Chronicle: Political Correctness Has Run Amok... on the Right

Chronicle

Excerpt (more in the link):

Free speech is dying on the American campus — or so we’ve been told. The culprit is left-wing political correctness.

But this narrative doesn’t pass scrutiny. Given the media attention that left-wing PC attracts, our conversations are driven largely by confirmation bias. We seek out the most scandalous examples of left-wing campus radicalism — Berkeley, Oberlin, Reed, Yale — and then ask people to react.

This focus on the left obscures the same PC tendencies on the right. Far less media attention is devoted to incidents involving conservative "censors," as when Catholic University’s seminary disinvited the Rev. James Martin, a Catholic priest in good standing, because it had come under fire from right-wing sites that disagreed with his pro-LGBT views. (The university itself did not endorse the seminary’s decision.) Or when Trump supporters at Whittier College shouted down a talk by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat. Or when Newman University canceled a talk by a justice of the Kansas Supreme Court out of concern for students' safety due to an "unsettling" social-media campaign by anti-abortion activists.

We’ve been operating for too long with a double standard when it comes to political correctness. We’re quick to diminish left-wing concerns as fragile students taking offense, or to frame worries about campus safety in the face of incendiary speech as PC censorship when the alleged censors are from the left.

But when conservatives limit left-leaning speech, we’re spared the handwringing about campus echo chambers, "crybully" students, and the end of free expression.

Take a recent incident at Liberty University. An evangelical pastor who was critical of President Jerry Falwell Jr.’s support for the Trump administration was removed from campus and threatened with arrest if he returned. When Falwell was asked about the situation, he replied, "If we allowed him to come on campus and protest uninvited, then the next group that comes in might be a violent group, and we’ve seen recently what that can lead to," alluding to violent white-supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Va.

That justification is barely distinguishable from how a cautious university administrator might explain removal of a controversial right-wing speaker. But because high-profile opportunists like Richard Spencer, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Ann Coulter are right-wing figures hunting for disinvitations from the left, we form our impressions about what constitutes political correctness based on complaints from the right.

It's been said before so many times, but even then I still don't think it's been said enough. The "anti-PC" right need to stop acting like they're the Saints while the "SJW" left are the hellspawn, when in reality, it's really just a war on who's the most "politically correct." And the right definitely showed it last year.

I have been attacked more often for views I hold that are similar to a 'PC' stance then I have ever been attacked for the inverse.

One time I just mentioned something like 'I dont get all this attraction to tools that are designed specifically to kill'

oh my god I never heard the end of it, it was like I killed someones child. i had to leave the room.

@tryit: yeah, I'm not a big fan of political correctness, but the right is definitely the most emotional, sensitive, and prone to outburst side of the conflict. I think acting tough when you're weak and putting up a nationalist front really puts strain on a person.

I think people also overreact to the left and are quick to label: if you support cannabis legalization, you're a hippie; if you want tighter restrictions on guns, you're an eater of babies; if you think persecution of immigrants legal or illegal is a bit extreme, you're a bleeding heart; if you want the government to take care of its people with healthcare, you're a communist. The left does the same: if you believe in gun ownership, you support school shootings; if you are against illegal immigration, you're a bigot; if you think cops need more support, you hate minorities; and so on.

People would rather label you the antithesis of what they stand for than listen for 30 seconds and go "Hmmm, I don't agree with you, but you're not an extremists like I thought".

Yeah the religious right has always been the one big on controlling folks, that is why lots of folks sided with the left. The sudden spike in dislike for the left among the young is their sudden interest in being as controlling as the religious right wished to be.

Combine this with the fact that religion is dying, and no one cares that the religious right is as bad as as the social left. In a world where The Pope has less pull then most bloggers, the religious right is too irrelevant to worry about. The fact that the social left is actively trying to fill that void is what is sparking the backlash. Well that and the hypocrisy.

there is some grade A bullshit here.

the young do not have a higher interest in the right as a whole and there is no way in hell on earth the left is anywhere remotely as bad as the right, by pretty much any standard of obvious sanity

Didn't claim the young have higher interest in the right as a whole. Said dislike for the left has spiked among the young, which it has. Back in the day the young only cared about liberal politicians when they went after their media.

Oh holy crap I just realized modern youth still only care about the left when they go after their media. That is actually surprisingly comforting.

gotcha my bad.

I agree its increased against the 'traditional left'

Never been a fan of shouting down any viewpoint. Free speech must be protected. People should always have a right to express an opinion - even if its one i disagree with.

