I Am Getting Old - Part Seven
I know that I am getting old because I am more opinionated than I have ever been. I have been contemplating a question and I have never found the answer. The question is “Who is they?’. I am guilty of saying, they said or as they use to say. If a person asked me to prove my statement by telling them who they is, I could never answer. This is not a burning issue for me but comes to mind every time I hear or use the words, they said.
Politically incorrect is another term that makes me cringe when I hear it used. I use it in some of my writing, not because I like the term but it got the point across that I was making in jest. I searched the Web and this link gives a good definition and examples of political correctness. Wikipedia - Political Correctness
I must admit that I use politically incorrect words. Many times, I speak before I think about the words that I am going to say. It is not by intention, but a lack of thought on my part. The most recent example I can think of is using waitress rather than server. (As I typed the last sentence, the word waitress was highlighted. When I checked to see what was wrong with the entry, the options I had to use in its place were server or waiter. Waiter should not have been an option since it typically denotes a male waitperson.)
I understand the reasoning behind the term. I believe it is used to extremes in this day and time. I think the reason I personally have a difficult time with this is that I was not raised using politically correct words. My parents were not dumb nor do I remember any prejudices they might have had. Their parents raised them as mine did me and those “politically correct” words were not part of our vocabulary.
I did learn something today. I did not know this term was born in the 1900’s. Pardon my ignorance; I thought it was a term coined in the last 10 years or so. I also learned there are more opinionated people than I thought, not just me. Just goes to show you, I may not be getting that old.
Now I will climb down from my soapbox and move on to other things. See you in Part Eight.
Politically incorrect is another term that makes me cringe when I hear it used. I use it in some of my writing, not because I like the term but it got the point across that I was making in jest. I searched the Web and this link gives a good definition and examples of political correctness. Wikipedia - Political Correctness
I must admit that I use politically incorrect words. Many times, I speak before I think about the words that I am going to say. It is not by intention, but a lack of thought on my part. The most recent example I can think of is using waitress rather than server. (As I typed the last sentence, the word waitress was highlighted. When I checked to see what was wrong with the entry, the options I had to use in its place were server or waiter. Waiter should not have been an option since it typically denotes a male waitperson.)
I understand the reasoning behind the term. I believe it is used to extremes in this day and time. I think the reason I personally have a difficult time with this is that I was not raised using politically correct words. My parents were not dumb nor do I remember any prejudices they might have had. Their parents raised them as mine did me and those “politically correct” words were not part of our vocabulary.
I did learn something today. I did not know this term was born in the 1900’s. Pardon my ignorance; I thought it was a term coined in the last 10 years or so. I also learned there are more opinionated people than I thought, not just me. Just goes to show you, I may not be getting that old.
Now I will climb down from my soapbox and move on to other things. See you in Part Eight.
3 comments:
I'm sorry, Slyvia. I must be getting old too. I thought you were someone whose image or banner I'm using on my blog. I got a bit of trouble with NA, for using their banner - so much for spreading the message.
Hold on, Sylvia. Your blog is better than mine and a better writer than me.
Thank you for the link.
I'm ancient then.....I have never called anyone a server? It's either a waiter or waitress to me! All this pc stuff gets me down...I mean we managed without for thousands of years! There are so many "isms" now too. Probably just by saying "I'm ancient" I could be accussed of some sort of ism. It surprises me that the term was used in the 1900's.....maybe they were too pc to use it then!
To close please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral evening.
I found you through Inmatz Wife's site and read down through several of your posts - which I found very interesting. Seems like you and I share the same thoughts on many things but especially on who "They" might be!
About 20 years back, when I was applying for a loan through FHA, I was having problems qualifying because of this or that requirement/rule/regulation and when I questioned the logic of some of them, the clerk I was dealing with said "Well, they determined this." Ok, I asked, who are "they" anyway? And after much badgering, he said "they" in this instance were honchos in Washington who decided these regulations were what they are today. I wanted to know what office to contact to tell them that "THEY" are a bunch of freaking idiots! I still want to know what office it is that sets up these guidelines the rest of us must follow, how "they" determine what is right, what is fair, etc, ya know! So if you ever find out who "they" are, please let me know!
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