The New Way of Words

It sometimes is hard to really grasp just how deeply political correctness has entrenched itself into society. There's a very deliberate and specific agenda to ensure that words once considered to be acceptable be removed from our lexicon.

I am becoming aware of it myself with an assignment I'm working on for a special needs magazine. During my meeting with the editor (a fine person. She gave me a shot at a cover story on the strength of a piece I wrote about autism I had submitted. She judged me on content and character. If all works out, this will be one of those 'I'm eternally grateful' and 'she gave me my first break' stories. We all look for such chances from enlightened minds), she presented me with a government brochure asking me to be careful with any adjectives or words I use to describe a person.

You know, retard is out and person with a disability is in. In these times where every word is abbreviated it is ironic that we increased the clunkiness of our vernacular. How long before someone cuts it short to "Hi, I'm a PD"?

How hard can it be, right? It turns out pretty hard. The brochure has an 'instead of' 'please use' section. For example, did you know it's no longer PC to refer to someone as a 'patient' and 'invalid'? That's right. The correct terminology is 'person with a disability.' 'Instead of insane, psycho, maniac or neurotic please say 'persons with a mental health disability.' Even 'idiot' is off limits being morphed into 'person with an intellectual disability.'

I wonder what Dostoevsky would have done if he had an editor asking him to change the title of 'The Idiot.' Somehow 'The person with an intellectual disability' would not have the same impact I suspect.

What about classrooms in schools? Those cesspools of misguided humour.

One of the more popular ones among us sports jocks was, 'What are your crippled?' Today, it's what are you 'a person with a mobility impairment?' Another famous one was spastic as in 'are you a spas?' in gutter slang. Today? If you are the class clown make sure to use 'person who has spasms.'

Of course, one can ask, what happens when we all adjust (especially kids) to the PC regime? In other words, who is to say we won't use the PC terms in the same spirit of the words originally used? Will we review and change the PC term into a new PC word? Who is to say the word 'disability' won't carry a negative connotation one day? In fact, I thought 'physically challenged' was PC. Alas, it no longer is. The correct way to express it is 'person with a disability.' So, it does seem we have revisited some words.

I'll be sure to respect this new reality in contemporary times. I'm not sure how it will turn out. When my buddies and wife heard about this they all had a hard laugh considering my non-PC existence.

Nonetheless, I'm hip to it. Here's my word engineering contribution to the culture of PC.

Instead of IMMIGRANT; please use 'Physically displaced. Physically misplaced may also be acceptable. 'My kid was is a proud and hard working physically displaced Canadian!'

Sigh, I think I'm going to pick up a Mad Magazine.