Political correctness scores | Napa Valley Register

Home » Opinion » Angelina Gervasio

Political correctness scores

Friday, October 17, 2008

Comment

By ANGELINA GERVASIO

Not your average kid

The last two or so weeks have been absolutely insane. Progress reports just came out and it’s looking good so far, all that hard work pays off…trust me.

I’m one of twenty-eight girls to try out for the 7th grade volleyball team at RMS (Redwood Middle School), we start by running one mile before we go onto more specific skills. Only the fifteen best will be on the team, which means thirteen of us will go home crying. I hope I make the team!

The NYSL Napa Valley Cup was last weekend too — that would be for soccer — my team didn’t make it to the finals though, we didn’t score enough goals.

By the way, I was absolutely shocked to find that at the soccer games if one team had scored five goals, they had to stop scoring because it was “bad sportsmanship.” Bad sportsmanship? I thought bad sportsmanship was throwing a fit and calling the other team and the referee cheaters if you lost, but just for winning? No way.

Any of the soccer parents or people whom are part of NYSL know who made up this rule and why? Sounds lefty to me. Just like how kids don’t get grades anymore in some schools because their feelings might get hurt, or that we can’t have competitions (art, sports, academics, etc.) at school anymore because, once again, someone’s feelings might get hurt if they lose. What is wrong with people that they think this way? I was always taught that if you lost, you got over it, you practiced harder so you would win the next time around. If you won, you had the right to cheer for yourself, exchange high fives with teammates, and basically celebrate without being called “sore winners.”

Is it that much easier to make it so there is no right or wrong rather than teaching kids what was right and wrong and prepare them for real life disappointments?

It seems like every day I see some new Politically Correct term that either makes me laugh at the, well, silliness of it or become really scared that someone would actually believe something that absurd. Since when has America lost its concept of values and gotten its priorities mixed up? Abortion is now perfectly fine, gay marriage isn’t wrong and must be tolerated, the media only gives one side of the story, and I can’t even enjoy winning a soccer game without being called mean!

How come this country has changed so much so that we are losing the respect of the world? We used to be respected (and yes, feared) by all because if you hit us, we hit back … twice as hard. I’m willing to bet that if we fought in the Iraq war like we fought in WWI and WWII, it would have been over years ago.

How can we pull this country back on track?

Angelina Gervasio is a seventh-grader at Redwood Middle School in Napa. She writes when homeowrk, soccer and family committments don't overwhelm her. She can be reached by contacting Register.com Multimedia Producer Dan Ross at dross@napanews.co

77 comment(s)

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 17, 2008 2:28 PM:

" The soccer rule was to eliminate embarrassing the losing team. I wonder what happens when in real life they lose, say in the stock market. They will expect the government to protect them. Sound familiar?

Professional teams in the NFL have sometimes won by incredibly lopsided scores, the worst in 1940 when the Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73-0 (Go Bears!). I'll bet the Washington players were embarrassed but doubt if they ran crying to the NFL commissioner about it. Wouldn't have done them any good if they did, at least back then.

It's not fun losing badly, or being picked last, or being turned down for a date, etc. But if you don't face up to things squarely but depend on others to bail you out (sound familiar?) you will end up being a wimpering puddle of confusion since you will never win anything either.

I've lost an election, been on losing teams, lost business deals to (what I thought) were less qualified competitors. I've shed tears over lost love. No, it didn't feel very good. But as they say, life happens. Better you know you can handle it and get up right away than to mindlessly sit there waiting for the government to save you.

All this PC stuff does is make it easier to depend on the government. That's why just about all of it comes from the left, it's part of our brainwashing. We are expected to just sit there and say "please government, save me". Not this flamingo, not our hero John McClane, and I suspect not you either. You're going to have to be tough some time in your life. Hope it's not too often, but if it happens, be ready! "

winemd wrote on Oct 17, 2008 4:31 PM:

" I agree that the soccer rules are lame. I have to say, though, that I have seen some "bad winners" before. Be happy when you win, and celebrate it, but don't deliberately rub others' face in it and say how bad the other person is. That is part of good sportsmanship, too. I think that's why they put the rule in the NFL about excessive celebration in the end zone. "

a teacher wrote on Oct 17, 2008 7:06 PM:

" A couple of things. I also thought that the 5 goal rule was lame, but then I learned that it was primarily for the younger kids, not the older ones. It makes sense if you consider the goal of the NYSL, to encourage soccer. Who wants to play if you're subjected to never ending humiliation. Anyway, at your level I think they don't use that rule.

PC is, in reality, euphemism and propaganda. PPF's "it;s all about government control" is paranoid nonsense. You single out the left, but all sides use it and have probably as long as their have been people. My favorite for contrivedness and absurdity is "freedom fries". The "Death Tax" was also a brilliant piece of propaganda.

In our 230+ year history, the USA has rarely been feared and respected. Mostly we were considered bumpkins full of bravado. During both world wars our enemies held our military in contempt (although they had a healthy respect for American industry). We were grossly underestimate, if Hitler or Tojo had read Ulysses Grant's memoir, they would have learned that American soldiers are formidable opponents and that the American public can be quite stoic when it needs to be.

I love making fun of PC words, though. I love to invent an absurd PC term that became mainstream. "

Angelina Gervasio wrote on Oct 17, 2008 7:23 PM:

" OGreatPinkOne-
Great comment. Thanks.

winemd-
What do you consider a bad winner? I tried out for the volleyball team, and I made it (you might of heard me scream) but I didn't say "HAHA I MADE IT AND YOU DIDN'T! HAHA!" to the people that didn't make it. "

winemd wrote on Oct 17, 2008 9:10 PM:

" So THAT'S what that noise was;-).

