Are We Being Too Politically Correct?

English, is usually uncomplicated and straightforward – except of course, when it comes to literature and having to read William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. At school, the only person I recall who understood what Macbeth was all about, was Kalundi Robert Serumaga. Of course, Kalundi would connect with Macbeth, after all, his father – Robert Serumaga – was an acclaimed playwright who is famed for accomplished masterpieces as, A Play, The Elephants and especially Majangwa, which is a classic.

Getting back, in today’s world, you have to be careful how you use your English. When I was growing up, the world had no issues with referring to somebody as being ‘fat, lame’, ‘blind’, or calling a young cat, ‘pussy’. Today, we can’t say those words. Fat people are ‘overweight’. Lame people are ‘physically challenged’. Blind people are ‘physically impaired’, while young cats are ‘kittens’.

When somebody says ‘family’, it’s pretty much straightforward - mother, father, and siblings, or extended family. There is no offence in the word ‘family’ – except at Google headquarters who, were forced to backtrack on its use of the word after staff raged.

After a presentation about a product aimed at young people seemed to replace the term with the word ‘family’ and leaving out various groups, one employee stormed out of a meeting and called the company’s poor choice of wording 'offensive, inappropriate, homophobic, and wrong’.

In a long incoherent rant, the person contended that: “This is a diminishing and disrespectful way to speak. If you mean ‘children’, say ‘children’. ‘Family friendly’ used as a synonym for ‘kid friendly’ means, to me, ‘you and yours don’t count as a family unless you have children’ the employee wrote. “And while kids may be less aware of it, there are kids without families too, you know”.

The rant continued: “The use of ‘family’ as a synonym for ‘with children’ has a long-standing association with deeply homophobic organizations and this does not mean we should not use the word ‘family’ to refer to families, but it mean we must doggedly insist that family does not imply children.”

“Even the wording, ‘suitable for the whole family’, which you might think is unobjectionable, is totally wrong too. It only works if we have advance shared conception of what 'the whole family’ is, and that is almost always used to mean a household with two adults, of opposite sex, in a romantic/sexual relationship, with two or more of their own children.”  Eh, did that rant make sense to any of you? I certainly didn’t get the gist of it.

Other Things We Can’t Say

“HOW DID YOU END UP IN THIS FIELD?" Asking a woman how she ended up in a field comes off like you’ve made the assumption she doesn’t belong there.

WHAT TO SAY: Ask them about their experiences that lead them there and congratulate them for their hard work.

“YOU’RE A SUPERHERO!” When you say it to a working mother who is expected to be a superhero to make ends meet, it’s short-sighted. They wouldn’t have to be like superheroes if society started accepting an equal division of household labour and paid women fairly for equal work.

WHAT TO SAY: Don’t say anything. Lend a helping hand and, if you’re in a position to do so, give the woman equal pay.

“You’re Being Oversensitive.” Everyone is entitled to feel how they feel, and some of us are just more sensitive than others. That’s not a weakness; in fact, it’s a strength.

What to Say: “I understand you’re overwhelmed by this situation. What can I do to help?”

“That's Crazy Talk!” We’ve all called someone crazy, especially for talking about a situation in a certain way. But referring to co-workers as “crazy” is a dig at those who languish in Butabika.

What to Say: “Why don't you look at this way instead?”


Pictures: Robert Serumaga, Google