Let's have a common sense party please!

I nominated someone for the Common Sense Party and was told I had no manners and was rude and antagonistic. Not sure why; I thought it was a compliment.

I don't understand why people have to be labelled by their colour or ethnicity in the first place in the media? Why not a just a person?

Sounds painful Greymar ?

No Greymar, but I've had to correct people who seem to think it's perfectly fine to use outdated, offensive terms. If in doubt, just don't!

Sparkling, I'm all for common sense, but whose version is deemed acceptable? If unsure how to 'refer to groups of people', perhaps remain silent. People don't need to be categorised anyway.

Has anybody direct experience of being jumped on by a woke person?

GagaJo it's not just the bigots who storm in like bulls in a china shop, but many who consider themselves especially "woke" They can jump on people who are not remotely bigoted in their actions but who don't have "woke" acceptable vocabulary.

My understanding of why describing someone as ‘coloured’ can give offence is because it assumes ‘white’ to be the default and suggests pollution of that ‘norm’. Also, it was used as a legal category in South Africa - one which denied people in the category legal rights - and still has those connotations, along with others from the US before civil rights changes.

If we all just took the perspective of being sympathetic and open to any variation of humanity, life would be much nicer. And then no one would need to 'walk on eggshells'.

Not that I've noticed any egg shell walking on GN. The bigots storm in like bulls in china shops.

As I said earlier in the thread, just treat people as people.

They may be kind, helpful, rude, overbearing or gentle. They are all just people.

Actually callistemon, it has been discovered that the market is not where the Corona virus originated. It is thought to have come from a scientific lab.

Throws out at least one of the borderline offensive arguments/perspectives.

I think the tone and content of some of the replies to my post explains what I meant. Father Christmas, Big Ears in Noddy books, reading things into something quite innocent. No one unless they are warped seeks to cause offence, there isn't a hidden agenda to see the worst in people. I dont know how to refer to certain groups of people as I dont wish to cause offence, but the terminology changes so its best to just keep quiet.

I must confess that I have not read all the comments. My stance is similar to Lemongrove and others who agree with her.

I feel we are so politically correct that it is like walking on eggshells so we don’t offend anyone.

I used to teach a lot of Asian women and made some lovely friends and was never accused of being racist, other than by one of my Line Managers.

Now this is where I might be deleted by HQ for the first time.
Some of you have asked for examples so here goes.

My Line Manager said ‘Do not offer your students black or white coffee say with or without milk’. What a load of co**lers.

I totally disagree with Margaret Court with her comments about the LGBT community, but her religion has a different view and although her comments are abhorrent to me, I think she should be able to voice them.

I wonder who makes the decision on what comments are deemed as racist. There are many phrases with the word black in them, such as ‘black mood’. Are words with white in them identified as racist such as ‘white as a sheet’ I suspect not.

I rest my case.

Well they can tell us what we can't say but they can't tell us what to think. We can still have opinions, just keep them to ourselves.

If you don’t think your opinions are fit to say it loud, what makes you think they are kind opinions?

Well, as China has acknowledged that the disease began in one of its wet markets anyone who thinks your statement was racist is being over-sensitive on behalf of Chinese people M0nica!

M0nica
Me too. It's wrong, illogical and immoral.
But how can we change it?

We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak. (Epictetus. 55 AD)

Thank you Grammaretto, I always thought that was one of my MIL's personal sayings, I didn't realise it was ancient. Mind you, she never heeded her own advice

The world is totally overcrowded with “isms”

Sara it is getting so subtle that even stating facts get labelled racist.

The problem is that people are so sensitive that they see isms where none existed. I mentioned that these epidemic corona/flu epidemics seem always to start in China, which is a fact and I was accused of racism. That I made mention of other countries being the source of other types of disease was ignored.

I've just seen the film/movie: The personal history of David Copperfield.

At first I was surprised that the lead actor was of Indian descent and then quickly became so totally absorbed that it did not matter at all what colour the actors were. It is an excellent and funny film and I suppose it challenges stereotypes.

A good "point of view" the other day on Radio4, on how we can't seem to have a proper debate anymore.
The purpose of debate is to arrive at a truth. We seldom do but we try and that's what matters. In defence of free speech:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06j6byb

A common sense party, in my view would be somewhere where we could listen to each other and not wait to wrong foot the opposition before plunging the proverbial knife in.

We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak. (Epictetus. 55 AD)

I agree POGS I tried to make that point in my last post to some extent but I think you’ve expressed it better. It’s a shame

Your post is ridiculous vegan as well as rude.

I am not trying to belittle anyone, just pointing out the ridiculousness of semantics.

I am that I am not allowed to say that LF is a privileged white man but, on another thread, a poster who is apparently very PC and 'woke' according the rules, calls him a privileged white male.

I am failing to understand the subtle difference, why one is wrong and one is not.

Suziedwoozie

I find an irony in your ' having a go' at the OP and some posts.

Eaier you raised the wording in the OP and challenged it:-

We can't have a thought of our own, without being accused of something. Who are these people telling us what we must think or act. Everyone is getting cheesed of with it, getting like big brother

In everyday life we all have a responsibility to be aware of social norms and mores , and how they change: that language plays a role in how these are expressed and understood and that language moves on and words change and develop their meaning.

The OP is hyperbolic nonsense - what has she been stopped from thinking or doing?
--

Your posts being deleted by GN shows first hand what the OP was trying to say and now you have experience of what the OP was trying to say but ironically you challenged her point.

Unless I am getting confused that is Irony on display.

Unless

You should aim to cause as least offence as possible and are aware that what is acceptable can change over time. I don't think a jumper can take offence , Calistemon. so I wouldn't worry about calling it blue. You are trying to belittle the efforts of those who try to be sensitive to others.

James Bond is not a real person
If he was he'd be about 104 by now.

He would definitely need that stuntman.

I understand your point Sarah but it makes it difficult to discuss what people can’t say if they’re not allowed to say what they believe they are not allowed to say iyswim. It would have been grown up if whoever disagreed with my use of examples had actually posted that. I accept I got it wrong.