Those on the Right simply believe they hold exclusive license and a monopoly on calling out political correctness because they voted for someone who lacks a single shred of decency and acts like a horse's ass. They believe just because they voted for that horse's ass, that places them in the right and above reproach about political correctness.

Could not agree more.

The right wing sect are made up of the most triggered people of all time. The problem is that they try to mask it, but it comes through. They always talk about Freedom of Speech and down with PC culture, yet they're the most strict people to please and prone to outburst. The problem is that they don't want Freedom of Speech for everyone, they just want to go back to saying racism and other problematic things without people reacting. I remember going to a mostly white school that had a majority Republican population. They wanted to be able to say offensive things without us reacting. It was even more disturbing since they listened to black music and sometimes spoke in AAVE.

I don't agree with everything on the left. Heck the majority of Liberals aren't even that extreme. I just support most of their ideas. I'm in the middle for some things as well. I'm against illegal immigration, but I don't think an expensive wall is the answer. I support gun ownership since it'll screw over black people who won't be able to defend themselves.

Meh, I'll shut it down. That's the thing that I agree with the hardcore leftists about. I actually wish some of the Liberals were a lot harsher. I'm tired of coddling Republicans and hardcore right wingers who stomp all over us anyway. Screw their feelings, because they don't even care about our lives.

Though I respect hardcore leftists because they're honest about it. They don't shout Free Speech while shutting down other people's opinions. I also don't think we have Free Speech anyway, so there's that. Ironically, Capitalism negates Freedom of Speech. "Yeah my boss is an incompetent asshole, but I can't tell him that or I'll be fired/punished."

Yes what a wonderful idea. If the right gets the power to legislate what you can and can not say you will be imprisoned for insulting employers instead of merely being asked to leave the building. What an improvement.

If we ever do get rid of the First Amendment, I hope the first people locked up are those who pushed for the end of it's protection.

You're already punished for it. Do you think a boss is going to take kindly to you insulting them? If you're honest with your clients like that, do you think the company will keep you around. Part of customer service is lying to the customer. Customer is always right, even when they're wrong since they got the cash. That's Capitalism right there.

That would be EVERYONE. No one wants absolute Freedom of Speech. Freedom of Speech was originally so you can criticize the government and people in politics without being thrown it jail. Now the companies that hire you, speak at your own risk. That's why I like leftists (hardcore Liberals); they don't pretend we have absolute Freedom of Speech. They'll shut your opinion down and not care. Compare that to Republicans and hardcore right wingers. They'll talk about Freedom of Speech when you call them out for being a racist, yet shut down any opinions from the other side.

In one cause you are asked to leave the building by the person you are asking to pay you for your labor. Once you are off their property you can call them racist as loudly as you want to.

In the other case you are imprisoned, and attempting to resist means you are shot.

That is the difference the first amendment makes. If you look around and see a lot of issues with the status quo, you should treasure it. Anyone who doesn't is either a doof, or has a lot of money behind them.

The left is so politically correct that new languages have been developed to keep from saying words that would imply a persons gender. In the state of Washington you can now specify X as a gender. I think this topic is to now justify the lefts stupidity.

The right is more emotinally sensitive? Lmao i cant believe im hearing this. The left has been crying for the past year because of Trump. How many protest happened when Obama was elected? This isn't remotely close and unlike the left the right doesn't have 80% of the mainstream media and multiple multi billion dollar companys behind them.

@JimB: @loganx77: Well, you two proved the point being made. Good job.

The point being made was about comparing tendencies of political correctness, or at least it was worded that way seeing how literally not a single one of the examples brought in that excerpt had anything to do with political correctness.

On top of missing the point of your own post, with this comment you also failed to make a comparison as you singled out two examples on the right.

I'd say you shot yourself in the foot but I wouldn't want to hurt anyone who gets #TRIGGERED by the mention of gunfire.

@nintendoboy16: Is this the new comback from the left? Just tell people they are acting like right wing SJWs? Will this eventually replace just calling people racist?

Look im just being honest. Im not triggered or offended in any way. Honestly i never have been. For me its about fighting back against a loud group of sactamonius morons who never shut up and go out of their way to ruin everything. At the end of the day you have to ask yourself. Who goes on college campuses in mass numbers to stop people from speaking? Who started safe spaces? Who rioted in mass numbers when someone became President? Who repeates the same Rhetoric over and over again? Who calls everybody a Nazi when they disagree with them? Everbody knows the left is a bunch of crybabies. Its the reason why someone as ridiculous as Donald Trump won in the first place. Its best to acknowledge this improve yourself and move on. But if you continue to deny even that, the progressive left will continue to receive massive backlash.

