# People charged with "politically correct stupidity" are actually quite intelligent. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 23, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-charged-with-politically-correct-stupidity-are-actually-quite-intelligent/551206 "2010-08-23T21:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-charged-with-politically-correct-stupidity-are-actually-quite-intelligent/551206/41 "2010-08-27T04:11:56Z")
> [@furt](#): > > And FWIW, I count six, plus a remark from the editors of a magazine indicating they get letters about it at least occasionally. Oooooh! You’ve got six plus some "occasionally"s. In other words, while it probably does happen, it is actually still more frequently expressed as a concern by people whining about PC than it is a genuine concern from blacks or “liberals.” > [@furt](#): > > More to the point: if you were speaking to a group of African-Americans, you know damn well you’d never use the word. Really? I have used the word among black business associates and in front of at least one group of blacks. YOU might have some fear of using the word, but I am not at all concerned about using niggardly where it is appropriate, regardless of my audience. > [@furt](#): > > The vast majority of the time, PC squelching occurs in ways that never come close to making the paper: e.g. the teaching colleague of mine whose department head, in response to a student complaint, “suggested” he not use the phrase “illegal immigrant” in referring to sojurners without benefit of visa, because the term was “insensitive.” The next semester, he took the topic off the reading list. So? Both the Left and the Right engage in censorship in one form or another. I don’t think either group should be allowed to get away with it; I simply find it ironic that either side claims to have the high ground on the matter and my experience with people complaining about “PC” is that they are either irritated that they are restrained from expressing their prejudices in public or they are confusing everyday euphemisms or advertising\* with “political correctness.” - Such as the idiots that whine that “previously owned” cars are an example of PC. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-charged-with-politically-correct-stupidity-are-actually-quite-intelligent/551206/42 "2010-08-27T09:50:09Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > - Such as the idiots that whine that “previously owned” cars are an example of PC. It’s arguably a similar mindset, though: wrapping your meaning into a supposedly nicer package, which seems to imply that appearance is more important than content. A bit like saying ‘f_ck’ instead of ‘fuck’, as if the latter had some power the former lacks, even though the two are completely equivalent_ regarding their meaning. Essentially, it’s nothing but magical thinking, that the words themselves, rather than the message they convey, have power. _Of course, you could argue that those writing 'f_ck’ had a different intent to those writing ‘fuck’, attempting to show some consideration towards their audience; but then, just think about third-party censorship, such as bleeping out offensive words in television and radio. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-charged-with-politically-correct-stupidity-are-actually-quite-intelligent/551206/43 "2010-08-27T10:38:36Z")
Why do people seem to love the word “niggardly” so much? It’s an uncommon word and it sounds really similar to a racial epithet. I know what it means, most dopers know what it means and I agree, its a perfectly innocent word. There is no reason to be a smart arse about it though. You are not being courageous in using it if you think your audience might misunderstand you. It’s just intellectual posturing. I also suspect it is used as a rhetorical stick to beat people who just want pleasant communication. Are people really that concerned that political correctness has made people afraid to say “niggardly”? Seems a small issue to get upset about. Also, people getting upset and saying “niggardly” is racist are clearly ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-charged-with-politically-correct-stupidity-are-actually-quite-intelligent/551206/44 "2010-08-27T12:13:20Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > > > I believe they end up weakening themselves every time a Hallmark greeting card says “black hole.” > > True dat. Every time some one goes ballistic over using the term “niggardly” it [list=A][li]makes them look stupid, which is exactly the effect you don’t want, and [\*]makes it that much easier to overlook use of the term “nigger”.[/list][/li] > Regards, > Shodan I dunno, I think in some of these cases the offense is at least semi-legitimate. There are useful applications of the word - say, if you’re translating Greek poetry and looking for an exact equivalent to some ancient bit of jargon - but in contemporary American society, the word’s political baggage and obvious qualities as a cognate make uses of it a little suspicious. If you’re a figure like Glenn Beck or Limbaugh and you’re using the word, odds are that it’s going to seem a little like a child’s game of “I’m not touching you!” If people legitimately feel that a perfectly useful word has been muscled out of their vocabularies by political pressure, that’s a shame, but it’s also a good opportunity to take advantage of English’s versatility and come up with a different word. Does all this strengthen the cause of those “charged with ‘politically correct stupidity’”? I think that question has to be taken case-by-case; in several of the incidents [cited in this Wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_the_word_%22niggardly%22), the complainants are obviously acting like morons. In a case like [this one](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_the_word_%22niggardly%22#Acampo.2C_California), though, there’s a pretty good chance that politically-pugnacious racists are taking advantage of the word’s connotative valence and it’s not unreasonable to call them on it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-charged-with-politically-correct-stupidity-are-actually-quite-intelligent/551206/45 "2010-08-27T12:47:16Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > > [@tomndebb](#): > > > > - Such as the idiots that whine that “previously owned” cars are an example of PC. > > It’s arguably a similar mindset, though: wrapping your meaning into a supposedly nicer package, which seems to imply that appearance is more important than content. A bit like saying 'f_ck’ instead of ‘fuck’, as if the latter had some power the former lacks, even though the two are completely equivalent_ regarding their meaning. Essentially, it’s nothing but magical thinking, that the words themselves, rather than the message they convey, have power. Euphemisms have been around for ages–possibly as long as language. They have been employed in politics as doublespeak and in advertising for as long as either of those human activities have existed. Referring to such actions as “political correctness” demonstrates a profound ignorance of both the use of euphemisms and the actual meaning of “PC.” Since “PC” is pretty well employed as a Right wing epithet against the Left, it results in the ludicrous action of accusing Madison Avenue of engaging in a Left wing plot. (Lexus and Cadillac promoters are actually Left wingers?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-charged-with-politically-correct-stupidity-are-actually-quite-intelligent/551206.md?page=2)