Political Correctness Run Amok

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Rick Sanchez of CNN felt obligated to apologize for a comment he made during a debate. He referred to President Obama as the "cotton pickin' president". Shortly afterward, the show went to break. Upon returning from break, Sanchez apologized for his choice of phrase. He said he received many tweets about that issue. He referred to the first Black president as "cotton pickin".

Oh my sticks and stones. How many people have referred to someone or something as "that cotton pickin"..... whatever. I've used the phrase several times myself. It's a phrase used when you want to say something stronger but try to restrain yourself. Having trouble opening that cotton pickin jar? That cotton pickin so and so hit your car in the parking lot?

Had this phrase been used to refer to any White president, nothing would have been said. However, because Mr. Obama is Black, we're forced to govern ourselves to the point of being unable to express ourselves at all. I'm reminded of Bill Cosby's comment when he said he used to think his father had a mental problem because he never finished his sentences: Why you little.... I oughta.... I'm gonna ...... Go to your room!

When we can't use common phrases such as "cotton pickin" to refer to someone, things have gone too far. It's no secret I'm not a follower of Mr. Obama. However, I do think he would have laughed this off rather than take offense to it. I'm sure he would have understood the context of the phrase and not thought any further of it. He is an adult, after all. Opposed, that is, to such as Al Sharpton who complained to his almost exclusively Black audience that Glen Beck was preaching to an almost exclusively White audience.

Maintaining this level of political correctness is stressful. It's gotten to the point that by trying not to offend all the "Minorities", I've gotten offended. We can't even have a Christmas program at the school because someone in the audience MIGHT not be Christian. We can't use certain terms around certain people because they MIGHT be offended.

I suppose Sanchez could have said "He's the f***ing president", but then that would suggest he's off having sex all the time. We could use "the G*d D**n president", but that would offend someone. Granted, he probably would have been better off just saying "the president", but in the heat of the moment he used a colorful metaphor. Personally, I think people should be grateful Sanchez used a fairly mild and, in most cases, harmless phrase. Don't worry about racial slurs. You're putting too much emphasis on things that aren't harmful. Remember, sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never harm you. Unless you let them, that is.

A common story....

Okay, what happened to this guy is sad, I admit. http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/29/cab.driver.attacked/?hpt=T2

He was minding his own business, just doing his job, when he was attacked for no reason other than being a Muslim. I feel for him, I really do.

Now, however, I'm supposed to feel sorry for the fact that he's unable to work, has no income, and isn't sure he'll be able to pay medical bills, etc. I'm not able to do this. I have to draw the line. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans all across this country in very similar situations: unable to work through no fault of their own, no income or very little income, not sure what they're going to do next, no money for medical bills, etc. Supporters of this cab driver are wondering why so little money has been raised to help him. Could it be that his supporters are broke also?

If I had money to spare, sure I'd contribute. There are many charities I'd donate to if I had money. When I can't afford any savings, can't afford groceries or fuel to look for a job, I can't justify putting someone else ahead of my own family. Charity begins at home. Maybe his wife can find a job while he's recovering, instead of just begging for more money?

Equality for all....

There's a lot of noise going around about equal rights and tolerance lately. Let me just state here, for the record, I am a firm believer in Equal Rights. The US Constitution states that all men are created equal. I know there are those that say "Well, back then, that only meant white males, so we can't follow that!" These are the same people who insist that it be Chair Person, Mail Person, Fire Person, Police Person, Hu Person, Wo Person, etc. regardless of what gender may be filling the role. My response is, I don't believe it should be intended strictly to mean white males. After all, so many other passages of the Constitution have been reworded to be more "Politically Correct". The wording is "all men are created equal". In the general terms, this refers to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

Because of this, I believe in Equal Rights for Gays, Women, Blacks, Browns, Whites, Straights, Christian, Muslim, everyone. I don't believe any one group is better or worse than any other.

Tolerance is required for there to be equality. We should all strive to be tolerant of those not like us. Unfortunately, there are those whose tenets won't allow this to happen. Some religions even go so far as to tell their faithful they must kill non believers in order to be saved. Okay, it's their right to believe it, but if someone kills me simply because I don't believe the same as them, I'm gonna be mad! I have the right to be alive, after all.

Back to my point. There is a major upheaval in this country right now based on political and religious beliefs. In many cases, the two overlap. This country was founded on the notion that we should be free from persecution for religious beliefs. Let Muslims believe what they want. Let Christians believe what they want. Let Wiccans believe what they want. As long as everyone realizes they need to be tolerant of others, we can live together in peace. When we try to force our beliefs on others, that's not equality. That's not tolerance. That's just plain WRONG.