In 1966, Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California on a promise to clean up the mess at Berkeley, which he described as a haven for communist sympathizers, protesters, and sex deviants. Reagan got the schools president fired, attempted to cut the educational budget, and, in 1969, ordered an armed confrontation with student demonstrators who were protesting the war. Officers opened fire with shotguns and tear gas. One student, a bystander, was killed. Another was permanently blinded, and 32 were hospitalized with severe injuries.

On May 1, 1970, President Richard Nixon told an audience at the Pentagon: You see these bums, you know, blowing up the campuses. Listen, the boys that are on the college campuses today are the luckiest people in the world, going to the greatest universities, and here they are burning up the books, storming around about [the Vietnam War]. Three days later, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on student protesters at Kent State University, leaving four students dead and nine wounded. On May 15, local police killed two black students and left twelve more wounded during a demonstration at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.

Somehow, despite decades worth of counterexamples, the American mainstream remains convinced that campus activists represent a unique threat to public safety and civil discourse. For the last two years in particular, Americas worst opinion columnists have been echoing the hippie-punching sadism of 1960s politicians.

In April, New Yorks Jonathan Chait called for forceful opposition to illiberal student demonstrators. The Atlantics Conor Friedersdorf has written dozens of columns about the dangers of political correctness on campus, like students signing petitions or people being mean to racists on Facebook. In May, Bret Stephens wrote in the New York Times that students with traditional religious values or conservative political views now feel decidedly unsafe about expressing their views on campus.

Friday night, hundreds of torch-bearing neo-Nazi protesters, presumably not feeling decidedly unsafe, marched through the University of Virginias Charlottesville campus. They chanted traditional religious values like Fuck you faggots! Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke joined them to deliver conservative political views: We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. Thats what we believed in. Thats why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said hes going to take our country back, he said. The local police did virtually nothing to stop them, even as they threw rocks and maced counterprotesters. Finally, one of the neo-Nazis rammed his car several times into a mass of counterprotesters holding anti-fascist, worker solidarity, and Black Lives Matter signs, leaving one dead and 19 seriously injured.

Despite having his name explicitly invoked by a neo-Nazi leader during the unrest, Donald Trump opted to remain neutral, calling it an egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. He downplayed the effect his administrations race-baiting has had on white nationalists: It has been going on for a long time in our country not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. It has been going on for a long, long time.

Trumps comment about violence on many sides is part of a larger pattern of commentators ignoring the massive power differential between young left-wing activists and their adversaries. Even as neo-Nazis welcomed the election of their favored candidate, and as hate crimes spiked, too many journalists attempted to maintain neutrality. So far, the only demonstrator to actually murder someone on a college campus has been a member of the alt-right, 20-year-old James Alex Fields. But, for years now, the commentariat has lambasted students for trying to repel speakers who pander directly to Fields demographic because student protesters censored far-right ideologues, they were made equal to the fans of those far-right ideologues, who actually kill people.

Student activists prevented statutory rape advocate and alt-right leader Milo Yiannopoulos from directly targeting undocumented and transgender students. They prevented Charles Murray, the most prominent American race scientist since Madison Grant, from speaking at Middlebury College. They prevented Ann Coulter from giving a talk at Berkeley that very likely would have resembled the statement David Duke delivered at UVA. For this, they earned the bottomless ire of the media. Even the day of the murder in Charlottesville, The Atlantics Peter Beinart published an egregiously ill-timed article titled The Rise of the Violent Left.

For the commentators cocooned in Westchester County and the DC suburbs, ideology is a harmless hobby. But true ideology is not a thought experiment. The ideology put forth by alt-right firebrands like Yiannopoulos inspires action, and that action often leads to hate crimes. The audience expected to attend presentations by Yiannopoulos and Coulter is the same crowd that just marched through the UVA campus carrying torches and giving the Sieg Heil angry young white men in polos and khakis, radicalized by Breitbart, Infowars, and The Daily Stormer, who carry weapons in anticipation of public clashes with anti-fascists and Black Lives Matter. If you let their heroes speak, you invite them to campus. When you invite them to campus, you invite violent hate crimes. It doesnt appear out of nowhere, and it doesnt come from many sides.

While Americas milquetoast centrists may have had their judgement clouded by a debate-club mentality, commentators on the right were well aware what might result from a media frenzy against young left-wing demonstrators. Earlier this year, dozens of conservative publications trotted out Ronald Reagans decision to use deadly force at UC Berkeley as something to aspire to. In February, Fox News ran the headline This Is How Ronald Reagan Dealt With UC Berkeley Protesters In 1969. Similar articles appeared on The Blaze and The Daily Wire. In April, The Federalist published an article titled Heres What Ronald Reagan Did When College Kids Went Ape At UC-Berkeley. Author Donna Carol Voss noted that an innocent bystander was killed and several more injured, but nevertheless asked Where is Ronald Reagan when we need him? He would have put a stop to it all right quick. These were not calls for free expression or tolerance of right-wing views they were calls for blood. The right-wing media openly prescribed deadly force for out-of-control left-wing activists. Is it any surprise that someone listened?

The far right knows exactly what happens when the media continually exaggerates the threat posed by campus politics. The state cracks down, teenagers are maimed or killed, and middle-aged sadists re-elect whoever ordered the violent repression. If not, a vigilante like Fields, high on far-right agitprop, will step in. It worked for George Wallace, it worked for Reagan, it worked for Nixon, and it might just work for Trump. In the most optimistic view, the centrist commentators who wasted so many columns scolding student activists to a national audience didnt know how useful their screeds were to the far right. They forgot that, for the last 50 years, hysterical media anger at uppity college students has always turned out to be unfounded and embarrassing in hindsight. They forgot that college students were right about Vietnam, civil rights, apartheid, and every other cause handwringing centrists accepted long after the fact. The brightest minds in the liberal media simply forgot that college protesters have never been the perpetrators of deadly violence only the victims. If this is true, it would serve them well to remember.

Power

Who cares what college students think?

A lot of journalists, and its weird.

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Link:

Political correctness doesn't kill people - The Outline

A critically acclaimed musical with one of the most diverse casts on Broadway tried to reverse slumping ticket sales by replacing a black actor with a more famous white one, but social justice warriors torpedoed the move, and the show will not go on as a result.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 will hold its final performance on Sept. 3, four months after it was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, the most of any production last season.