@nintendoboy16: So two wrongs make a right?

No one can deny that the far-left is trying to limit free speech and even some moderate lefts are going the same way.

So what if the Right does it? maybe sweep your own side before you start on the other side.

so that is your justification for limiting free speech?

the problem with pointing out hypocrisy is that indirectly you end up supporting the very thing being discussed unless you speak on it. You very literally bring DOWN your position to that of your opponent instead of rising about it.

think about that

in other words saying 'yeah but liberals do it' is taking a subordinate position. you are allowing a liberal position to dictate the moral position

Really? Because the two posters got as defensive as the "leftists" they attack when they voice their views. Ironic, because they called the "right" the "champions of free speech", which, like with the "leftists" they criticize for being "the tyrants" is hardly the case. Sounds "PC" (by that particular definition they use) to me.

It's not just a "leftist" comeback. It's the word that admittedly both sides abuse: FACT!

How the hell can you say the "right" don't have any "SJW's" when they've shown time and time again that they practice every damn thing the "left" is blasted for? "Fighting back against a loud group of sactamonius morons who never shut up and go out of their way to ruin everything?" For what, so you can replace it with another group of "loud sanctimonious morons who ruin everything" on another side? Like with shit so petty as movies (Star Wars, Wonder Woman, the latter being very ironic), video games (Wolfenstein II, Far Cry 5), and comedians (Stephen Colbert, which you brushed off the last time I brought this up)? To something MUCH more serious (Charlottesville, which last I checked had MUCH worse results than Milo or Ann Couter not being able to speak at freaking colleges as somebody on the left was killed, again, you brushed that off last we spoke)?

"Who started safe spaces?" And the right don't have their "safe spaces?"

"Who calls everybody a Nazi when they disagree with them?" Again, the "right" did this with feminists. Remember Anita Sarkeesian? As much as I'm not fond of her either, she was repeatedly insulted AND threatened by "anti-SJW" folks for being a fusion of feminism and a Nazi (which makes NO sense).

"The right" have shown they have their crybabies as much as the "leftists" they hate, perhaps more as they voted one to the White House and support another working to take out Net Neutrality because "Obama did it". It's sad that one of the reasons Trump won is because the "left" strongly support something like gay marriage, equal human rights, etc. So, to improve myself, as a self admitted liberal, I have to be a complete a**hole and kiss Trump's ass and agree with all the damage control his pundits proudly do?

Funny, you call me out on that, because you've done and supported moves that do just what you're bashing me for.

Hey remember when liberals lost their shit because star bucks had a red coffee cup that said happy holidays on it? Or when they smashed in their coffee machines because they wouldn’t advertise on Hannity’s show?

Me neither.

yeah most of that is manufactured by the right wing. Most people both left or right dont remotely give a shit about 'war on xmas'

case in point, the guy who sued a town over christmas.....yeah that was in Canada, he lost, and it was ages ago.

@nintendoboy16: WTF are you talking about?

@nintendoboy16: Your so far gone its hard to even have a conversation with you. But this is typical with those on the left. Yes i will gladly fight for shit so petty as movies. Why? Because if you don't they will lterally ruin everything. I don't need an education on diversity and girl power everytime i play videogames and watch a movie. Thats what most people on the right fight for. Their simply tired of it being forced fed. The new Star Wars for an example is objectively a bad movie. Most fans agree with this but critics absolutely love it. Why? Because everytime it pushes the same agenda its OMG 10/10 best movie ever. And Wonder woman? I see the left complaining more about it then the right due to its objectification of woman and too few woman of color. Lmao.. they couldn't even enjoy a movie made for them.

Now you mention Charlotsville? You blame that soley on the right? Lmao really? It was a group of radical right wing groups going to speak on campus and they were met by radical leftist and someone died.... imagine that. If only leftist weren't so stupid they would realize the worst thing they could have done to them is ignore them. Imagine a few hundred people marching on campus and nobody paying attention to them. They would have felt like morons but instead a bunch of left wing morons wanted to go look for trouble with ( actual racist) and they ended up dying. Thats the problem with the left. They view everyone on the right as the people at the Charlotsville protest and that couldn't be further from the truth. Most are just oridinary people that are sick and tired of hearing how bad white men suck. How we need to be completely replaced from political power to popular culture. And i dismiss Steven Cobert because a small petition by a few people pails in comparison to what the left bitches about like.. demanding a black or female james bond, wishing for a mainstream gay relstionship in starwars, insisting every lead in pretty much every movie or video game be anything but a straight white man. Lower the score of TW3 beause it didn't have more people of color. Insist Thor ( a movie about vikings) have less white people yet celebrate Black Panther because its all black. Sign a petition because a clothing line advertised a shirt with a cartoon monkey on a black child. Make up gender pronouns and demand it be labeled a hate crime if one doesn't comply. Its double standard surrounded by hypocracy. It goes on and on with the left and never stops. And you wan't to know the most important difference between the two? The left has about 80% of the mainstream media behind them and most of the worlds most powerful companies.

