Image Series - Part II

Chantal — Fri, 11 May 2007 18:21:00 GMT

The Dilemma of a Politically Correct Mentality – Mouths motoring faster then minds

By Chantal Huinink

It is my understanding that the reason behind political correct language is to be as inclusive as possible. I am certainly in full support of this ideal however, I wish to bring attention to the fact that the integration of such practices only goes so far in the reforming of society and in reality many North American minds are not changing as fast as their mouths. The product of this is a seemingly two-faced society causing many negative effects because implicit misconceptions cannot be addressed.

It is not that I wish to shut down all attempts at political correction, I simply believe that society’s disapproval of an action is not enough to erase underlying beliefs, furthermore many aspects of societal beliefs including the stigma surrounding disability which are now deemed unacceptable need to be addressed before we can ever expect to coordinate our minds and our mouths and ensure that a device like politically correct language does what it is intended to do. In the meantime various actions can be tragically misunderstood.

Helpful strangers may refrain from offering to help disabled individuals who seem to be struggling because assuming they could use assistance is regarded as impolite. Also employers may feel the need to deny qualified applicants with disabilities a position simply because they are unsure how to accommodate them in the workplace and inquiring about such things (i.e. asking about the nature of their limitations) is now considered to be inappropriate or disrespectful by many. Able bodied people who have friends with disabilities may refrain from inviting them on an outing because they feel they might be inadequate at providing appropriate assistance or transporting necessary mobility aids properly. Meanwhile the disabled individual might be welcome if the they could arrange for accessible transportation, however such sentiment is unlikely to be expressed if one fears of being politically incorrect. These examples are meant to demonstrate that politically correct language does not always move us ahead, at times it stalls us at obstacles which would be relatively easy to overcome. In truth honesty can be brutal, but in many cases acting politically correct is impractical and causes more damage then good. Therefore neither solution is entirely positive but there is merit to the old addage “say what you mean and mean what you say”

On that note, keep on rolling in the city.

Wheels in the City : disabilty rights, electric wheelchair

Image Series - Part II