The historical musical joins a growing list of artistic endeavors to offend social justice advocates over issues of identity politics. Social critics savaged last years Marvel Universe film Doctor Strange, accusing filmmakers of whitewashing an Asian character by employing actress Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One.

They also rejected the Nina Simone biopic Nina because lead actress Zoe Saldana had to use a prosthetic nose and darken her skin for the role.

Christian Toto, a film critic who edits the Hollywood in Toto blog, said the fall of The Great Comet is just the latest example of political correctness suffocating art.

This is an area where race shouldnt matter, in part because the production itself was known for its diversity, Mr. Toto said. This was not an all-white show where they finally hired a person of color and kicked him out. This was a show with a very diverse cast doing what youd think was the right thing from the social justice playbook, and it still wasnt enough.

Based on a 70-page excerpt from Leo Tolstoys War and Peace, The Great Comet enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence when it opened at the Imperial Theater last fall.

The role of Pierre Bezukhov had been played by singer-songwriter Josh Groban, who is white. He left the show in early July and was replaced by Hamilton veteran Okieriete Oak Onaodowan, who is black.

Ticket sales lulled without Mr. Groban, and producers Howard and Janet Kagan feared The Great Comet would come crashing down without a new star to fill seats.

On July 26, they announced that Mr. Onaodowan had graciously agreed to step aside for Tony-winning actor Mandy Patinkin, who stars in the Showtime series Homeland and has been one of Broadways biggest names for decades.

Oak, who was scheduled to appear as Pierre for this period, graciously agreed to make room for Mandy, and we sincerely hope that Oak will return to us in the fall or winter, Mr. Kagan said in a statement at the time. He is a terrific Pierre.

The decision to replace a black actor with a white one resulted in an immediate backlash on social media and in the theater community.

Writing at the website Broadway Black, Jamara Wakefield said the move raises questions about how Black actors are valued and supported within Broadway.

It is ironic when Black actors participate in narratives about colonial history, change present day history by adding to the diversity to Broadway, and then are easily replaced as if their only value to a production is based on ticket sales, Ms. Wakefield wrote.

Tony-winning actress Cynthia Erivo said the effort to boost ticket sales shouldnt override a person doing his job.

What I know for a fact is that Oak worked extremely hard for this, Ms. Erivo said on Twitter. Which makes this occurrence distasteful and uncouth.

In response to the public outcry, Mr. Patinkin withdrew from the role of Pierre, saying he misunderstood Mr. Onaodowans receptiveness of the change and would never accept a role knowing it would harm another actor.

I am a huge fan of Oak and I will, therefore, not be appearing in the show, he wrote.

The shows producers released a statement saying they had the wrong impression of how Oak felt about the casting announcement and how it would be received by members of the theater community, which we appreciate is deeply invested in the success of actors of color as are we and to whom we are grateful for bringing this to our attention.

In a series of posts on Twitter, Great Comet creator Dave Malloy said the show approached Mr. Patinkin only because it was in desperate shape and on the brink of collapse. He apologized for missing the racial optics of the situation.

Despite Mr. Patinkins withdrawal, Mr. Onaodowan announced that he would still be leaving the show and delivered his final performance on Aug. 13. The role of Pierre will be played by Mr. Malloy during its final two weeks.

The Great Comet is not the only show that has run afoul of the arbiters of political correctness, but it may be the most diverse.

Indeed, director Rachel Chavkin said The Great Comet went out of its way to make color-conscious casting decisions.

Internally and this emanates from Dave and me, but its a value shared by everyone on the team there is a commitment to color-conscious casting, to ensuring diversity at all levels, Ms. Chavkin said in an interview with Deadline in June. Ive been acutely aware of my own failings to ensure always diverse creative teams, and thats something Im beginning to be more conscious of in my career.

Meanwhile, the World War II film Dunkirk, which depicts the evacuation of British troops across the English Channel, was panned by some critics for lacking a diverse cast.

HBOs Confederate, a streaming series that has yet to air about what would have happened if the Confederate States of America had won the Civil War, already is facing charges of cultural appropriation. Critics have accused two of its producers, who created the networks popular Game of Thrones series, of seeking to create a slave fan fiction for Confederacy apologists.

Given how diverse the cast of The Great Comet is, Mr. Toto called the efforts of the social justice warriors short-sighted.

You would think that the people sharing their outrage would think, Wait a minute, if the show closes because they get rid of the successful white actor, then those people are out of work, he said. And now those people are out of work because of it. Its very short-sighted, and its very absurd.

Here is the original post:

Social justice warriors bring down the curtain on Broadway hit 'Great Comet' - Washington Times

Robert Bridge is an American writer and journalist. He is author of the book on corporate power, Midnight in the American Empire," released in 2013. robertvbridge@yahoo.com

The events that just rocked Charlottesville, Virginia are symptomatic of every ailment now infecting the US political body - extreme political correctness, intolerance of free speech, and a police presence that seems designed to promote violence rather than curb it.

If ever there was a lightning rod for attracting the disciples of Liberalism and political correctness, the new creed that is destroying honest debate and discourse in the Land of the Free, you could do no worse than a bronze statue of Robert E. Lee in the town square. For those who never heard of the man, Lee was a very skilled general who led the South's Confederate forces against Lincoln's Union during the Civil War, the bloodiest US military conflict to date.

Lee also proved irresistible to the alternative right ('alt-right'), an increasingly vocal group of predominantly frustrated white men who, in this latest convulsion to rattle the US, view the removal of the Southern general's statue as an appropriate metaphor for the endangered white male. The Anti-Defamation League defines the alt-right as individuals who want to preserve the white majority in the US, over fears that descendants of white Europeans are losing their majority status, which will eventually result in white genocide.

Although there is a big temptation to connect this latest bout of left-right strife with the rise of Donald Trump, and the epic fall of Hillary Clinton, that explanation falls wide of the mark. As witnessed by the Tea Party and other right-wing movements, such as Unite the Right, Oath Keepers and the 3 Percenters, these groups were itching for a fight long before the mogul of Manhattan crashed the political scene. But the left has been equally guilty of kicking up its share of dirt.

The great schism in American politics began shortly after the attacks of 9/11 when George W. Bush initiated an opportunistic crackdown on civil liberties through the Patriot Act, a veritable tome that few legislators had a chance to read, yet signed it into law anyways. This slide towards totalitarianism continued under Barack Obama, the first president to carry out extrajudicial killings of US citizens outside of war zones, oversee a vast surveillance network courtesy of the NSA, and speak openly about 'updating' the Second Amendment right to bear firearms. These constitutionally-challenged moves made a lot of conservative-minded folks, and certainly some Liberals, very nervous.

