“Ugh I can’t stand these people, just get over it”
“Like really, you’re going to get upset over that?”
“How about you just stop taking everything so literally and just get over yourself.”
These are just a few statements that have been prominent as of late on social media, around campus, and even on the news. The term "political correct," or PC as it has become to be known, has established itself as a way to define someone who takes things a little too seriously and can’t just go along with the flow of life. They have to always be the ones to speak out against something. Is the problem though that our society has become “too PC” or is it just that people are realizing that they’re not going to stand by and tolerate people being a**holes? I’m here to argue the latter.
Being PC has become such a derogatory term in the recent months and fails to recognize the statements made or actions taken, but rather only acknowledges the arguments from those that are offended. Political correctness is seen as a way to argue something that doesn’t have any reason to be argued about in the first place. Many people see PC people as being too sensitive and overanalyzing everything when the reality is that most of the statements being made by others can be insulting or derrogatory. Just because you might think that a picture of someone of a different race doing something stereotypical is funny does not mean that everyone views it in the same way. Many people could be insulted and upset from statements or posts like these and by calling someone PC, or oversensitive, it’s detracting from the fact that the person is just being an asshole.
Today, people are seen as oversensitive simply by disagreeing with another over what is morally and ethically acceptable. While there are instances where people might be overreacting to some situations, many instances are breezed over because the offender thinks they are correct. Telling someone that they are too PC is essentially telling them that you believe that they shouldn’t be upset or insulted at anything you say. Being PC just means that you aren’t going to tolerate others being insensitive about others around them. There’s room for a difference in opinion in society, yet no room for ignorance. Ignorance builds upon itself and by supporting this notion of being too politically correct, people essentially victim blame those who find fault with certain statements or actions.
Try replacing "politically correct" with “not an a**hole.”
“Woah, man you’re being way too not an a**hole about this.”
“This world is just so not an a**hole now.”
As America starts to rid ignorance of others and their feelings, then we can start to build progress. It’s important to see each view instead of looking through one lens.
Keep being your PC self and just know that it’s not you being oversensitive, it’s you being aware of your surroundings. Awareness is one of the best strengths you can have as a person, and by being aware of how others’ environments affect them, you can start to empathize with the offended.