I would not consider being very excited about making the team being a bad winner. My son played football and their team was beaten badly and there was trash talk (this is the 7-8 year old team) from the other team in the parking lot leaving the game. I don't know if the moderator will let it through, but basically my son was told "You s_ck". That is being a bad winner, IMHO. Now what I told my son is that yes, the other team was better on the field than they were and we talked about what the other team did that he and his team could do to improve. We also talked about how they had more players, and how that helps a team. My son had played almost every single play, offense, defense and special teams along with a lot of other players, and by the end of the game they were TIRED. But we did talk about how it is not being a good sport to rub another person's nose in a loss, just like it is not being a good sport to accuse the other team of cheating to explain your loss. When you lose, you try to figure out ways to improve and congratulate the winners. When you win, you enjoy it and don't lord it over the losers. "

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 17, 2008 10:42 PM:

" Agree with you, winemd about being a gracious winner. I should have thought of that. Handing another team a loss does not need to be accompanied by a rude rub-it-in victory dance, and trash talk definitely cheapens those who choose to do it. If it happens to you Angelina, all you can do is quietly think that they are demeaning themselves, not you.

It's OK to celebrate after the game is over and you are out of sight and sound of the other team, but always remember that the next time you could be on the losing side. Every once in a while, the crummiest team gets their act together and wins a game against the team at the top.

a teacher - it is about how government (whether it is the school board or the state board) wants things taught. Most of the leftist thinking today comes from academia at all levels and they are trying to brainwash the next generation into their beliefs. We see the effects of that in many subjects. Most PC drivel comes from schools but a lot comes from special interest groups trying to wedge their way into the mainstream or into getting a slice of the government income pie. They don't have a majority and can't hope to get one so the only way they can get what they want is by manipulation and control. We have to bring up our next generation to think for themselves. The old 60s "question authority" line is as much in need today as ever.

'freedom fries' was stupid, and so are glorified titles for clerical jobs etc. But most (and I agree not all) PC thought is leftist in origin and use. "

Angelina Gervasio wrote on Oct 17, 2008 10:57 PM:

" winemd-
I agree as well. It's not right to trash talk, whether you win or lose.

OGreatPinkOne-
What's "freedom fries"? "

a teacher wrote on Oct 18, 2008 8:24 AM:

" PPF: That's total bird droppings. I've worked with schools for 30 years, I think I've had a pretty broad experience. So I feel confident in telling you that you're full of it.

My guess is that if it comes out of a leftists mouth it's PC, but if it comes out of, say Rush's mouth it's pearls of wisdom. "

pharper wrote on Oct 18, 2008 1:26 PM:

" I really don't see the problem with being politically correct. Forty years ago, the term "African American" was probably seen as excessively PC, but it's a far sight better than using some of the other words to describe African American people, and it certainly doesn't seem like a stretch now. The soccer rule is kind of lame, I agree, but it's mostly for the younger kids.

Being politically correct has nothing to do with being liberal or conservative. It may "sound lefty" to you, Angelina, but it has nothing to do with political views. I, for one, have no interest in offending people. I agree that occasionally political correctness is taken too far, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. The world's not a fair place; I know that and I do not have blinders on. But if I can be kind to others and say things in a way that I know will not hurt their feelings, why shouldn't I? Being rude does not somehow teach children about life. It doesn't "help them grow up." It's just rudeness. "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 18, 2008 2:58 PM:

" Most PC terms have nothing to do with left or right, but have a lot to do with compassion, respect and fairness, which used to be considered Christian qualities, but are now decried as coming from the leftie swamp of Bad Ideas.

Freedom Fries, however, was a term from the right-wing patriotism movement to disparage France (by changing the name of "french fries" to "freedom fries" because they didn't decide to join us in attacking a sovereign nation.

Some PC terms do, I imagine, come out of academia, where people actually DO start to think beyond the worldview they were handed as children. That's one of the reasons universities are good for children and other living beings. People learn stuff. And recent studies have revealed, PPF, that it's not your lefty-commie professors who are nudging college students to the progressive side, it's their peers. They really couldn't care less what the college professors say, outside whatever it is they need to learn to move on in their lives. But they are in an age group that is characterized (usually) by an open mind, curiosity about what's REALLY going on in the world, and the intelligence and critical thinking skills to question authority AND decide based on facts and reason.
That's why, I would imagine, most college-age youth are now supporting Obama, at the same time that they are no doubt making fun of PC terms whenever they get a chance and, like teacher, making up absurd new ones just because it's a fun, intellectual exercise. "

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 18, 2008 9:01 PM:

" a teacher - not being a biology teacher you may not be expected to know that 'Phoneycopterus ruber plasticus' does not leave droppings. But today's school lesson: In ancient Rome, flamingo tongues were considered a delicacy, and Andean miners killed flamingos for their fat, believed to cure tuberculosis. Yikes! [note to self: cancel Europe/South American vacation trip]

OK, back to business. So we have lefty-commie professors teaching our students, who are now alleged to be supporting Obama the socialist. No connection? Hmmm - that really doesn't pass the smell test, does it?

Give me a break, PC is not to be nice to people, it is an attempt by leftist and special interest groups to create another social engineering tool. Give me a PC term (other than the stupid freedom fries) that is embraced or promoted by conservatives/libertarians.

FYI, I do not listen or pay any attention to Rush (or ruff, for that matter). I consider him to be a pompous east end of a donkey facing west. But I also think that about (can't say or it won't be posted) Olberman. Any of those extreme types should be ignored. Gee, I hope I didn't hurt their feelings (NOT!).

Furthermore, when I watch the debates I turn off the TV as soon as the debates are over. I don't need the self-appointed self-important ego-driven talking heads of any political persuasion to tell me how to think, or who they thought "won" the debate (rather predictable anyway). I will reach my own conclusions. I don't need or want media or government telling me what to think.

'Lefty Swamp of Bad Ideas' is a pretty good line, I'll have to remember it for future use. "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 18, 2008 9:57 PM:

" Yeah, PPF, steal from the poor & give to the rich. You can have it; I was probably thinking of you when I coined it.