However, what seems to have really triggered the right was Obamas raft of culturally explosive legislation, which turned traditional American values on their head. From the legalization of marijuana, to endorsing same-sex marriages, to opening the door, quite literally, to transgenders using the bathroom and changing facilities of their choice, it seems Obama punched every hot-button issue before leaving office.

At the same time, the left, well before Trump was considered hot political property, was also manning the trenches. On Sept. 17, 2011, a group called Occupy Wall Street took over Zuccotti Park in the heart of New Yorks financial district, where they held protests against economic inequality. The protesters were forced to leave their site on November 15, 2011, but their message continues to resonate to this day.

Two years later, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teenager Trayvon Martin, the Black Lives Matter hashtag became a social media phenomenon. The tag went from the world of virtual reality to the streets, where thousands of protesters condemned a reported rise in police brutality against blacks.

Finally, and most disturbingly, a group called Antifa arrived on the scene, espousing anti-fascist rhetoric against far-right groups. This militant group, which has been declared a domestic terrorist group by the New Jersey Department of Homeland Security, resorts to violent tactics that mirror the very fascist ideology it purports to be challenging. At Berkeley, black-masked Antifa members reportedly left behind property damage and started fires, while the group is believed to have violently disrupted the March 4 Trump event. This thuggish tendency, which seems to be strangely prevalent on the left, to resort to outright violence every time somebody attempts to challenge an idea sets a disastrous precedent. It also leads directly to outbreaks of violence.

Now, with the arrival of Donald Trump on the scene, all of this accumulated political firewood, as it were, has paved the way for round one of a conflagration that won't be resolved anytime soon.

In considering the violent events that shook Charlottesville, where actual fatalities and numerous injuries occurred, it is important to consider what sparked this event, and that was the decision to remove Robert E. Lee's statue from the city center. It seems a reasonable case could be made for both sides of the debate, yet that is exactly what is missing in America these days - healthy debate.

First, it must be said the Confederate cause that Lee defended - that is, an agrarian system based on slavery - is obviously noxious and indefensible. Hundreds of thousands of Africans were physically removed from their homeland and delivered to American shores, forced to till the fields of their 'masters' from morning til night. Not until the emergence of Abraham Lincoln and the North's hard-fought victory in the Civil War did African Americans secure their full-fledged membership in US society. Thus, many Americans find it distasteful that a statue of Lee, gallantly astride his horse, sits in a park that bears his namesake.

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Yet the question remains. Will removing Lee's statue eliminate the stain of slavery from American history books? No, it won't. So what is it exactly that we wish to accomplish by its removal? Should Americans be expected to tear down every physical reminder of those historical figures whose ultimate legacy was being on the wrong side of history? Should we be prepared to close down Gettysburg Military Park in Pennsylvania, for example, the sprawling site of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War's bloodiest battle that precipitated the final defeat of Lee's army? It was on the basis of that victory, after all, that lent inspiration to Lincoln's famous 'Gettysburg Address.'

"To forget history is to repeat it" is not some silly cliche, but sound advice that we ignore at our own peril.

The willingness to remove statues from our main squares is just one step away, I believe, from demanding history books be purged from any reference to such events for fear of offending somebody. In both cases, we wish to remove the physical content because we find it morally offensive. Thanks to the toxic atmosphere of political correctness that has sanitized all debate and discussion, we already see the first signs of such extremism. It's a sad day in America when university campuses, the very fountain of free thought, resort to violence every time a controversial guest speaker is invited to address a group of students.

So deeply entrenched are the roots of political correctness that Americans, who can barely pronounce the words 'male' and 'female' these days without facing a lawsuit, are now willing to remove not only stone representations of dead historical figures who still have hard lessons to teach, but living, breathing individuals carrying messages that some may find unsettling, yet that have a right to be spoken nevertheless.

As a nation, we've traveled light years away from the sound advice given by the English writer, Beatrice Hall, who said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Meanwhile, the right of assembly by all participants should have been protected by the authorities in Charlottesville since the idea of allowing these two groups, which exist at extreme ends on the political spectrum, to mingle in the proximity of tiny Emancipation Park (formerly called 'Lee Park') was simply insane.

It should be noted that Unite the Right (UtR) had secured the necessary permits to assemble to hear various speakers discuss the decision to remove the historical Lee statue. They also had the blessing of the American Civil Liberties Union (Yet this did not stop "Unite The Right" organizer Jason Kessler from being attacked by protesters while attempting to hold a news conference). This decision naturally led to counter groups, notably from Antifa, to also secure permits to hold counter rallies. Thus, this quaint Virginia town had collected together enough combustible material to have given the authorities enough incentive to ensure public safety, yet once again the police failed spectacularly on that point.

Reminiscent of the violence that left Berkeley campus resembling a war zone over a scheduled talk by Milo Yiannopoulos, a British commentator associated with the so-called alt-right, the Charlottesville police fueled the tension by driving the conflicting sides into something resembling a mosh pit. Indeed, by all outside appearances, it looked as if the police were willfully inciting violence between the leftist and rightist camps.

Are the local police forces really so inept as to force two opposing groups together during a protest? According to various accounts I have heard, that is exactly what happened. While I will leave the question of police measures to other commentators, it needs to be emphasized that if Americans are to retain their constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly, then the authorities must be expected to create the safe spaces for such events.

When Americans are being physically denied the right to express themselves due to an oppressive atmosphere of political correctness, then the authorities must take the necessary steps to protect them, otherwise the natural result will be more violence.

It's sad that the national state of debate in America has reached the point when such measures are required, but without open debate and discussion on all issues, America will be stuck in a Civil War mindset.

@Robert_Bridge

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

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Welcome to Charlottesville - proof that political correctness is wrecking America - RT

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says political correctness has to stop, citing the flap over Chick-fil-A and opposition to same-sex marriage as an example.

Perry addressed an event over the weekend hosted by The Family Leader in Waukee, Iowa, aiming to rally Christian conservatives.

He said that when Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy defended the sanctity of marriage, the left went nuts.

According to his prepared remarks, Perry continued: When conservatives are offended by a corporate policy, we simply choose not to give them our business.

