Political Correctness: We’ve lost our mind … Sunday Musingsec
He came up to me chuckling at my “faux pas” as a speaker. I had called the chart on my easel a “Flip Chart.” He told me that he had always called it that, too, until a Professional Diversity Speaker had informed him that persons of Filipino heritage are grossly insulted by the term.
Sigh.
I told him, as a stepmom of four girls who are part Filipino, I found the assertion that they are that thin-skinned to be more insulting than calling the dang thing by its commercial name.
How did we get here? Patently ridiculous assertions are made off-handedly or erroneously from stage…. They then take on a life of their own as they are passed from person to person as fact.
So, I asked my stepdaughters (who are of Filipino heritage) … “Are you insulted by the term “flip chart?”
I had to wait for them to stop giggling uncontrollably before they could get their answer out. Still guffawing, one of my girls said, “So wait. Does THAT mean we have to call it a ‘write on wipe off board’ instead of a “WHITE BOARD?!?” More giggling. One of the other ones said, “Yah, and now the teachers at our school are in soooooo much trouble for calling that thing up front the BLACK BOARD!”
My point exactly. The problem with this rash of politically correct instructions is they are often not logical, and are rarely uniformly applied.
So where did this come from? My guess is some college student got upset. Some trainer was told off. That trainer breathlessly passed it on to a chat group. A bunch of otherwise intelligent people picked it up as fact. And now people across the country are being taught yet another way to be offended.
My advice? If it sounds stupid, it probably is. If it makes you go, “huh?” Question it. Check with someone. Think for yourself.
We have enough trouble in the world. We don’t need to go around creating it where there was none. Let’s knock it off, shall we?
OK – got to get back to my Flip Chart so I can finish my presentations for the Central California Women’s Conference on Tuesday! Maybe I’ll see you there!
Cheers,
Beth
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Beth Terry, CSP, is a Professional Speaker, Author, and Trainer who speaks on Management, Change, Stress, and Customer Service.
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© 2007 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc.