You should ask Palin if she appreciates the "politically correct" terminology for children with disabilities. Or would she use some of the old, insensitive insults in referring to her child? "

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 19, 2008 12:11 AM:

" Any rational person with an economics background will recognize that raising taxes in the face of a recession is not really what you want to do. That's like stealing from the rich, the poor, and everybody in between, and giving it to - you don't have to guess, I'll tell you - the government! Wow! Who thought that one up?

And so now you want to insult children? Apropos of nothing, now you are accusing Sarah of insulting children? How low do you lefties go? Or is nothing too low? "

a teacher wrote on Oct 19, 2008 9:20 AM:

" I may not be a biology teacher, but having stood on the banks of Lake Nakuru and witnessed millions of your brethren, I know flamingo guano when I see it (and let me tell you, it stinks).

Lemme see.

-Coalition of the willing
-PATRIOT Act (the acronym was invented before the law. How cute)
-Intelligent design
-Terrorist (anyone fighting against us. When they fight our enemies they are insurgents or freedom fighters)
-enemy combatant(because then we can do what we want with them)
-enhanced interrogation (torture's illegal so just call it something else)
-water boarding, stress positions, (when the North Vietnamese were doing that to John McCain it was called torture).
-No Child Left Behind - that's one of my favorites
-Defense of marriage act
-War on Terror
-Islamo-fascism (lets take two scary words that don't really go together and make a REALLY scary word)
-Weapons of mass destruction (Israel's 100+ unacknowledged nuclear arsenal is a "Nuclear deterrent")
-regime change
-Department of Defense (which used to be the Department of War)
-The invasion of Iraq being a war of liberation.
-Death Squads (as opposed to para-military)
-A good quote from Bush "the war in Iraq is really about peace" HA!
-Death Tax
-Femi-Nazi(see Islamo-Fascist)
-Socialism (anything that's not proposed by conservatives - because nationalizing the banking industry is NT socialism, it's good government, right?)
-Contractors (In the good old days they were called Mercenaries)
-Collateral damage
-Small town values
-illegal immigrants (Mexicans)
-San Francisco values (gay)

I could go on, but life is short. I would like to point out that most of the left's PC is not hiding crimes. "

Bill wrote on Oct 19, 2008 1:39 PM:

" PC appears to be the label of choice for this blog. PC has become a meaningless term applied to every rule someone finds to be an inconvenience. Its principal focus was to write or speak in a manner that would not be deemed offensive to a person’s race, gender, ethnic origin or sexual orientation et al. Applying it to all forms of society and extending it as a derisive term for what is wrong with society is a vacuous way of avoiding understanding.

Different unintended meanings can always be found in a variety of words but the attempt at civility and understanding by agreeing to follow the rules of not using certain words is the main thrust of political correctness. PC is now considered to be a derogatory epithet implying that the rules of a soccer game aimed at fairness are an attempt to enforce a “lefty” political agenda is quite frankly juvenile. The attempt not to cause offense is a superficial attempt to bring reason and stability to our lives.

Explaining the 5 goal rule is one thing but its association with a political agenda of the left or right, while cute youthful musing, does not demonstrate much concern for any doctrine of justice, fairness or equality. Any sporting events design is to support these tenents, or should be, especially in the supervised sports of our youth.

The youth soccer leagues are designed specifically from the aspect of fairness and are divided according to age specifically and then ability. Many times there are mismatches and just like the custom of kicking the ball off the field when an opposing player is downed is deemed correct, so also is not running up the score considered to be good sportsmanship not PC. "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 19, 2008 4:01 PM:

" PPF said: "And so now you want to insult children? Apropos of nothing, now you are accusing Sarah of insulting children? How low do you lefties go? Or is nothing too low? "

Your comment reflects exactly the kind of misperception and twisted logic that makes communication with the right so frustrating and futile. My point was clear: You had asked for a PC term embraced by conservatives. I said you should ask Palin. She doubtless does NOT want to insult children with disabilities, therefore would EMBRACE what are now idiotically called "PC" terms but are, in fact, merely more respectful and sensitive nomenclature. If you think she wouldn't embrace more respectful and sensitive nomenclature for her child, then it is you, not I, who is accusing her of insulting children.
But of course you'll find a way to twist that explanation into something reprehensible in your mind. Because isn't that how you play the game? "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 19, 2008 4:05 PM:

" Great list, teach.
Great comment, Bill.

You two are continually reassuring to me. "

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 19, 2008 8:45 PM:

" Yeah nice list, but it is not a list of PC terms. It is a list of Dem talking points mostly about things the Bush administration has done or said. That is a completely different story. I happen to not agree with many of the things the Bush administration did or said that are on the list.

Let's take a sampling:

Under what possible convolution could 'water boarding' be a PC term to make anyone feel better and/or not lose self-esteem?

Nationalizing the banks is socialism. I don't agree with it.

Contractors are contractors, mercenaries are mercenaries, soldiers for hire. Contractors can be any number of other trades.

No Child Left Behind is a PC term? How?

Department of Defense? PC? To whom?

'Illegal immigrants' is not a PC term. Calling them 'undocumented residents' is PC speak.

This is a really just list of things you (and in some cases I) don't like. It is not a list of PC terms made up to make something sound nicer than it really is.

I'm sure flamingo guano (a PC term to allow the NVR to post what it is if we expect to be posted) smells horribly especially since flamingos like to hang out with a few thousand of their closest friends, and they are all busy doing whatever while making an awful lot of noise. However, the plastic species just silently stand guard over your front lawn (or back lawn if your neighbors complain). Our flocks also tend to be smaller, from one to a dozen or so. Best of all, we are very quiet. But when you're not looking, we take out our laptop PCs (pun intended) and post on the NVR. "

a teacher wrote on Oct 19, 2008 11:02 PM:

" PPF, you want both ways. You want to slam the left by accusing them of changing language to hide the true intent of their policies, while denying that the right does exactly the same thing.

