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Political correctness epidemic downunder
Weekly eMAIL newsletter ^ | Novemeber 27 2003 | Muriel Newman

Posted on 11/26/2003 5:36:51 PM PST by shaggy eel

This [New Zealand] article examines the wave of political correctness that is sweeping the country and is now threatening the very commonsense way of life that makes New Zealand great.

The trickle of political correctness that we have become used to over the years – such as calling a chairman a chairperson, a short person “height challenged” and a rubbish collector a waste management operator – now appears to have turned into a flood which is in danger of undermining the pragmatic commonsense foundation of New Zealand’s democratic society.

Over the past few weeks: Government Ministers have claimed that one parent is better than two and that marriage and the nuclear family are no longer essential for social wellbeing. Maori academics have alleged that greedy pakeha [european settlers] are stealing life expectancy from Maori. The criminal prosecution of a sports event organiser has caused the widespread abandonment of Christmas parades, school trips and other planned events. Employers have expressed their anger that while they can now advertise for non-smokers for jobs, they still can’t advertise for the type of person they are really looking for.

Organisations have been warned that if they ask members to “bring a plate” for refreshment purposes, they could be violating health and safety regulations. Successful voluntary police diversion schemes, requiring young offenders to wear brightly coloured vests while doing community work sentences have been criticised by lawyers who claim they could be breaching their human rights. Naughty children are increasingly being diagnosed with behavioural disorders that need medication, rather than requiring firm parenting and clear behavioural guidelines. Bureaucrats have been advocating for taxpayer-funded sex for the disabled. Stricter, more expensive swimming pool water treatment regulations have led small schools to close their pools.

What is really worrying is that many of these bizarre examples of political correctness have already undermined the ‘Kiwi way’: schools closing their swimming pools and no longer teaching children to swim will add to the already unacceptably high number of drownings each year. Planned Christmas parades – as well as other popular, long-standing events that are part of our cultural heritage – are increasingly being cancelled through fear of criminal prosecution if anything goes wrong.

The Government’s promotion of family diversity – instead of traditional married unity – will inevitably lead to an increase in family breakdown, greater social dysfunction and the growing marginalisation of children. Successful police initiatives that involve publicly shaming offenders should be promoted, not criticised. Naughty children should be taught to behave and not given a disorder label and treated as ill, with schools advocating such commonsense being congratulated, not knocked.

Most people see this flood of political correctness as sheer madness. It represents the reluctant evolution of a democracy that has historically valued and championed the freedom of speech, commonsense and forthrightness, into a society where the PC police will rule and opponents will be silenced – if those pushing this politically correct agenda win through.

Political Correctness is, in fact, a dangerous ideology which originated in the 1920s in the Soviet Union. The communists used it as a means of gaining total political control through the capture of ideas and the manipulation of meanings. The official rationale was that they wanted to avoid offending people. They did this not only by restricting the use of offensive terms, but also by organising supporters to viciously attack anyone who ignored the rules. As a result, non-conformists were intimidated with hate labels: racist, sexist, bigots, rednecks or something equally offensive.

With its strong socialist roots, the Labour Government has zealously adopted political correctness as a central weapon of its political arsenal. That’s why there is now such an exhausting flood of PC changes: banning smoking, restricting gambling, advancing affirmative action, introducing preferential treatment for Maori, pandering to minority groups, pushing a feminist agenda, discriminating against fathers, promoting the grievance industry, letting criminals walk free, politically appointing Judges, protecting failing schools, disguising health waiting lists, scrapping the air force and pretending stealth taxes are not tax increases.

One of the results of this onslaught is a national loss of humour: we can no longer make jokes about blondes or baldies, race or religion – and even tall stories about “the Englishman, Irishman and the Scotsman” are now frowned upon. It is doubtful whether a Billy T James-type series would be acceptable to programme makers these days, and a Kiwi version of “The Kumars at Number 42” almost certainly wouldn’t get off the ground.

It is now even considered politically incorrect to talk about some of the more serious issues facing the country, such as the link between welfare and crime, between irresponsible adults and child abuse, and between dependency and Maori under-achievement. Any such discussions bring criticisms of racism, benefit bashing, being hard and uncaring, or other such derogatory labels.

Political correctness has been described as worse than a curse on society, but a cancer that spreads rapidly – eating away at established norms and values, restricting the freedom of speech and allowing unwelcome changes to take hold. Probably its most insidious aspect is the way in which PC infringes on citizens’ civil rights, imposing a blanket censorship on society. This is dangerous since plain speaking leads to clear thinking and a society in which clear thinking is denied is one that will find its future is being dangerously compromised.

As British orator, philosopher and politician Edmund Burke said, so long ago, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing”. If you too are worried about the political correctness onslaught and its detrimental effect on society and would like to fight back, then please pass this column onto others who may share your concern and ask them to contact me.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: actpartyofnz; murielnewman; newzealand; pc
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Muriel Newman is a Member of New Zealand's Parliament. She's with the ACT Party, which roughly equates to Libertarian crossed with Republican. It's as far to the right that you can vote in New Zealand.

Common sense flows from her pen and highlight the damage that a Marxist leaning government is doing.

