. My own 8 year old son was reported to the local authority for exactly that a while ago. His crime? He said "Black people suck". Now while the comment he made itself could be deemed wrong or even racist I am sure he said it in the same way a child of that age would say "Four eyes" to people who wear glasses or "Ginger haired people suck" or "Blonde hair people suck". You get the idea. Basically it was not a racist comment any more than the many 100's of comments chidren make, and will continue to make, daily.
I feel sure that in this modern climate of PC such comments, while the comments themselves are totally harmless, are what is being classed as playground racism and it is wrong.
Children will make such innocent comments without knowing the underlaying meaning. As they grow into adults they will learn that such comments, while not being wrong, are not to be said in public. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the perceptions of the PC brigade one thing that is often overlooked is that by tgging young children with the racism tag at such an early stage in the development cycle can do much more harm to that child than the person or child the comment was directed at.
Then we have the people of ethnic persuasion who's parents instill in their children that if the comment made is in any way a racist one then their child must report it. PC abuse is rife in this country.
The PC brigade have made things much much worse than they ever was before their existence.
I am writing this commentary with the help of one my childhood friends who just happens to be of African origin. We became friends at primary school some 41 years ago, a time when England was English and the PC brigade did not exist so everyone got along just fine. Sure there was racial tension back then but apart from pockets here and there the majority of people from all areas of the world got along, mostly, just fine without the constant interference from busybodies such as the PC brigade.
I have 5 children (2 from my first marriage and 3 from my second), he has 6 children. He married a white girl and so if ideally placed to comment on such an emotive subject as racism.
In some areas of the UK they are reporting an increase in playground racism. My own 8 year old son was reported to the local authority for exactly that a while ago. His crime? He said "Black people suck". Now while the comment he made itself could be deemed wrong or even racist I am sure he said it in the same way a child of that age would say "Four eyes" to people who wear glasses or "Ginger haired people suck" or "Blonde hair people suck". You get the idea. Basically it was not a racist comment any more than the many 100's of comments chidren make, and will continue to make, daily.
I feel sure that in this modern climate of PC such comments, while the comments themselves are totally harmless, are what is being classed as playground racism and it is wrong.
Children will make such innocent comments without knowing the underlaying meaning. As they grow into adults they will learn that such comments, while not being wrong, are not to be said in public. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the perceptions of the PC brigade one thing that is often overlooked is that by tgging young children with the racism tag at such an early stage in the development cycle can do much more harm to that child than the person or child the comment was directed at.
Then we have the people of ethnic persuasion who's parents instill in their children that if the comment made is in any way a racist one then their child must report it. PC abuse is rife in this country.
The PC brigade have made things much much worse than they ever was before their existence.
No comments:
Post a Comment