Consider "water boarding". It sounds like something you would do out on the Delta, not what it really is, "simulated" drowning, which is torture. If the administration had to admit that they torture people, then they would have to answer why they shouldn't be prosecuted for war crimes. Vrey bad for re-election prospects and retirement plans.

A related concept, "rendition" AKA Kidnapping suspects and taking them to another country for contract torture.

Your comment on "contractors" is either purposely obtuse or we are giving you far too much credit.

Dude. If you want to contend that double speak is somehow different on the left as it is on the right, be my guest. As far as I can see, "PC" is the cudgel that the right uses to beat up on the left. It's a made up term, a straw man argument. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Bill said it best. It's juvinile.

I call it plastic pink flamingo droppings...very stinky. "

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 20, 2008 9:09 AM:

" It looks like you use a different definition of PC. I did not say I agreed with waterboarding, just that it is not a PC term. Making up names for things the Bush administration has done is not PC speak.

My point stands, many of those terms have nothing to do with PC, they are phrases for Dem talking points.

Contractors are not all mercenaries, where do you get the idea that the word contractor is even a PC term? It is not. If you are referring to mercenaries, let's call them what they are, mercenaries. Designing different names, like 'undocumented residents' to make something sound better than what it really is, is PC at its worst. Why call mercenaries contractors? To make them sound better? I call them mercenaries. What part of this paragraph is obtuse?

Repeating the question, how is 'Department of Defense' a PC term?

Maybe I'm so against PC speak that I don't like it no matter where it comes from.

Thank you for the personal attack about droppings, which is typical left guano when they don't want to talk about the issues. I left a post that should have brought up a reasonable debate. I even left a little bit of humor in it to show this was just discussion. Your response was full of sound and fury but where was the debate?

I can't say anything with the words 'bill' and 'juvenile' in it that would pass the edit, so I'll just have to leave that one alone. "

a teacher wrote on Oct 20, 2008 11:03 AM:

" PPF: I guess we do give you too much credit. "

freeport56 wrote on Oct 20, 2008 11:44 AM:

" making rules that make children feel better about themselves is rediculous and absurd. Pandering to "feelings" over achievement and life lessons ill prepares one for the realities of life.

limiting scoring in a game may serve to make trhe other team feel better,. but holds back and frustratyes the winning team. Maybe the team losing could be inspired by the point spread. In the PC realm of YSL soccer we will never know. I guess those parents are as bad as Little League and Pop Warner. I say let the kids compete, let them find out what it takes to win and how to analyze defeat.

As to attitude at the end of the game. That belongs to how their coaches train them to be winners. We were taught that when the game is over, we thank the other team for the game, celebrate in private\after game party, and focus on the next game. We were taught to play with respect for the referees, other teams, ands ourselves. How we acted was only a reflection on ourselves.

As with any comptetition, you must come prepared. never ever worry about what the other guy says or thinks. Your thoughts are what matter most! "

winemd wrote on Oct 20, 2008 11:51 AM:

" Certainly both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of "wordsmithing," which is a little different than PC, I think.

Back to the subject of the column, though...

I think there has to be a balance between trying not to offend someone and realizing that things in life are not always fair. I would not on purpose try to make someone feel bad nor would I teach my children to do so. I also try to use times of hurt feelings or disappointments as teaching moments, and I don't usually get offended when people disagree with me (except my husband :-). As an example with my children: my 6th grade daughter has been in GATE since 4th grade. My 4th grade son barely didn't make it. He was bummed, big time. So do I want to ban the GATE program or not let my daughter participate because my son was disappointed? NO. We talked with my son about why he didn't make it and what he can do if he wants to make that his goal and that we will help him in whatever way we can. I am not going to push it if he really doesn't care one way or another, but if he wants it I can help. "

freeport56 wrote on Oct 20, 2008 11:57 AM:

" PPF-

Understand these are the people that want us to to be silenced under the not-so "Fairness Doctrine". Air America was a total failure because no one listened. Now they are going to use the airwaves as their new propaganda machine.

I totally dread a country ruled by the new far left Democrats. If they think the world will respect us they are nuts. our enemies will have greater courage to plot against us. As BHO will be worse for the military than the Clintons were. Pass the ammo! "

Bill wrote on Oct 20, 2008 1:22 PM:

" The more people add the more the shouting accelerates.

What began with the author’s weak analogy is now a false analogy. It has absolutely nothing to do with a conservative or liberal outlook but everything to do with characterization indeed it has nothing to do with sports, sportsmanship or anything other than making noise.

The attempt to label as “PC” a certain sports practice and then extrapolate that to an insinuation that it is a “lefty” or even “righty” idea meant to restrict someone is not sound argument and a blatant logical fallacy. The original fallacy should be obvious. Posters have since extended that fallacy such that a fairness doctrine will silence dissent.

If A is similar to B

If P is some property of A

Then A=B

False analogy.

Life may not be fair, but we have to live with each other. We will need to treat fairly with each other. Justice is founded upon the concepts of fairness and equality which together guarantee liberty.

The spin of quaint labels makes one wonder if there might be some pink fluorides lose in the waters here. "

winemd wrote on Oct 20, 2008 5:00 PM:

" Okay, maybe I am just not following here. In sports, fairness is a highly important issue, but equality is not in the nature of sports. Maybe Bill is just referring to the "bigger picture" things that have been brought up.

What do you think about student incentives for fundraisers? For our fall bulb sale, we gave the top 3 sellers a prize. I am going to recommend that next year, for every 5 packages sold, they get their name entered in a raffle for a prize. I am hoping to motivate some of the students who really don't have a chance to win the top prize, but they would have a chance with the raffle, and increase student participation. For our walkathon, we are talking about eliminating the prizes for the 3 classes who bring in the most money and instead setting a goal for the whole school and if they make that then they get a special assembly or the principal gets taped to the wall or something. I am just concerned that will be a little too abstract for the kids. We don't have a good way to trackthe $$ until after the event, so they wouldn't know as we go along how close they are. "

anticommie wrote on Oct 21, 2008 7:29 AM:

" Miss Gervasio:

I am very impressed with your writing coming from a 7th grade level. Your thought process is well above that middle school realm. The analogy is fantastic. When you have a chance research the term "social justice" and you will begin to understand the concept of the left wing. Remember the left wants "fairness" and will FORCE people to get what they want. You truely have a rational young mind. Welcome to the club!!!! "

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 21, 2008 10:42 AM:

" a teacher - I have no idea what "credit" I was being given. I asked for none and want none. A nice debate would be interesting, but since my questions go unanswered then there is no sense continuing with a one-sided debate. It was getting off topic anyway from Angelina's original point.