He added that offended liberals try to keep everyone else from giving them business.

Perry apparently didnt mention to those gathered the multiple boycotts waged by the Christian right this past year against businesses that endorsed marriage equality, backed nondiscrimination laws or supported LGBT Pride events. The main targets of right-wing boycotts are Starbucks and General Mills.

Cathy said recently that his company backed the biblical definition of family.

That sparked an outcry from gay activists. But hundreds of thousands of customers also jammed the restaurants during Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.

Read the original here:

Perry: 'political correctness has to stop' - Wisconsin Gazette

MSNBC host Joy Reid went on a scathing tweetstorm calling out the right-wing and tea party for not only allowing but promoting white supremacists who used the movement to spread their hate. In her tweets, Reid linked political talking points used by Republicans, directly to the Nazis that protested in Charlottesville.

Something people might want to remember: the whole anti-political correctness movement was about rebuking the notion of a polite society where open expressions of racism, sexism and other forms of bigotry against minority groups are frowned upon. Reid wrote. The POINT of anti-PC is to liberate specifically white right wing Protestant men to say out loud what society has forced them to sublimate as out-groups gained social standing and civil rights. The reason Rush [Limbaugh] and [Michael] Savage and other right wing radio is so popular is they offered an outlet for that kind of anti-PC expression. Breitbart, 4Chan, [Fox News] The Five and the rest are just the natural extension of that.

Reid continued, saying that white nationalists have always seen the mainstreaming of such messages a helpful recruiting tool.

They used the Tea Party movement as fertile recruiting ground, she said, linking to a Guardian report that linked white supremacists to the tea party.

Birtherism, fomented by Trump and his friend Joseph Farah, offered fertile recruiting ground, she continued, including a link to the Southern Poverty Law Center profile of Joseph Farah, who runs WorldNetDaily.

And anti-PC meme culture offers a fertile recruiting ground too. And theyre aiming young, she wrote, linking to a Guardian report about white nationalists using college campuses as a recruiting ground.

She also cited former Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos, who once claimed the alt-right values are often described by establishment-types as being on the fringe. He claimed that they were not.

Actual white supremacists and Nazis are a fringe. There arent many of them. But they lay eggs in the cultural unease of white Americans, Reid tweeted. A real leader would try to calm that unease and reject the egg layers. But Trump travels with them. He hired them and retains them.

She noted that President Barack Obama tried to do it, but that people of color cant stop the unease alone. White American must also join the movement to fix things and Trump isnt helping.

So to be very real right now? Americans need to look past this White House for leadership. You wont find it there. Find it elsewhere. Soon, she closed.

You can read and retweet her comments below:

Something people might want to remember: the whole "anti-political correctness" movement was about rebuking the notion of a "polite society"

Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017

The POINT of anti-PC is to "liberate" specifically white right wing Protestant men to say out loud what society has forced them to sublimate

Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017

offered an outlet for that kind of anti-PC expression. Breitbart, 4Chan, The Five and the rest are just the natural extension of that.

Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017

White nationalists always saw that progression as helpful to them in recruiting people who otherwise would shun them.

Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017

They used the Tea Party movement as fertile recruiting ground: https://t.co/gw1WKGrwGu

Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017

Birtherism, fomented by Trump and his friend Joseph Farah, offered fertile recruiting ground https://t.co/passttAelX

Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017

And anti-PC "meme culture" offers a fertile recruiting ground too. And they're aiming young: https://t.co/gpHPSthHg8

Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017

Don't take my word for it. Here's Breitbart's own description of the "alt-right" co-authored by Milo Yiannopoulos: https://t.co/eHvPdyUROu

Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017

Read more here:

Joy Reid explains that 'anti-political correctness' is just repackaged racism in epic tweetstorm - Raw Story

Alf Garnett and his son-in-law Mike arguing over the Christmas dinner table in a 1966 scene from Till Death Do Us Part. From left: actors Anthony Booth, Una Stubbs, Dandy Nichols and Warren Mitchell. Photograph: Keystone/Getty Images

Let me say this again. The words politically correct are the near-exclusive preserve of reactionary snowflakes. This would surprise any visiting alien exposed to columns about left-wing despots shutting down dissent such as that in all those columns about left-wing despots shutting down dissent. (The noise from the silenced is often deafening.)

The common opening line I suppose this is not politically correct, but suggests that those who disapprove of whats being said often something racist, homophobic or sectarian are likely to use those words when making their case.

PC gone mad is equally loaded. The implication here is that there was a reasonable movement called PC that went on to lose the run of itself. We didnt mind PC when it dissuaded youngsters from beating up foreigners in public lavatories. But now that its illegal to sing the national anthem and all TDs must be disabled women the time has come to call a halt. Its PC gone mad.

After ploughing through a few acres of this stuff, our alien would be convinced that, used approvingly, the term was rarely far from liberal human lips.

Let me say it again in a different way. Almost nobody arguing for respectful language has used those words in a quarter of a century. Before then it was occasionally uttered in Marxist circles. Michel Foucault used it to describe those who professed to communism without doing (as he saw it) sufficient intellectual heavy lifting.

In the early 1990s, a number of conservative commentators, reacting against supposed leftist tyranny on US campuses, began flinging it about in articles, books and scholarly papers.

Its hard to think of a comparably peculiar linguistic shift. An obscure phrase uttered around the mimeograph machine in a few Trotskyite squats had been reinvented as the slogan beneath which a wholly imaginary movement was alleged to march. You know who I mean: the PC Mob.

The words have now been appropriated to describe any resistance to insensitive or discriminatory language.

You found a great deal of this in defences of Kevin Myerss recent, controversial column. One writer to this newspaper approved of him for not toeing the politically correct line. Ruth Dudley Edwards admired him for calling out the nonsense that characterises the politically correct.

There was much, much more. (We should clarify that both were speaking of his work generally, not specifically of the column that led to the furore.)

The notion that some recent puritanical upsurge this thing called PC was responsible for objections to Myerss comments about Jews is absurd.

Such dangerous stereotypes have been frowned upon in most newspapers for the last century. The phantom menace of PC has, if anything, allowed right-wing commentators to open their bile ducts wider. Rude comments about vulnerable groups in society are now framed as brave resistance to the leftist bullies.

You know who I mean its the PC Mob again.

