I think overreaction is part of it, but also there's an attempt to frame any further discussion in terms favorable to one party or the other. "Groups of bad people exist. I belong to a group whose members are mutually exclusive to that group. My group fights for truth and justice. Anyone who disagrees with my group is therefore opposed to those things. You have made some comments which are very, VERY similiar to the people in that bad group, insofar as you do not agree with me unhesitatingly and unreservedly. You are therefore a member of that group of bad people and we can safely ignore anything you have to say. Not only that, but no right-thinking person would listen to anything you have to say because you are a member of that bad group. Anybody caught consorting with you will be given evil stares by everyone in my group."

Kinda reminds me of when I was a kid and I also used to fight with one of my brothers in particular. My mother would break up the arguments and never take sides. But I wasn't having any of that. I recall quite vividly once telling her that she couldn't possibly love me and M. "If you love me, you have no choice but to hate him!" Of course, I think back on it now and even though it's been more than thirty years, I still wish I could take them back. The moving finger.

I guess I'm not sure whether I consider PC "a movement." I certainly don't consider it anything new. Rather, I think it's just a manifestation, whether on the right or the left, of the use of shibboleth to identify people as belonging to the group of people who agree with me or those who don't.


BTW, I haven't confirmed this and you should consider it as rumor unless I can find a reference, but I heard on the radio news yesterday that a company quit advertising for a position because their classified in the employment section was asking for a friendly candidate to answer their phones and they were contacted by some government agency who told them they couldn't do that as it was discriminatory. (Many people would classify affirmative action and particularly extreme cases as this one may be as being examples of PC, but I think regardless of whether these things are good or bad, that these are distinct notions, neither subsuming the other.)



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