Bill, your math formulas make no sense whatsoever and . . . oh never mind. There's nothing that can be said that would do any good. "

markmathews wrote on Oct 21, 2008 11:59 AM:

" Make no mistake; the dope smoking hippies ARE in charge of California edjumacation. You can tell just by seeing who and what the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers, not to mention their masters, the California Democrat Party endorse; No on Prop 8 and FOR Obama for a start. No, seek no further proof, and "a teacher' is just a part of their cabal, and is full of it herself. "

funnyme wrote on Oct 21, 2008 1:23 PM:

" I can't help it but really laugh at some of these comments. OMG!

PC terms and concepts DO EXIST (and they are absolutely absurd, in my opinion of course)!

For example, we went from celebrating Christmas and New Year to "Winter Holidays" to "include" everything else under the sun (so to speak).

We went from Easter Week to "Spring Break", just no to make anybody feel offended by the "diverse" beliefs and traditions.

In other words, the PC term excluded everybody, stealing a beautiful worldwide tradition and turned it into a "one size fits all" nothing.

I say shame on you all who buy into this.

It will always be "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Easter" to everyone I come up to, and if they happen to be of a different belief they can go ahead and "educate me" but do not deprive me of my joy in the name of "fairness".

Life ain't fair. Get used to it! "

anticommie wrote on Oct 21, 2008 1:24 PM:

" markmathews:

Dont forget about the universities!! There was a study "Political Bias in the Administrations and Faculties of 32 Elite Colleges and Universities" which states the following:

"The overall ratio of Democrats to Republicans they were able to identify at the 32 schools was more than 10 to 1 (1,397 Democrats, 134 Republicans, 1,891 Unidentified). With regard to administrators, they reported that they could find only 3 Republican administrators in the entire Ivy League." "

anticommie wrote on Oct 21, 2008 4:41 PM:

" a teacher:

is the list you wrote down supposed to be all PC terms the right uses? "

Bill wrote on Oct 21, 2008 4:57 PM:

" It's called logic not math plastic. It is actually a straight forward piece as setup.

Try Non sequitur or the fallacy of the undistributed middle. You like to write, show some thought.

The author has youth on her side and an oportunity to develop thinking skills along the lines of critical thinking I would hope the rest of you would make that effort or is that to lefty and PC. "

Raven wrote on Oct 21, 2008 5:44 PM:

" seems to me anticommie one could also use that data to mark an assertion that republicans don't want to be involved in education..... "

Madison Jay Hamilton wrote on Oct 21, 2008 6:19 PM:

" Ms. Gervasio writes, "We used to be respected (and yes, feared) by all because if you hit us, we hit back … twice as hard. I’m willing to bet that if we fought in the Iraq war like we fought in WWI and WWII, it would have been over years ago."

When did Iraq hit us?

The invasion of Iraq actually did end years ago. The occupation began when the invasion was completed, exactly 2001 days ago, according to George W. Bush's "mission accomplished" speech.

Americans were quite discontented with the results of WWI; so much so, that a long period of isolationism began soon after.

The U.S. defeated Germany, Italy and Japan in WWII, but the U.S. did not defeat fascism. One can defeat a country, but it's more difficult to militarily defeat a philosophy (fascism) or a tactic (terrorism).

Let's all hope that the U.S.'s military adventure in Iraq ends soon. In the meantime, the U.S. is wasting lives, money, and its reputation. "

gatekeeper wrote on Oct 21, 2008 6:34 PM:

" Hey Bill, what does the author's youth have anything to do with the facts she mentions?
Why is winning a game something to be kept to yourself and your team only in the name of sportsmanship?
Ridiculous.
We are not all equal.
There are opportunities available for all of us depending on who we are, obviously the who we are is determined by our achievements and mistakes just to mention two aspects.

I see a lot of cars out there with stickers that say 'Proud parent of an Honor Student from...(whatever school)', or University of (whatever)'s mom or dad. These parents and grandparents are continuously celebrating their children achievements, why is it wrong? "

Bill wrote on Oct 21, 2008 7:05 PM:

" Gates have you done your reading here. This thread has nothing to do with winning a game or sportsmanship or pride of parenthood but with the characterizaton of a wide range of subjects a "lefty" suggestion an insidious plot to corrupt youth by evil people who make up 5 goal rules to sap our essential will. The Un-Americansee of it all. Imagine a Soccer group thinking about fairness but secretly maniulating the minds of young people to follow the Pied Pieper of behaving in a sportsman like manner. But see here how PC actually creeps into my language, I should be chastised for not using sportswomanship, now that's PC.

Now thats more polemical than I wanted but then Gates just what are the facts ?

I realize that this is only a "lefty" trick, using logic to examine an argument, but forgive me I don't want to stand in the way of unbrideled happiness for such a small thing as fairness. "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 21, 2008 7:34 PM:

" Those statistics about ratio of dems to repubs in universities -- yeah, I'd have to agree with Raven. I'll research it for y'all. The logical explanation (based on evidence) would be that democrats are significantly more interested in teaching, delving into and imparting complex information, utilizing critical thinking skills, and participating in other intellectual facets of educational institutions than republicans are. Cause & effect is not clear, however. It's also possible that the more exposed one is to complex information & ideas, research, the moral relativity and mental calesthenics of youth, and extensive experience with learning environments and the challenges they pose, the more one is likely to adhere to the inherent wisdom of democratic principles -- humanitarian, scientific, philosophical, tolerant, fair.
I dunno, though. I'll Google "leftie" and "college" and letcha know! "

pharper wrote on Oct 21, 2008 7:50 PM:

" Celebrating achievement is not wrong. Celebrating it at the expense of another is. My question still hasn't been answered: who cares? Does it really matter so much to you to say "African American" rather than black? Does it really offend you to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas?" We live in a very diverse country. Catering to only one religion is extremely small-minded.

