Political Correctness is Getting Out of Hand

These days, it seems that everyone is offended by something. It’s almost as if you can’t say anything without rubbing someone the wrong way.

On a day-to-day basis, we are constantly forced to edit our language so as not to cause ofense. Most of this has to do with “Political Correctness,” and while being a bit PC is perfectly acceptable, too many take being PC too far.

The World Series losing Tampa Bay “Rays,” for example changed its name from the “Devil Rays” in 2006. The reason for the name change? According to the “St. Petersburg Times,” one reason was that fans disliked the devil reference and thought God was doom the team because of it, so they pressured the team to change the name.

Not only did the team change its name, it also changed its uniform and offical merchandise, which combined probably cost a fortune, all thanks to a few disgruntled fans.

And the name change certainly didn’t help them in the World Series.

Another instance of PC gone haywire comes from Snohomish High School where Senior James Taranto was suspended for wearing a shirt in 2005. The shirt was plain except for the word “SNOHOS,” across the front, a simple abbreviation for Snohomish and a part of the school’s slogan “Snoho Mojo” used on the school’s website and in the yearbook. The slogan is even used as the name for a local expresso stand.

Why suspend him for wearing a shirt with an abbreviation that the school shows is okay? The term is apparently derogatory toward women, and the school decided the shirt was unacceptable and defied the dress code.

PC censorship has reached a certain level of insanity. Let’s take, for example, the now sad tale of Santa Claus. He used to be jolly, fat, and happy. Concerned citizens are on the move today, demanding that Santa be made skinny so children don’t think that it’s okay to be fat. Instead of his usual jolly “Ho ho ho,” he now has to say “Ha ha ha” because his original slogan is considered “derogatory” and is thought to scare young children.

I think The Offspring put it best when the said, “Another clever word sets off an unsuspecting herd, and as you step back into line a mob jumps to their feet.”

When anyone says something today, it seems to offend everyone. Being a little PC is thoughtful, but there’s a point where we just have to realize that someone in some corner of the world is going to take offense to what we say.

We need to stop worrying about offending people, for if we worry to much about offending people we’ll just quit talking, and that’s worse than any affront caused by speaking our minds.