An unlucky half-dozen endured the retired major venting spleen about immigrants at the golf club bar. Hundreds of thousands gather to hear Sword of Albions racist YouTube rants about how the Mob has silenced him. PC so oppressed Donald Trump that he barely managed to become president of the United States.

It is a good thing that the media, academia and public institutions are now more sensitive about language and minority rights. The racism and sexism on television visible until as late as the 1980s now seems shocking.

A common trope in sitcoms notably in Love Thy Neighbour and the more respectable Till Death Us Do Part allowed any degree of racist abuse if the character speaking was revealed as a fool. A realistic John Cleese allowed the N-word to be cut from a recent repeat of Fawlty Towers.

Attitudes really began to change in the 1990s. It is no coincidence that the myth of political correctness emerged simultaneously. Here was a weapon to assist the restoration of the old bigotries. It hasnt quite worked.

The generation that grew up in those years the Millennials so despised by old, thick windbags has proved more tolerant, more open-minded and more watchful for discrimination.

Of course there have been downsides to these shifts in perspective. It takes no great research to find some low-hanging fruitcake offering an idiotic opinion on Twitter that plays into paranoia about the PC Mob. One or two celebrities in particular deliver on a daily basis (you know who you are).

We could do without campaigns against potentially problematic films or TV series before those projects have reached the public. But, on balance, this thing that only reactionary snowflakes call political correctness has been beneficial to western society. Were just a little nicer. Were just a little kinder. Maybe its time to reclaim the phrase.

See the original post:

Political correctness hasn't gone mad. It has made us nicer - Irish Times

After voting to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway through Alexandria, city planners now want the public's help in finding a new name. (WTOP/Mike Murillo)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. After Alexandrias city council voted to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway in the city, planners are now asking for help to find a new name.

Its not that whatever name gets the most suggestions will win, its just a brainstorming process, said Craig Fifer, spokesman for the City of Alexandria.

Fifer said the City of Alexandrias Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Renaming Jefferson Davis Highways survey has already received several hundred name ideas.

So far, the city has seen a wide variety of names according to Fifer. The suggestions include local figures, others are geographic in nature and some suggest extending the names the road takes in other parts of the town, which include Patrick and Henry streets.

Alexandria resident Zach Stern supports the name change because he said the road celebrates a historical figure that he believes shouldnt be celebrated. Jefferson Davis was the president of Confederate States of America.

Stern said he believes it should be renamed to Alexandria Highway.

Roads are often named after the destination and I am proud of Alexandria, so it seems like something we can all rally around, Stern said,

Resident Amanda Curylo said she doesnt have a name idea, but she recommends another historic name which isnt as controversial.

For others, such as Chet Nagle who has lived in Old Town Alexandria for 36 years, said he still feels the name should stay the same.

Jefferson Davis was a historical figure in our country and I dont think that this political correctness movement makes any sense, Nagle said.

Ideas for the what the road should be called will be collected through Sept. 15.

There will also be public hearings to gather ideas. Theyre scheduled for Aug. 17 and Sept. 25. A final board meeting on the decision will be held on Oct. 5.

All three meetings will begin at 7 p.m. at the Community Room of The Station at Potomac Yard

Fifer said once the advisory group will make its recommendation to the city manager in October, the city manager will then pass that on to city council by the end of the year for a vote.

Like WTOP on Facebook and follow @WTOP on Twitter to engage in conversation about this article and others.

2017 WTOP. All Rights Reserved.

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Alexandria wants your help in renaming Jeff Davis Highway - WTOP

GETTY

The former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said it was time to call a spade a spade, otherwise the torturous crimes would not be prevented.

He accused the BBC of trying to avoid being accused of stigmatising a community by failing to address the perpetrators in high profile cases in Newcastle and Rotherham were Muslims who would have claimed to be practising.

Instead, the BBC this week branded 18 people convicted of grooming and raping girls as young as 13-years-old in Newcastle an Asian gang.

This was an evasion of the truth, Mr Phillips said, adding it was time for people to accept these men are not just dark-skinned perverts.

GETTY

They are Muslims, and many of them would claim to be practising

Trevor Phillips

In a comment piece for the Daily Telegraph, he said: It insults the largest single ethnic minority group in the UK - Hindu Indians who consider themselves Asian and the many East Asians who have the UK their home.

Neither group has been even remotely associated with these crimes.

What the perpetrators have in common is their proclaimed faith. They are Muslims, and many of them would claim to be practising.

It is not Islamophobic to point this out, any more than it would be racist to point out that the most active persecutors of LGBT people come from countries where most people are, like me, black.

GETTY

If we are going to call a spade a spade, then we should do so without embarrassment. But our elites have replaced their old fear of being called racist with a new bogey. It comes to something when the BBC prefers to risk being condemned for racism than expose itself to the charge of Islamophobia.

He said it was not just Muslim gangs behind paedophilia, but said their motives were different.

He said: Most white abusers join paedophile rings in order to satisfy their sexual desire more easily. These gangs, in contrast, are motivated by greed, machismo and contempt for people not of their ethnicity.

These crimes will never be prevented unless and until we can speak openly about what is talking place.

Unfortunately, we still have some way to go.

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Trevor Phillips attacks political correctness for failing to tackle Muslim child sex gang - Express.co.uk

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Unlike a number of classic rock artists, Ted Nugent says hed happily accept induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but he says he knows itll never happen, thanks to the self-inflicted and embarrassing scourge of political correctness that permeates the institution from the top down.

Discussing the issue with Q103FM in Albany (during an interview that you can listen to above), Nugent pinpointed his affiliation with the NRA as the main factor keeping him out specifically because Rolling Stone co-founder and publisher Jann Wenner, described by the guitarist as the boss hog at the Rock Hall, hates the gun-rights advocacy group.

I couldnt be more proud of that, cause the NRA is the ultimate family, grassroots organization that fights for the right to defend ourselves. What kind of numb nut would be against that? queried Nugent. And so Im on the board of directors of the NRA, Jan Wenner hates the Second Amendment, so thats the only reason Im not in the Rock and Roll of Fame. And until they get their heads out of their ass, Im more than happy to do what I do and do it with all the vim and vigor that I do it every night.