Political correctness can get out of hand sometimes, of course. It's better safe than sorry, though, isn't it? I wouldn't want to offend one of my classmates. When I go to college next year, I don't want to say something that someone else sees as rude. Attributing this all to "lefties" is small-minded and rude. It saddens me that someone as young as Angelina uses such disparaging language. I really don't understand the practice of blaming everything on one side or another. The two sides disagree, and there are many people who fall in between the two extremes. Trust me, when things go bad, it's not a matter of right OR left. It's a matter of right AND left.

people get so hysterical over political correctness when all it encompasses are words. That's it. Just words. If you'd like to offend people, or blame the terms on other people, go ahead. But no one group is guilty of creating these terms, and no one group is guilty of using them. I don't understand why anyone would want to offend another person or rub a victory in their face. That just doesn't make sense to me. "

a teacher wrote on Oct 21, 2008 8:13 PM:

" Why, Anticommie, as a matter of fact it is a list of "PC" terms that the right uses.

FunnyMe. It's not that I don't believe that PC exists, it's I don't accept that it's some leftist attempt at mind control. Both sides do it, think about the "furor" over flag pins, for instance.

Some of it is the politics of identity. Negro, Black, African-American? Given some of the other names black people have been commonly called, one can understand why they might be looking for a new name to identify with. Not a big problem for me, and I refuse to get defensive if I get it wrong. But I do try to get it right.

The "Seasons Greetings" issue. Come on, that's businesses recognizing that their customers are not all Christians. It makes more sense (businesswise) to be inclusive than exclusive. Did you know that in Georgia they don't really celebrate Halloween in many places? It's demon worship to some brands of Christians. What a bummer for this transplanted New Yorker, it's my favorite holiday.

All my liberal friends wish me a Merry Christmas.

You ended your entry with "Life ain't fair. Get used to it!". You realize that the same sentiment could be applied to you, right (not by me, though)? I've been noticing a lot of that in some of these responses. I can't help but think that is an unhelpful response. If you were on the recieving end of that, would you want to "get over it"? "

markmathews wrote on Oct 22, 2008 7:05 AM:

" Anticommie, right you are, AGAIN. (No surprise there). Yes, those wonderful university edjumakaters of the likes of William (Bill) Ayers, Ward Churchill, and a plethora of Marxist pot smoking hippies (who left home with their middle fingers extended in the faces of their WWII era parents) who got their start alongside John Kerry at Anti war demonstrations while Ho Chi Mien, Mao Tse Tung, Leonid Brezhnev, and Fidel Castro laughed. They really began belly laughing in 1968, after they took over the Democrat Party, where their ideals have reigned through today, and have resulted in the afterbirth which will be an Obama Presidency. "

Raven wrote on Oct 22, 2008 10:27 AM:

" glad you got that out of your system MM.....and you are a perfect reason why people are rejecting the McCain/GOP/neocon mantra and turning towards Obama...your spew nothing but hate and refuse to discuss the issues facing this nation .... "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 22, 2008 10:37 AM:

" To pharper: Thank you. That was good. "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 22, 2008 11:16 AM:

" Markmathews: Can you say "stereotypes"?
You know little about the democratic party, that much is clear.

Changing gears -- report on research:

It's been found that left-handed male college graduates make 26% more than their right-handed counterparts. Yep, straight from the "leftie/college" Google. Other results (but had to be more "politically correct" choice of Google words to get anything significant):
Chancellor at U. of Colorado is trying to create a position for Professor of Conservative thought. It's a controversial proposal, with detractors ranging from liberal professors to David Horowitz, champion of "academic freedom" (a social engineering-style PC term if I ever heard one). One professor objected, saying he resents the implication that instructors don't present conservative ideas in class, that he's unaffiliated with any party, and that he discusses all perspectives, but doesn't stick a political label on them when he does.
One research study found Republicans were higher on the extrinsic value of financial success and lower on the intrinsic value of helping others in need. In an unrelated study, Larry Summers, former president of Harvard, suggests that smart people who like the market and strive for profits have a variety of choices, including an academic career. Smart people who don't like the world of markets and profits have a narrower range of choices, and academic careers might be among the more desirable. Therefore, he says, it’s not surprising to find more liberals than conservatives on college faculties.
Hey, NVR monitor, will I get dinged for plagiarism if I don't do proper citations on my research? I mean, in the interest of fairness, I think we should suspend that rule because there's not much room. I am paraphrasing, after all, not copying verbatim. "

markmathews wrote on Oct 22, 2008 11:38 AM:

" Truth hurts, doesn't it ladies? "

markmathews wrote on Oct 22, 2008 11:47 AM:

" dellasumbrella, its is a fact that roughly 60% of the people in this country do NOT pay income taxes at all, and will ALWAYS be counted on to vote for the political party which continually, in good, tried and true Marxist fashion, rob Peter to pay Paul their monthly welfare stipend - the democrat party. The NVR will not ding you for failing to note your references, at least not yet. Its good that you asked about crediting your sources anyway, as I am sure you wouldn’t want to be associated with, nor “pull” a Joseph (plagerism) Biden, would you? "

a teacher wrote on Oct 22, 2008 1:22 PM:

" PHarper, you continue to impress. When will you get a blog?

marmatthews, not so much. The usual nonsense, insults, unsupported charges, nastiness. Not much to see there. "

a teacher wrote on Oct 22, 2008 1:29 PM:

" Churches are not obligated to perform marriages. The Catholic Church will not marry divorced people. Your argument about churches being forced to marry same sex couples is nonsense and a scare tactic.