1 posted on 11/26/2003 5:36:52 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: Brian Allen; blackie; The Iguana; mgstarr; wistful; 2sheep; concordKIWI; stanz; general_re; ...
FYI
2 posted on 11/26/2003 5:38:45 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: shaggy eel
Death to political correctness, and a thousand deaths to those who inflict it on any society!!!
3 posted on 11/26/2003 5:40:33 PM PST by Viking2002
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To: Viking2002
,,, good health and prosperity to you! BUMP
4 posted on 11/26/2003 5:41:29 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: Walkingfeather; Hot Tabasco
ping
5 posted on 11/26/2003 5:42:13 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: shaggy eel
Common sence flows from the barrel of a pen.

Anyway this bears repeating.

.....The way in which PC infringes on citizens’ civil rights, imposing a blanket censorship on society. This is dangerous since plain speaking leads to clear thinking and a society in which clear thinking is denied is one that will find its future is being dangerously compromised.

6 posted on 11/26/2003 5:43:27 PM PST by tet68
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To: shaggy eel
Political correctness has been described as worse than a curse on society, but a cancer that spreads rapidly – eating away at established norms and values, restricting the freedom of speech and allowing unwelcome changes to take hold.

I'm so sorry to hear that you are grappling with what threatens to destroy the very fiber of our great nation. The lefty-loonies are a cancer that is trying to consume every moral and every value that this country is based on.

New Zealand would be wise to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. Pretty soon you, too, could be doomed to seeing Teddy Kennedy's bloated face on your telly every evening while you try to eat your supper in peace!

7 posted on 11/26/2003 5:44:17 PM PST by dansangel (*PROUD to be a knuckle-dragging, toothless, inbred, right-wing, Southern, gun-toting Neanderthal *)
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To: tet68
,,, wouldn't you think seventy or so years of failure in the Soviet Union would have made it obvious? Words fail me.
8 posted on 11/26/2003 5:45:25 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: shaggy eel
bttt
9 posted on 11/26/2003 5:46:23 PM PST by farmfriend ( Isaiah 55:10,11)
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To: dansangel
,,, we're being told what to do by man hating matrons and their Parliamentary corridor dwelling vegetarian eunuchs. They want to protect us from ourselves and put us all in Chairperson Mao little grey suits.
10 posted on 11/26/2003 5:49:50 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: shaggy eel
They want to protect us from ourselves and put us all in Chairperson Mao little grey suits.

Yikes. Have the Democratic Party members moved to your country?? Sounds like Nancy Pelosi, Tiny Tommy Dashole and their ilk.

Seriously, I feel for you. No matter how well a country seems to be running, there are always going to be extremists around to try and muck it up. I just don't understand.

11 posted on 11/26/2003 5:54:10 PM PST by dansangel (*PROUD to be a knuckle-dragging, toothless, inbred, right-wing, Southern, gun-toting Neanderthal *)
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To: dansangel
,,, the whole agenda is worked out at socialist leader conferences and measures are implemented and reviewed regularly. They've got it down to a science. The right just wants to live a normal life and get along on a day to day basis, the left has to control people. Their fear of referendums proves that. This Labour government we have uses unionists to get heavy with anyone in the media who dabbles in the truth - very iron curtain.
12 posted on 11/26/2003 6:00:20 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: Terriergal
ping
13 posted on 11/26/2003 6:03:47 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: Piquaboy
ping
14 posted on 11/26/2003 6:04:17 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: shaggy eel
The right just wants to live a normal life and get along on a day to day basis, the left has to control people.

History repeats itself - and we allow it to happen over and over again.

very iron curtain

Precisely. Which is why anyone with half an ounce of sense would run screaming in the opposite direction. Instead, there are always those who will openly embrace such a dangerous ideology. And many sheeple that will happily be sucked into it.

Keep fighting it hard. Have rallies like we do here. Get an underground going. But fight it with everything that you have before it consumes you.

Got to sign off for tonight. Take care and keep me posted.

15 posted on 11/26/2003 6:09:47 PM PST by dansangel (*PROUD to be a knuckle-dragging, toothless, inbred, right-wing, Southern, gun-toting Neanderthal *)
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To: dansangel
,,, Happy Thanksgiving - enjoy your holiday!
16 posted on 11/26/2003 6:12:30 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: Willie Green
ping
17 posted on 11/26/2003 6:12:51 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: shaggy eel
I think that it's safe to say that what we're really seeing in the USA is a hard swing to the right, and it's because of the whole practice of Political Correctness. I'm not a big fan of George Bush or Rush Limbaugh, but I absolutely despise the Democratic Party, who, in their efforts to pander to any group that could possibly give them power, have become associated with this bizarre, convoluted way of politispeak. It's over. They've cut their own throats here in America and November 2004 will prove that. They have only themselves to blame. More than anything, I believe the American electorate (only people who vote actually matter, anyway, despite school kids getting the day off to bash Bush from time to time) will vote for anybody who can stand up there and call a spade a spade, with no apologies or footnotes.
18 posted on 11/26/2003 6:14:28 PM PST by hleewilder
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To: hleewilder
,,, I'm counting the days until we follow the US trend. It's absolutely wasting our country.
19 posted on 11/26/2003 6:17:18 PM PST by shaggy eel
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To: shaggy eel
If it isn't out of season: Enjoy the upcoming days of enhanced leisure.
20 posted on 11/26/2003 6:35:15 PM PST by Old Professer
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