Fwd: "politically correct"

[Fred Shapiro]

On Wed, 9 Aug 2006, Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:

>> Is anyone at the Language Log (or anyone else you know) interested in
>> the evolution of the term "politically correct"?  I stumbled across a
>> use that fascinated me, as it seems to have come full circle.  It's
>> about the Mel Gibson thing, and being PC is equated to *not* speaking
>> out against his anti-semitism:

I don't think there is anything too surprising about this. "Politically
correct" typically refers to leftist orthodoxies that are very concerned
with multiculturalism, feminism, environmentalism, and a number of other
-isms, but not usually that concerned with anti-Semitism.  For various
reasons, anti-anti-Semitism is not particularly hip in leftist circles.
I say this not out of any political or ethnic agenda on my part -- my own
instincts are kind of intermediate between p.c. leftism and skepticism
of same -- but as a straightforward description of political realities.

Fred Shapiro


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