Raven answered about adoptions.

Scare tactics is all you guys have got. Sad. "

Raven wrote on Oct 22, 2008 3:24 PM:

" MM, get6 a new reference source...your's is sooooo wrong it is laffable...... "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 22, 2008 4:03 PM:

" MM -- Interesting read on Spreading the Wealth -- NVR, today's Nation & World section. Spread the word. "

funnyme wrote on Oct 22, 2008 4:17 PM:

" All I see here, dellasumbrella, is that you are getting very good at googling, and copying and pasting "out of context" segments of the articles that fit in your liberal thoughts.

Rather b-o-r-i-n-g! "

a teacher wrote on Oct 22, 2008 5:01 PM:

" "" All I see here, dellasumbrella, is that you are getting very good at googling, and copying and pasting "out of context" segments of the articles that fit in your liberal thoughts.

Rather b-o-r-i-n-g! "

Because you guys NEVER do that, right? "

pharper wrote on Oct 22, 2008 5:15 PM:

" Haha, thank you, teacher. Our current project in Government is to create our own political party, so I'm trying to be a mediator in my group for it.

I think that's really the problem here. Both left and right attribute the bad to the other side, instead of taking a long look at themselves. Something my mom always says comes back to me: If you look around and see that everyone else is wrong except for you, maybe you're the one who's wrong. Both political parties have their good points and their bad points. I think it stinks that we have to teach our children to be disdainful of the opposite party, and to treat them as though they're the cause of all the nation's problems. Things like blaming political correctness on the left are just plain ignorant. Same with blaming all the current economic problems on the Bush administration. Both sides had big parts in both things, and neither one is free of guilt.

I think we could have a much stronger country if people didn't hate so much. If we could learn to consider and to be respectful of two sides of an issue--in this case, political correctness--we could achieve so many great things. Instead, we say childish things like "lefties" and "b-o-r-i-n-g." (Not that I'm absolving the left of guilt; I couldn't give specific instance, but I know we liberals aren't always silver-tongue either!)

My biggest hope for my generation is that we can learn to work together, and to agree on things. Political correctness is an issue that we could solve with a little compromise. Not being PC at all can be offensive; being overly PC is silly. There is most certainly a middle ground. "

funnyme wrote on Oct 22, 2008 6:14 PM:

" Still very b-o-r-i-n-g.

You are going around in circles sugar coating your sarcasm so not to appear insulting or offensive and avoiding to be specific as to what are the "righties" PC terms.
Continuously searching for the middle so not to under or over doing anything is, well very PC...not too full, not too empty, just RIGHT (pun intended).

I agree with you, however that the division of the masses between left and right is what leave us powerless at the end.

We just saw that with the Wall Street fiasco. The left and the right came together and created the PC term "bailout" to cover up the theft of billions of dollars.

Shame. Shame.

pharper, I too believe in the need for a third and fourth and fifth political party that would bring enough "competition" to keep the "scores" unpredictable and the politicians truthful and make them accountable for their actions.

Let us know how that exercise at school goes.

Have a good evening!

Oh no, wait it's not evening in some parts of the world and I could be offending someone. Should I say have a good morning then? But what if it's the middle of the night somewhere else and they don't like it either...I don't know what to do! =D "

a teacher wrote on Oct 22, 2008 8:44 PM:

" "You are going around in circles sugar coating your sarcasm so not to appear insulting or offensive and avoiding to be specific as to what are the "righties" PC terms.
Continuously searching for the middle so not to under or over doing anything is, well very PC...not too full, not too empty, just RIGHT (pun intended)."

Actually it's a case of trying to be polite whilst choking down my outrage and disgust. BTW, I gave an long list of rightwing PC terms. PC is also not just in the terms, but in the actions. Just ask the Dixie Chicks about that. "

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 22, 2008 9:35 PM:

" Not right wing PC terms, most of those were Dem talking points. Others were things like 'Department of Defense' which you may or may not like, but that is actually the name of a governent department. What is PC about that?

Who are the Dixie Cups? "

dellasumbrella wrote on Oct 22, 2008 9:37 PM:

" Hey, funnyme, I put a lot of work into that research! Then, I PARAPHRASED, didn't cut and paste, and reported only the few bits of info that I thought were relevant to my self-appointed task (plus another little tidbit, just for fun). Don't I get any credit for my hard work? Geeeeez! Glad YOU'RE not my teacher, right OR left. It was all a joke, really. Sorry, I can't take many of the comments here seriously....they just send me into an orbit of irreverance, and there's just no pulling me back from that intense centrifugal force. "

funnyme wrote on Oct 23, 2008 9:49 AM:

" Credit to you for your very hard work indeed!

Thanks for the laughs...It's been fun! "

athought wrote on Oct 23, 2008 5:41 PM:

" Raven- I saw your comment about Republicans not being involved in education and wanted to share my experiences as a Republican in an education program at a nearby state university. The other conservatives in the program (there weren't many to begin with at this liberal college) dropped out- all of them- because they got fed up with the constant liberal bias and conservative bashing. I remember one day a colleague asked why we never read educational articles with a conservative perspective during a unit designed to teach us to examine issues through multiple perspectives- the professor (who was the chair of the education department) told us that we had been exposed to conservative views all our lives and therefore we wouldn't be looking at them in his class.

Just wanted to share this memory. Your comment reminded me of it. "

Raven wrote on Oct 23, 2008 9:32 PM:

" are you saying that you have opted out of being an educator because of that?...I simply said that viewed statistically, if those numbers hold true.....one could argue Republicans are not interested in being part of the education system "

anticommie wrote on Oct 24, 2008 12:30 AM:

" With education being controlled by the liberal bias that there simply just is, it's no wonder that there is sooooo much that needs to be reformed. Being a student as often as I can, I have experienced the liberal bias there is at the Napa JC, and Frankly it is truly scary. "

Raven wrote on Oct 24, 2008 8:58 AM:

" seems like any liberal bias within the education is caused by conservative opting out of being educators..... "

PlasticPinkFlamingo wrote on Oct 24, 2008 10:22 AM:

" spinraven is at it again . . .