That being said, Nugent responded with an enthusiastic hell yes when asked whether hed accept induction, and added that hes watched a lot of the induction ceremonies and found them so moving. Were he to eventually make the cut, Nugent said hed lead the crowd in a prayer for their rock n roll forebears a moment he sees as reflecting the Halls true purpose of paying tribute to the genres true greats.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is paying tribute and homage to geniuses who gave us the ultimate soundtrack for our American Dream, said Nugent. Im all in, man, Im genuinely moved, and Im glad there is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Until then, however, he added that hes happy to remain a member of the We the People Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a club hes entered by virtue of more than five decades and six thousand shows piled up over a long career. Hey, write this down, he quipped. My name is Ted Nugent. I am the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eat me!

Nugent is currently on the road for his Rockin America Again tour. You can get complete tour dates and ticket information at his official site.

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Ted Nugent Claims 'Political Correctness' Is Keeping Him Out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Ultimate Classic Rock

Political correctness, free speech and common sense Victoria Advocate The term political correctness has come into the American vernacular over the past 20 years or so. I, for one, find confusion with its use. What does it actually mean? Does it mean we can no longer debate issues that others find offensive? Does it mean ...

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Political correctness, free speech and common sense - Victoria Advocate

The Fairfax County School Board has voted to change the name of historic J.E.B. Stuart High School. According to news reports, the vote was 7 to 2 with 2 abstentions. They succumbed to the winds of political correctness. But this is political correctness run amok.

The taxpaying voters of Fairfax County need to take a hard look at what kind of irresponsible do-gooders liberals they have been electing to the School Board.

The controversy over the name change has not been worth all the time, energy and money being expended. The school was named after J.E.B. Stuart in 1959 to commemorate his ties to nearby Munsons Hill in 1861. It was a simple nod to local Civil War history. The school has been around 58 years. It has produced such noteworthy pro football players as Mike Bragg, Roger Stillwell, and Charlie Garner. The schools football stadium is named after the late Jerry Fauls, the legendary coach there from 1959 to 1979. He must be turning over in his grave. It sets a bad precedent to change the name of a school. It destroys the culture of the local community.

Let me remind everyone of what happened in the City of Alexandria back in 2004. At that time the president of the NAACP chapter in Alexandria demanded the School Board change the name of T.C. Williams High School. The school opened in 1965 and it was named in honor of Mr. T.C. Williams, who served as Alexandrias superintendent of schools from the 1930s up through the early 1960s. This was during the time of state-mandated segregation. Because of this, some misguided individuals over the years have suggested it is inappropriate to have the school named after him. But the complaint by the NAACP president fell on deaf ears. People have an emotional attachment to the name of their school. Our mayor at that time was Bill Euille (who happens to be black). He graduated from T.C. Williams High School in the class of 1968 (the schools second graduating class). Mayor Euille did not want to change the name. Like most alumni and longtime residents of Alexandria, he had an emotional attachment to the name of T.C. Williams High. The school became even more famous because of the 2000 Disney hit movie, Remember the Titans. No serious discussion was ever held to consider changing the name. Obviously, the authorities in the City of Alexandria's have more common sense than the Fairfax County School Board

Greg Paspatis

T.C. High School Class of 1978

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Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Political Correctness - Virginia Connection Newspapers

Speaking on his LBC show, Farage insisted that more had to be done to put a stop to grooming gangs.

The remarks came after a court hearing earlier this week which saw 17 men and one woman convicted of rape, sexual assault, human trafficking and inciting prostitution as the city of Newcastle.

The crimes add to the growing list of UK towns blighted by the evil grooming gangs.

Shadow women and equalities secretary Sarah Champion claimed Asian grooming gangs were allowed to thrive because people are more afraid to be called a racist than they are afraid to be wrong about calling out child abuse.

PHLBC

The Labour MP for Rotherham said it was time to acknowledge that the majority of perpetrators have been British-Pakistani in the towns where such grooming cases have occurred.

Farage said: These are racist crimes and it's been hidden for far too long in too many northern cities and a lot of elected political figures throughout the north of England in my view bear a very heavy responsibility.

But there's been a change of tone and today Sarah Champion has completely changed course.

Im pleased to say she makes it clear that predominantly these crimes and I'm quoting her not me come from men who are part of the Pakistani community and it's a pattern that we see over and over again.

These are racist crimes and it's been hidden for far too long

Nigel Farage

The LBC host reiterated that he had been calling for a sensible conversation about the issue for years.

Farage finished: Goodness me it's taken us years to get to the point where we can even have an intelligent conversation about it.

Heartbreaking details of how the 17 men routinely abused white girls emerged from the court case.

Those prosecuted were from the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish communities and mainly British-born.

Most lived in the West End of Newcastle.

Today former Crown Prosecution Service chief Lord Macdonald of River Glaven said cases of Asian grooming gangs targeting white girls had not been looked into as they should have been.

He said: I think that's no longer the case and I think the fact that these sorts of cases are now being brought successfully demonstrates that those sorts of so-called taboos no longer exist - but I don't think any of us can pretend that in the past these cases have been examined as rigorously as they might have been.

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'Racist crimes' Nigel Farage claims political correctness allows grooming gangs to thrive - Express.co.uk

Ken Macdonald said there had been past reluctance to look into Muslim men who had been targeting white girls.

But speaking on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Lord MacDonald said that was no longer the case after recent prosecutions.

The Liberal Democrat peer's comments come after 18 people were convicted of or admitted offences in a series of trials related to child sexual exploitation in Newcastle.

He said: "I think there has been in the past a reluctance to investigate a category of crime that people might believe attaches to a particular community in circumstances where men may be targeting young women.

SKY NEWSBBC

I don't think any of us can pretend that in the past these cases have been examined as rigorously as they might have been

Lord Macdonald

Presenter John Humphrys cut in to clarify which part of the community he was referring to.

He said: In other words, we're talking about - by and large - Muslim men who have been targeting white girls?"

Lord Macdonald replied: "Yes, exactly."

Mr Humphrys then asked if political correctness had interfered with the course of justice.

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Lord Macdonald reiterated cases has not been looked into as they should have been.

He said: I think that's no longer the case and I think the fact that these sorts of cases are now being brought successfully demonstrates that those sorts of so-called taboos no longer exist - but I don't think any of us can pretend that in the past these cases have been examined as rigorously as they might have been."

He added he hoped attitudes towards young women in these cases had changed.

He said: There's obviously a serious issue about the way young women are regarded in these cases.

Regarded as trash, regarded as available for sex, and this seems to be a recurring theme - and I don't think anyone thinks now we've got it.

"This is a major problem, it's a major problem in particular communities and it has to be confronted not just by law enforcement but by communities themselves."

