Few things amuse Harrogate more than the hyperbole with which some people discuss "political correctness," a label ascribed by the corporate media to a movement of sorts that originated at a collegiate level and proceeded to seep into the community at large. Though contaminated by this media treatment, much if the spirit survived enough to impact community discourses in a positive way. But, to address the hyperbole:
Harrogate was in the university system at UNC-Chapel Hill in the late 80s and early 90s, right around the time when the "movement" started, and he remains still in that system, in Texas, today. In between he spent many years working for wages.
In all that time he has never heard anyone, in earnest, replace "fat" with "horizontally challenged" or "short" with "vertically challenged" or any other such drivel.
And he'd stake Tom Cruise's sonogram machine that none of you has ever heard it used in earnest either. What he has often heard is people who don't know any better, usually people who vote Republican, try to suggest that "liberals" really use such ridiculous language.
The thing, for Harrogate anyway, was always about recognizing the destructive power of labels, of words. Words like "retarded" rightfully came under fire, words delineating race were rightfully pointed out to be potentially super-charged weapons. Like Faux News's "War on Christmas," that host of people who want us all to start saying things like "horizaontally challenged" is a myth of which citizens need not be afraid, and towards which their indignation is utterly wasted. It's like being angry at Santa Claus.
So there are a few towns scattered here and there who call their public tree a holiday tree and there's maybe a single one-millionth of a percent of the population in this country who outright condemn the words "Merry Christmas," and Faux News has us all deeply offended,to the point that we call this war?
Wow.
Harrogate has news for the people. The news is neither Fair nor Balanced. It is simply true news. Here it comes:
Nearly all who are not Christians in America either A)Celebrate Christmas anyway or; B)Don't.
In no case do nonChristian Americans care what others are celebrating or not celebrating, they have other worries altogether. But Harrogate finds it interesting, every winter, all this obesssing over public display, all these Americans fancying themselves as persecuted because their religion is not written in broad crayon overtopp every public edifice and on and on.
Roy Moore you are indeed representative of a real phenom. But to Harrogate you and your admirers smack, more than anything else, of insecurity, of profound discomfort at the idea that others just don't give a damn about your personal religion, one way or the other.
No comments:
Post a Comment