First the lefties push the conservatives out of education or prevent them from advancing their careers - then spinraven says there is a liberal bias because conservatives are opting out. So raven, you're saying that reality is whatever you want it to be?

"Let's twist again - like we did last summer" "

Raven wrote on Oct 24, 2008 2:06 PM:

" PPF, there is no spin....if that figures are correct, one could argue Republicans are not joining int the education process...no thing more...nothing less.... "

funnyme wrote on Oct 24, 2008 3:34 PM:

" And I always thought that for Teachers Union jobs "Conservatives need not apply".

Silly me. "

anticommie wrote on Oct 24, 2008 3:54 PM:

" Democrats have been supposedly been fighting for education reform for how long? Every election they talk about the plans they have to fix the problem. As with all politicians, they dont want to fix any problems that our country has, because then they wouldnt have a platform to run on.

Obama talks about giving all students something like $4,000 dollars a semester for tuition. Who is going to pay for that? Oh wait, we are! I dont want to pay for other peoples tuition. Your education after highschool is your business, not mine. We already pay how many billions of dollars into the education system? Look how messed up it is. "

freeport56 wrote on Oct 24, 2008 4:34 PM:

" Republicans just don't like working for very controling unions.

If the union members would like to donate their union dues legally to charity rather than the union. Go to the Pacific Justice Institute and they can show you how. "

a teacher wrote on Oct 24, 2008 5:20 PM:

" Funnyme- that's completely untrue. Some of the most conservative people I know are teachers.

That said, I think that teaching tends to attract the more liberal minded of us. "

Raven wrote on Oct 25, 2008 2:06 PM:

" hmm...yeah that sounds fair, let the union negotiate for you and then pay dues to someone else.....not that the pacific justice institute is a non-partisan group.... "

funnyme wrote on Oct 26, 2008 7:40 AM:

" a teacher,
I am not saying you are lying, but I have yet to meet conservative teachers that while teaching at our schools or Universities still hold their conservative points of view and values in the classroom and not get fired.

Raven,
Not the dues, the "political contributions" that are part of the dues. And this applies not just to Unions but some Associations as well (Realtors is one of them).

Now, if the unions were not in bed with the democratic party why is it that every flyer, union newspaper, ads, and any union literature in general ONLY endorse (and urge you to vote for) the "democratic ticket"?
Sounds to me like "fear factor" takes place here: "If you don't vote democrat, and we find out about it, well, you might just not have your job tomorrow"

So therefore, here you have a few blue and white collar union workers answering polls in favor of the democrats, but going to the actual voting poll on election day might just be a slightly different story.

We'll see! "

a teacher wrote on Oct 26, 2008 10:35 AM:

" funnyme: two things, if you don't believe me, eat lunch in the staff room of my school. I stopped because arguing during lunch is bad for digestion, I'll wait until February when they've calmed down after losing.

The other is that most people don't wear their politics on their sleeve. I rarely share my political views with my students or their parents. Not only is it not their business, it's bad for business. I know the views of a handful of my kid's teachers because I know the teachers personally. Angelina's teachers probably don't discuss their politics with you. Why would they? "

a teacher wrote on Oct 26, 2008 10:39 AM:

" Oh, and the whole point of tenure is that you can hold whatever political view you want and not get fired. My colleagues are quit vocal and never fear angering the wrong person, as they say, what do we care what the boss thinks, we're tenured. "

Raven wrote on Oct 26, 2008 1:21 PM:

" maybe they recognize which party is looking for the working man....

as for the dues....explain to me why I should not pay any dues to an organization that bargains for my wages working conditions and benefits...and still be able to reap the benefits from collective bargaining? "

anticommie wrote on Oct 26, 2008 4:42 PM:

" Teacher:

Some times the sleeve you are taking about bleeds, and we the students see right through to the politics you stand for. You dont have to say, "I'm a Democrat." It shows in the teaching style of an individual. It's only more apparent at the JC. "

Raven wrote on Oct 26, 2008 6:36 PM:

" the sleeve bleeds?... "

a teacher wrote on Oct 26, 2008 7:47 PM:

" AntiCommie: I don't hide who I am, but that is not the same thing as pushing a political agenda. "

toobuff wrote on Dec 22, 2008 4:24 PM:

" way to go angelina, i agree with you 100% excellently written too, i almost forgot it was written by a 7th grader. the one thing i can say to you is i'm sorry, welcome to the world we live in.... pink flamingo, i'm with you too. "

Join the conversation

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login? (requires cookies)
	Forgot Your Password?

Create an account

Comment Guidelines

The goal of the story comments section at NapaValleyRegister.com is to have an open, thought-provoking, civil community forum for all issues.

What gets your comment posted?

• Staying on topic

• Keeping your comment to 300 words or less

• Avoiding name-calling

• Addressing your comments to the message rather than the messenger

What gets your comment deleted?

• Personal attacks

• Derogatory remarks

• Name-calling of any sort

• Going off-topic

• Hate speech

• Racially-insensitive comments

• Implying guilt of a subject in a crime story before there is a court verdict

• Posting e-mail addresses

• Posting comments of a commercial nature

• POSTING WITH ALL CAPITAL LETTERS

• Linking multiple comments together with "to be continued..." to get around the 300 word limit.

The fine print

- Comments are either approved or denied. We do not edit comments.

- You are welcome to modify and resubmit a denied comment.

- Comments may take several hours to be posted.

- Comments posted are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of NapaValleyRegister.com, its employees or its parent company.

- Do you have information on a story? Please go to our virtual newsroom to send us a news tip.

- If you feel a posted comment has violated our guidelines, please contact online@napanews.com or add a comment indicating you have an issue and our moderators will review the comment in question.

Search: