2014-01-19 – “I’m not PC.”

Did you ever hear that line? Of course you have. Did you ever think about what it really means?

It always precedes or follows an insult. Isn’t that true? The speaker is telling you that he or she is fearless in making the insult. They are free spirits, so they proclaim, unbounded by societal conventions of . . . what? Politeness? What kind of hero feeds his ego by something as insignificant as being impolite? Or petty hurtfulness?

Words can hurt. There are actually crimes and civil wrongs that can be committed solely with words. Treason can be one at the extreme end. There’s libel and slander. There’s intentional infliction of emotional distress.

What all these things have in common is that culpability often depends on the miscreant’s intention. Is the miscreant trying to hurt someone or raise himself up? Or is he trying to rectify a hurtful situation. If you are trying to rectify a hurtful situation, then you may be justified in being politically incorrect.

When does that ever happen? In my experience, people who are trying to help usually find a way to do it without insulting anyone. Got that, asshole?