So no I don't think you should kiss Donald Trumps ass. I do think you should sit back and consider how someone like him won in the first place. And for me and just about everyone i know that voted for him. Its because the left never STFU! They just keep going constantly trying to educate people on how things should be. From movies, TV, videogames, music to even the news. And the people on the right finally got tired of it.

@loganx77: That was the greatest wall of irony I've read in a while. 10/10.

The best part was when you paired your complaints about the content of movies with your closing, "Its because the left never STFU! They just keep going constantly trying to educate people on how things should be. From movies, TV, videogames, music to even the news. And the people on the right finally got tired of it."

@mattbbpl: If you can't see the difference i dont know how to help you. I don't think movies, games news etc should be presented in a way that trys to express an agenda. They should be for entertainment. The left doesn't feel that way and its become blatantly obvious. They can't create anything without an obvious message.

Yup, just look at @Jacanuk. He gets so triggered at polling threads or objectively showing how a Trump tweet was false.

@loganx77: Hmmm ironically you're right wing and crying the loudest. Need a safe space?

@loganx77: You're right, art should be devoid of themes. Think about how the world would have been altered if Dickens had themes of poverty and wealth in A Christmas Carol. What if The Scarlet Letter provided a hard look at the ethics of Puritan life or (gasp!) To Kill a Mockingbird criticized race relations?

The world would forever be robbed of the majesty of those works if they'd tried to convey a message.

@mattbbpl: I swear, it's like talking to a brick wall.

@nintendoboy16: "I like my art like I like my oatmeal. Bland, tasteless, and easy to digest!"

Identitarians annoy the crap out of me.

Focus on something else, will ya.

@mattbbpl: It doesn't have to be devoid of themes but it would be nice to mix things up. Come up with an original concept. Nothing today is original its just blatant pandering. Are you actually moved by any of the crap today put out in hollywood?

@LJS9502_basic: No thats your kind. Learn the difference between debating and crying it will help you in life.

@loganx77: "Nothing today is original its just blatant pandering. Are you actually moved by any of the crap today put out in hollywood?"

You're not exactly helping to dispel your old man yelling at clouds image. But yes, there have been several movies/books in the modern era that have struck a chord with me.

@mattbbpl: Its better then a Soy boy sitting in his moms basement inspired by the new Star Wars.

Wait a second. Are you a geek old enough to remember a time before 2007? If so, the irony of calling someone a sissy basement dweller because they like star wars should kind of bring that old Nietzsche quote to mind.

How does it go? He who fights drummers should see to it that in the process he does not himself become a drummer. Or was it monsters..?

Oh I know the difference and I also know you aren't one that can debate. So there is no point. I also see your tears. But thanks for asking.

@LJS9502_basic: Funny because I imagine you droping tears on your keybored with your Clinch fist as you type that.. lmao! I know you are but what am I. Its the typical responce from left wing maniacs. You are not capable of an original thought. You argue with Rhetoric and slogans.

@loganx77: have you ever said anything original?

You can't accuse someone doing "I know you are but what am i" when just a few posts ago you said "No thats your kind" and your super witty comeback was to accuse him of crying, which is exactly what he accused you of.

You're a stereotype. There is nothing unique or original about you.

@kittennose: lets see.. 2007 that would be the prequel era? After revenge of the Sith? I was in early 20s. The acting was so bad in those movies it was hard to be inspired by anything from it. Good light sabre duels and a cool premise but in no way did it pander to anyone. At know point was i inspired by it.

@toast_burner: Except before he even posted i already stated exactly what his argument would be. " Call people on the right whiny right wing SJWS" he even asked if i need a safe space LOL.. ironic don't you think? Your type created those things. They demand them regularly..He did exactly as predicted.

@loganx77: you're doing it again. Saying no you (in this case no him) does not make up for how dumb, hypocritical and predictable what you've said is.

@toast_burner: Its not hypocritical at all.

I predicted his argument called it before he even responded to me. Hes a mindless Zombie just like you.

You imagine wrong. I feel sorry for people that are blinded by politicians and make excuses for them. Sad indeed.