Lord Macdonald said he expected more cases and added he was sure there were ongoing investigations.

He said: "I think it's a real wake-up call for communities. Not all sex crime takes place in a single community, ofcoursewe knowthat,that's obvious.

"But there is a particular issue about some men in some communities who feel these young girls are trash who are available for sex.

"We all knowthat,we've seenitin this case, we've seen it in other cases, we know it's going on as we speak.

"Law enforcement has a response, the police have a response, prosecutors have a response, judges have a response, but communities need a response themselves."

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Asian grooming gangs abusing schoolgirls weren't probed due to 'political correctness' - Express.co.uk

A school board in Portland, Ore., has dropped Lynch from the names of two elementary schools,claiming it had negative connotations and made some people feel uncomfortable.

The move Wednesday evening by the Centennial School Districts board also included a slight alteration to the name of a third school.

But the move has sparked criticism, including on social media, from some community residents and former students.

They claim the boards decision is a sign of political correctness running amok.

The district had received complaints in recent years that the names of Lynch Meadows Elementary School, Lynch View Elementary School and Lynch Wood Elementary School reminded them too much of lynch mobs and lynchings, conjuring the image of people being hanged by an angry mob, KATU reported.

All three schools were named after the Lynch family, who donated land for the schools more than a century ago.

Theres disagreement over the derivation of lynch mob and lynching. Some say it started with an 18th century politician named Charles Lynch, NPR reported. Others link the words to Capt. William Lynch, an 18th century Virginian who was a proponent of quickly dispensed justice although accounts vary.

Complaints suggested that the names of Lynch Meadows Elementary School, Lynch View Elementary School and Lynch Wood Elementary School could make people feel uncomfortable as the word "lynch" has negative associations.

On Wednesday, the school board agreed to drop Lynch from bothLynch Meadows and Lynch Wood Elementary. But it agreed to rename Lynch View Elementary as Patrick Lynch Elementary School, KOIN6 reported.

As Sharlene Giard, the school boards chairwoman, told the community Wednesday: We have children of color and other cultures and we want to make sure that they are able to cross the threshold of those three schools and be comfortable in their surroundings.

We have children of color and other cultures and we want to make sure that they are able to cross the threshold of those three schools and be comfortable in their surroundings.

But after the school boards decision, community members voiced their dissatisfaction.

Im just disheartened because where will it stop? one local resident said, according to KOIN 6. Any moment someone could be offended by any name. Do we keep changing the name of everything? That would be the question, right?"

Its official. We are now Meadows Elementary School. I wont change the name of the group! wrote Andrea Vaughn in a Facebook group called Lynch Meadows Elementary School Alumni.

Another former student, Rob Grimes, criticized the school district on its Facebook page, calling the boards decision pure ignorance. He accused the board of disrespecting the Lynch family that donated the land.

"This isn't even a matter of political correctness because it wouldn't apply or make sense in this case, Grimes wrote. This is just pure ignorance and playing to the fears or concerns of the very few.

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Too politically correct? Board drops 'Lynch' from school names - Fox News

DEAR EDITOR:

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, has delayed the vote on the drastically needed military spending bill by at least six weeks by demanding an end to the National Defense Authorization Acts indefinite detention of suspects (read, terrorists). Our military has been decimated by Obamas sequestration and it will take years, even decades to rebuild its strength. The delay being caused by this radical senator is inexcusable.

I guess Paul wants us to make Kissy, Kissy and, ala Obama, release them from GTMO to rejoin ISIS, al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. Former GTMO detainees numbering 122 including 87 released by Obama have re-engaged in terrorism.

These terrorists are not prisoners of war, they are criminals in an undeclared war being waged by Muslim extremists. For the safety of our nation and that of the world, they cannot be released and GTMO, not the continental US, is the place to keep them.

Paul and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-California, who are both looking to repeal Authorization for Use of Military Force, need to have their heads examined but are most probably beyond the point of recovery. Our polarized, dysfunctional Congress gridlocks on the smallest of issues and loss of this power by the President could have us sitting there watching the world go up in flames.

Paul has additionally criticized the missile attack on the Shayrat Air Base in Syria from which weapons outlawed under the Chemical Weapons Convention had been deployed by Bashar al-Assad from that site and resulted in the mass murder of civilians. That attack certainly had greater justification than Clintons 1998 cruise missile strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan that he used to divert attention from his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

What America needs is the ouster at the polls of dysfunctional senators and representatives of both parties and the rejection of political correctness. Dominance by groups (LGBTQ or O whatever it calls itself today, ACLU and related splinter groups) that do not represent the thinking of the majority of American citizens will, if it does not end, eventually see the destruction of everything for which our nation stands.

R.S. Pino

Marietta

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Reject dysfunctional lawmakers, political correctness at polls - MDJOnline.com

Home Theater Broadway: The Great Comet Killed by Political Correctness, Bad Producing and Really...

The Great Comet aka Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 is closing on September 3rd, the victim of stupidity. It was killed by political correctness, bad producing, and really bad PR.

I first saw The Great Comet on Gansevoort St. in a tent. It was dinner theater and quite amusing. Then it moved to a tent on West 45th St. When it was finally moved to the Imperial Theater on Broadway, pop star Josh Groban starred as Pierre. The box office was great. He and the show received Tony nominations.

But Groban could only stay so long. The producers knew this in February when they announced his replacement: a totally unknown actor from Hamilton named Okieriete Oak Onaodowan. Im sure hes very talented, but hes not a star or even a name anyone knows. Why did the producers think replacing Josh Groban with such a person regardless of color or nationality would be a good idea? Beats me.

If there was some push to get a black Pierre, why not Brian Stokes Mitchell? Norm Lewis? Leslie Odom, Jr? James Monroe Inglehart, from Aladdin? Did no black star want to do it? What about Usher? Jamie Foxx?

So then came Oak, as he is known. But he is known to few. So the box office literally went off a cliff. Overnight, the show dropped from an average $1 million a week take to around $840,000. The producers realized Oak despite his great talent was not drawing a crowd. The idea came to ask Mandy Patinkin to step in. Even for three weeks, that would get the box office back up and more.

