Has P.C. Gone O.T.T?
We live in a society. I get it. We want to be mutually-respectful, pro-choice and support those who experience any form of discrimination just for being who or what they are. There’s no room in our world for flat-out racists & bigots or bias intolerance. Full stop.
But has PC gone too far?
Seconds after arriving on stage, he starts a 5-minute dialogue on homosexuality, referring to gay men as ‘faggots’ multiple times. He also presents his satirical views and impersonations of the Chinese and the Arabs – not to mention the ‘good ole days’ when you could smack your wife!
The Year; is 1983.
Not that long ago, but before the nemesis of political correctness (PC) was coined.
The show is Delirious, Eddie Murphy’s first stand-up special filmed for HBO. It received rave reviews at the time and was later produced into an album (that’s vinyl for the millennials reading) which won a Grammy the following year. The show is now streaming, unedited, on Netflix…and rating.
I watched it again for the first time in over 30 years and while some of the content was outdated, it was still as hilariously funny as it was in its time. Some references to fads and people made less sense and some of the jokes were juvenile, but Eddie himself was just 22 years old when he filmed it, and the show made him a global household name.
As I sat watching, I was confrontingly reminded how much things have changed. It took 13 years after its first release for public outrage to appear, at which time, amidst a growing gay-rights movement, Eddie issued a statement apologising for the gay slurs and any pain it caused.
In today’s world, a show like this would probably never be made - because somewhere since 1983, it became racist to call a Chinese person Chinese, or to describe a stereotypical characteristic of a particular group of people.
Somewhere since 1983, we have to hire staff based on gender and race in order to meet quotas of seeming ‘equality’.
Somewhere since 1983, every kid gets a participation award at a competitive event because we don’t want to leave anyone out.
We can’t talk about gender roles or use the terms husband & wife; and asking someone where they are from – well, that’s a BIG no-no.
We don’t even say Merry Christmas anymore, because it doesn’t apply to everyone on the planet!
We have evolved to a time where, if my 7 year old says that she likes the shoes ‘that Indian person is wearing’, I now need to tell her it’s not appropriate to say that. It really got me thinking.
What is it about this this obsession with being non-offensive and what has it done to our basic freedom of speech when we can’t call a spade a spade anymore?
Whilst many leading comedians are still taking licence in the arena of anti-PC statements camouflaged as jokes, it can still cause uproar and depending on the gravity of the comment, even cancel culture. Kevin Hart had his Oscar-hosting gig ingloriously retracted in 2019 because of homophobic comments (er, jokes) he had made a DECADE earlier.
Talk show host Stephen Colbert sparked a cancel campaign for a racist tweet he made against Redskins owner’s newly formed foundation. And countless celebrities have incited public outrage over various un-PC social media comments, that often they later apologised for or removed altogether.
I’m not suggesting that these comments should be supported or that they don’t mean anything.
I’m posing the question - do they have to mean EVERYTHING?
We live in such an outrage culture where people are getting offended by everything. We have strong opinions but we can’t seem to let them just be opinions and we can’t wait to hate on people for having an opposing view. We are not allowed to say anything negative about anyone or poke fun at any stereotypes, because it’s now considered shaming, racist and unequal - and that’s not healthy.
In our extreme effort to protect people’s rights, we have over-written a very fundamental one.
As a parent, PC is highly-prevalent. We can’t hug a child at school that isn’t ours even if they are related or close friends. We are promoting gender neutral toys and gender fluid role playing. We don’t celebrate mothers’ day in case someone doesn’t have a mother. We don’t do Easter hat parades because its considered sacrilege. Not to mention school uniforms, and the pro-choice parents who want the right to choose whether their child will wear a female or male uniform regardless of their gender. I ask why?
Why can’t a majority rule or a school-chosen standard exist?
Why can’t we allow our child to be true to who they are, but still follow the rules of a school even if they don’t agree with it – which incidentally teaches them discipline and team work.
I was raised in an Anglo-dominant suburb of western-Sydney by newly-arrived immigrant parents, and I didn’t speak a word of English until I started school. Suffice to say I had many a slur directed at me for most of young life.
In later years, I missed out on jobs to male counterparts, got paid less than men for the same role and worked for companies who had tea ladies and male-only lunch rooms. I was raised to believe that a partnership is between a man and a woman - ONLY. I was taught as a muslim girl to never voice a controversial opinion.
Did any of this define me? Absolutely not.
I’m completely pro-choice. I'm all for human evolution and global acceptance and I will wave the support flag for anyone being vilified for being themselves. I celebrate how far many minority groups have come and applaud the battles they have endured to get here.
On the flip side, I equally think there’s a place for traditional thought and protocol and I believe people should have the right to voice their opinions without being slaughtered for them.
But even as I’m writing this, I’m wandering who my words will offend?
mina iacono, author, contrarian and opinionator