The Problem with Political Correctness Life Lessons

But does the average Kiwi or the NZ media talk about Maori crime and violence? No. Maybe only behind closed doors. Why? Because its not politically correct.Even though almost every Kiwi has seen and/or experienced Maori violence, no one wants to talk about it because its not politically correct and no one wants to be called a racist.

This is the problem with PC culture:Instead of encouraging an honest examination of the facts, it simply takes a totalitarian attitude and censors any opinion it doesnt like which might offend and calls it racism, sexism or hate speech.

Facebook censors posts.

Google censors searches.

Twitter censors tweets.

YouTube censors videos.

Political correctness is an insidious cancer which silences people and forces them to deny reality, and it also introduces a lot of bullshit words and concepts:

Cultural appropriation.

Trigger warnings.

Safe spaces.

Manspreading.

Mansplaining.

Theres a creepy PC thing out there that really bothers me. Jerry Seinfeld

Our college campuses have become places where people are afraid of ideas. They think they know the truth and everything they need to know, about race, about gender, about rape, about you name it. They dont want to hear opposing points of view. Opposing points of view just offend them. They want to be kept safe from ideas they disagree with. People today when they enter college want to leave with exactly the same ideas as when they entered. They do not want their ideas to be challenged. Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law Professor

Obviously Im not the only one who feels this way. Millions of people do.

According to a 2016Angus Reid Institutesurvey, 76% per cent of Canadians (widely regarded as the friendliest people in the world) think political correctnesshas gone too far, as do the majority of Americans, English, Australians and New Zealanders. Theyre not wrong.

In fact, I think the main reasonshows like Family Guy and South Park are so popular is precisely because theyre so politically incorrect. I also think thats one of the main reasons Donald Trump got into the White House. People are just sick and tired of PC bullshit.

In summary: We can either have free speech or political correctness but not both.

No culture, gender, group, ideology, race, religion, tradition etc. should be off limits or protected from criticism if/when its in the wrong.

The truth doesnt need defending. Wrong is wrong. No matter who says or does it.

You maybe forced to speak in a politically correct way in your school or in your workplace, but dont let the PC thought police or SJWs censor your thinking, and tell you what you can and cant think or whats appropriate.

If youre thinking: I want to live in a world with free speech but not hate speech, let me ask you something:If normal words like: boy, girl, man, woman, ladies, gentleman, mother, father etc. are now considered offensive and politically incorrect what words are going to be offensive next?

Where do we draw the line?

SJWs are some of the biggest hypocrites on earth:

They want to be heard but they dont want to listen.

They talk about tolerance and respect yet they have zero tolerance or respect for anyone that disagrees with them.

They demand safe spaces and trigger warnings, yet they have no problem yelling, screaming, swearing, protesting, rioting, destroying property and committing acts of violence etc. the moment they dont get their own way.

Why should a small group of constantly unhappy people who love to bitch and moan and complain about everything, be able to tell the rest of the world what they can and cant say?

To the constantly offended I say this:

Who cares if youre offended? Fuck your feelings. Get over yourself.

Just because youre offended that doesnt mean youre right.

Ive heard it said:Id rather be correct than politically correct

And:Being politically correct doesnt make you correct

I agree.

OK, lets lighten things up a bit

If everyoneisthinking alike thensomebody isntthinking. George S. Patton

Groupthinkis a psychological phenomenon that occurs within agroup of peoplein which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctionaldecision-makingoutcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision withoutcritical evaluationof alternative viewpoints by actively suppressing dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences. Wikipedia

In other words: Groupthink is when people in a group seek consensus and unanimity, even if it results in an irrational decision being made.

Groupthink is a major problem. You see it everywhere: In schools, social circles, the corporate world, the military, and especially in political parties and religions.

Its amazing how common Groupthink and conformity is:

Soloman Aschs Conformity Experiments in 1951 people will deny their own eyes:

How do you avoid Groupthink?

Stop thinking what everyone thinks.

Stop believing what everyone believes.

