Hattersley: defence of PC

British Labour politician Roy Hattersley on why “political correctness” is actually essential to a civilised society, however much the media hate it:

Justified though the rebuke was, political correctness is more than the need for simple courtesy - more even than the duty to demonstrate support for what used to be, and often still are, persecuted minorities. It is an attempt to create a world in which 10-year-old boys do not call their schoolmates Pakis because they do not hear such expressions - not descriptions but terms of abuse - used by the adults around them. Anyone who thinks that it does not matter if a little boy refers to his schoolmates in that way almost certainly thinks of all British children whose grandfathers emigrated from the Indian subcontinent in similar terms, and believes them to be second-class citizens.

I think the whole point of that particular case is that the prosecution, rather than the boy being reprimanded or disciplined within the school, was excessive given the circumstances - particularly given that the two boys are now said to be friends. Still, I agree with his main point that attacks on PC are often an attempt to legitimise demeaning language which is intended to offend or even harm.

Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Language and liberty

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