The Right Way

On September 6th, bestselling novelist and all around cool-guy Peter David (Sir Apropos of Nothing, Tiger Heart, and much more) posted an article to his blog that everyone should read, whether or not you like genre fiction. Technically, he first wrote the article nearly twenty years ago for his But I Digress section in the Comic Book Buyer's Guide. But don't avoid it just because you don't read comics. It says something of supreme importance that everyone in America today needs to hear. It says, paraphrased "Political Correctness does more harm than good." My reasoning is somewhat different, but I have to agree with David for two reasons.

First, "politically correct" labels still serve to reinforce a mentality of "us and them." Or worse, ocassionally "us vs. them." Example, a black man whose family has lived in this country for three hundred years is African American. I'm Italian, my familiy has lived here for about 75. Nobody has ever once referred to me as Italian American. I'd have to go out of my way to get that. Wear a cross, slick back my hair. Wear a T-Shirt that says Italian Stallion on it. It would be a concious choice rather than something I was all but forced into based purely on race. And let's be clear, while there is a distinct sub-culture which can be broadly reffered to as being "African American" it is unquestionably an AMERICAN sub-culture. American as apple pie. Unless you're going to try and convince me that rap and soul music, basketball and fried chicken were all born on the plains of the serengeti or something. Note, if you do make that argument, know that the only reason I won't be hunting you down is because I'm opposed to systematic violence. Even when the target was totally asking for it. Why is it that white America is just America and everyone else is African American, Asian American, Latino American, or whatever else? Think for a moment about how that fragments our culture. It makes a pocket society which is considered wholly distinct from "real" America, which, to me at least, means the end product of politically correct thought is the opposite of its intention.

This leads to problem number two, a refusal to acknowledge or attempt to understand the differences between people. Give you an example- "Chinese people eat dog." My goodness. How many people would shush me for saying it? Get angry or indignant? Even say it's a vicious lie and no one does it anymore? Well, here's the thing, kiddies. I was an Asian Studies major as an undergrad. I studied in China for more than four months. I ate dog while there. It's true. Why should it be taboo? It can only be because we make the generalization that eating dog is inherently bad. That it is simply the wrong thing to do. Disgusting. Savage. But it isn't. Heck, check this out . The gist of it is that pigs are smarter than dogs, cleaner than dogs, friendly, and actually make excellent pets. I see only a handful of people protesting the idea of eating pork, though a fair number who claim the way they're raised and/or slaughtered is a problem. By and large, America has no problem eating bacon. Or ham and cheese sandwhiches. Pork is my favorite meat. Why is it okay to eat pigs but not dogs? Especially given China's agriculture which is generally either too wet or too dry to raise grazing animals (such as sheep and cow) or animals which must be feed enormous quantities of grain (such as pig). They eat what they have. And being politically correct often amounts to covering that up. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt that they are- or are trying to be- just like you. Maybe they aren't just like you. And maybe they're okay with that. Thinking otherwise is ego-centric, ignorant, and ultimately, counterproductive.

As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Being honest is tough, but I'm a lot more comfortable with honesty than a house made of cards. If "politically correct thought" is what passes for diversity and understanding in America, I think we may have forgotten who we are.