Think for yourself. You have a brain so use it.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, its time to pause and reflect. Mark Twain

Its better to walk alone, than with the crowd going in the wrong direction. Diane Grant

The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane. Erich Fromm, The Sane Society

Think for yourself. Unplug yourself from follow-the-follower groupthink, and virtually ignore what everyone else in your industry is saying (except the ones everyone agrees is crazy). Do your own research, draw your own conclusions, set your own course, and stick to your guns. When youre just starting out, people will tell you youre wrong. After youve blown past them, theyll tell you youre crazy. A few years after that, theyll (privately) ask you to mentor them. Steve Pavlina

People who think with their epidermis or their genitalia or their clan are the problem. If I would not vote against someone on the grounds of race or gender alone, then by the exact same token I would not cast a vote in his or her favor for the identical reason. Christopher Hitchens

Similar to Groupthink is tribalism, which is when people have loyalty to their country, culture, gender, group, political party, race, religion etc. above all else no matter what.

You see this all the time.

Catholic priests covering up the molestation and sexual abuse of children when its done by other priests.

Church (tribe) first morals second.

Christians, Jews, Muslims etc. standing up for people in their religion even when they know theyre in the wrong simply because they belong to the same religion.

Women standing up for other women in an argument with a man even when they know theyre in the wrong simply because theyre women.

Their allegiance is to the tribe not to the truth.

Tribalism is an us vs them, we are the good guys and they are the bad guys mentality. Its a primitive shit brained black and whitetype of thinking that only leads to conflict, fighting, racism, sexism, prejudice and war.

Ill be honest, personally Ive never really understood tribalism.

My loyalty is to the truth. To the facts. To whats right. To what I consider the best.

I wouldnt take the side of my family, friends, girlfriend, parents etc. if I thought they were in the wrong and Im an extremely loyal person. That doesnt mean that I would take the side of the stranger anddisagree with them in publicif I thought they would lose face, but it does mean that I would definitely say to my friend/girlfriend/parent etc. in private that I thought the other person was right.

Tribalism seems to be far too common in American politics and race relations. There are far too many people sticking up for their own gender, race, religion, political party etc. even when they know theyre wrong simply because that person, party, group etc. is part of their tribe.

Sam Harris perfectly sums up the problems with tribalism and identity politics in this video:

The bottom line is:

You will either have an allegiance to your tribe or to the truth. You cannot have both.

You maybe part of a tribe (almost everyone is) but dont let the tribe do your thinking for you, and dont take the side of your tribe over the truth.

Think for yourself.

I think tribalism is a mental prisonand pride of identity coupled with arrogance is one of the leading factors that limit ones ability to abandon it. Duop Chak Wuol

I think the biggest threat to America is tribalism. I think that tribalism has broken out on the left and the right. People dont seem to care about the truth anymore, they seem to care about whether it helps my side or it helps your side, and that is really, really, dangerous, because then we can no longer have a conversation. If we cant agree on a common basis of facts, we cant have a conversation in the first place, if youre just going to assume that Im evil on the basis of my political perspective, then we cant have a conversation. Ben Shapiro

The Bandwagon effect

Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one. Charles Mackay,Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, 1841

You should also be aware of the bandwagon effect.

The bandwagon effect in a nutshell:

The more people do something the more other people will do it too.

Its why people will stand in line for a crowded restaurant instead of going to an empty one.

Its why if everyone is talking about a movie, well likely check it out too.

The bandwagon effect is the reason for stock market and housing bubbles and trends.

Most people arent leaders theyre followers.

Most people are sheep they love to conform and fit in.

Most people have adesire to keep up with the Joneses

FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out.

The bandwagon effect can (and is) used against you

Advertisers and marketers will often try to convince you to buy their product by trying to make you believe that everyone else has their product, or that people are lining up to buy it, and you should too. This is known as social proof.

Clickbait bloggers and journalists try to get us to read their articles by telling us that Twitter is angry (Translation: 5 people complained about something)

Dont follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. Margaret Thatcher

Most people arent happy.

Most people arent smart.

Most people arent successful.

Most people are examples of what not to do.

Following the crowd kills your creativity, because youre forced to dumb yourself down in order to fit in, in order to do what everyone else is doing.

Its better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction. Gandhi

The dumbest reasonin the world tobuy a stock is because its going up. Warren Buffett

The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before. Albert Einstein

Footnote:

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The Problem with Political Correctness Life Lessons