But political correctness stepped in. Replace a black actor with a white actor? There was an outcry. Patinkin, who would have been a great Pierre, pulled out. It didnt matter that Oak, the black actor, had replaced Groban, a white actor. The whole thing is crazy. This had nothing to do with color. It had to do with saving the show. Theater is color blind. But its not star blind. This show required a name on the Marquee. Maybe Oak could have come back after Patinkin righted the ship.

But now, with no Mandy, no Oak, no nobody of an color, The Great Comet will close. All those jobs down the drain. And for what? Botched PR. Botched producing. Nobody wins, everyone loses. What a shame.

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.

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Broadway: The Great Comet Killed by Political Correctness, Bad ... - ShowBiz411.com

Last week, a then-Google employees manifesto against diversity and inclusion in STEM drew sharp criticism and eager applause from the outlets youd expect. But Googles decision to terminate the employee, reported by Bloombergon Monday,is drawing controversy from both sides.

James Damore, the Google engineer who wrote the manifesto, confirmed his dismissal in an email to Bloomberg stating that he had been fired for perpetuating gender stereotypes. Damore additionally told Bloomberg that he is currently exploring all possible legal remedies.

Of course, firing someone on the basis of their beliefs is inherently controversial.But when all things are considered and put into context, Google made the right decision, and anyone who continues to stand by Damore and his backwards views clearly has a lot to learn about the issue of gender and STEM, and gender and the workplace in general.

In his memo, Damore suggested that the gender gap in STEM is due to the biological inferiority of women, who are just inherently born less smart and less capable than their male counterparts.

We need to stop assuming that gender gaps imply sexism, he wrote.

He added: Differences in distributions of traits between men and women may in part explain why we dont have 50% representation of women in tech and leadership. Discrimination to reach equal representation is unfair, divisive, and bad for business.

This gender gap has nothing at all to do with generations upon generations of gendered barriers to access education and join the workforce, of course. And these gender gaps in lucrative fields, and the wage gaps that stem from them, are all fair because women are just inferior, period. Thats Damores hot take, at least.

Across all fields, today, the gender wage gap continues to exist despite modern laws meant to prevent it, and this is largely due to cultural biases that cant be legislated away. Maternal leave policies enforce gendered expectations and severely limit working womens opportunities for advancement, and subliminal and overt discrimination in perceptions of who is more experienced and authoritative do the same. Meanwhile, cultural forces and limited female role models in STEM jobs subliminally pressure women to enter lower-paying fields.

In the 21st century, as the STEM field has become one of the highest paying lines of work, its also become hotbed for sexism notably in the form of workplace sexual harassment and even assault. Roughly two-thirds of women in STEM reporting harassment or assault in the workplace; many of these women have little choice but to quit their work, unable to find help and support to deal with sexual abuse in male-dominated workplaces, where its predominantly men who are in positions of power to decide who stays and who goes, whats acceptable and what isnt.

In writing the manifesto, Damore may have been practicing his right to free speech, but in the STEM field, where women are sidelined, belittled, excluded and harassed as is, the sexist tirade was a direct attack on the already fragile world women in STEM are forced to exist in.

By keeping Damore on board, Google would have been validating, even legitimizing his views, and telling its female employees, telling female computer science students, telling young girls across the country that the idea they are inferior is a perfectly OK view to have.

Additionally and more to the point, every day, employees are fired from jobs for harassing women or uttering racist, exclusionary commentary that sharply contradict a companys values and mission statement.

Thats not excessive political correctness thats called running a company. Because in todays world, running a successful company requires more so much more than hiring entitled white men and looking away as they say and do whatever they want at the expense of everyone else. In todays world, running a successful company means establishing an environment where everyone, no matter their identity and background, feels welcome to share, create, and produce.

Inclusivity is a cornerstone of the STEM field not because of political correctness or ideological purity or any other reason the right would like to name its a cornerstone of STEM because inclusivity is what yields the best collaborations and the greatest innovations. To suggest that women and people of color are only being included because of political correctness and not merit isnt just offensive, its factually inaccurate.

And, on that note, Damores assertion that women arent in STEM because theyre incapable is wrong, but frankly, the idea that women arent in STEM because of active choices theyre making is wrong, too.There are far fewer female role models working in STEM jobs due to sexism of generations past; women comprise just 24 percent of the STEM workforce as of 2009, and so it may be difficult for young women to picture themselves in this line of work. On the other hand, adolescent boys have no shortage of men working in STEM jobs to identify with and aspire to be.Encouraging manifestos against women in STEM by doing nothing to fight them establishes hostile work environments which push women away, and discourage young women from getting on board and contributing.

Of course, at the end of the day, it would be a mistake to regard this issue of STEM and gender as one exclusive to Google. Bloombergs report also featured this haunting note

The imbroglio at Google is the latest in a long string of incidents concerning gender bias and diversity in the tech enclave.Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick lost his job in June amid scandals over sexual harassment, discrimination and an aggressive culture. Ellen Paos gender-discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 2015 also brought the issue to light, and more women are speaking up to say theyve been sidelined in the male-dominated industry, especially in engineering roles.

But ultimately, Damore may have been right about one thing: STEMis a difficult place for women to be right now. However, thats not due to shortcomings on their end, so much as it is to shortcomings in the characters of the men theyre forced to work with.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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Stop Making Google's Decision to Fire Sexist Employee About 'Political Correctness' - Mediaite

As a Christian, pastor and devout creationist Ive always watched modern science beat on its chest in claiming to be king of the universe while appointing individuals such as Charles Darwin to be elevated to a god in public schools.

However, recently were seeing the actual hypocrisy of modern science as it is faced with a rather awkward confrontation with political correctness which now claims that DNA no longer determines the gender of mankind. This evil claims that gender is simply a choice or merely parental manipulation despite DNA fact.

As a parent of a son and a daughter, I find these claims completely hilarious. Shame on modern science for heralding out such accusations of scriptural contradiction and hypocrisy at Christianity over the years just to denounce the one most solid scientific fact they have going for them, our DNA. All I can say to science is, Seriously, is that all the fight you have in you to let political correctness embarrass you like that?

Christians all over the world are dying for their fundamental truths, but modern scientists cant even stand up to political correctness. What a weak Constitution after all! Our children know right well that true science is The Study of Gods Creation.

God Jehovah reigns and Christ is King!

ScottLester

Crab Orchard

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Hypocrisy of modern science confronts political correctness - Beckley Register-Herald

The governments attempt to restore the compulsory plebiscite bill has been blocked by the Senate, paving the way for a voluntary postal vote.

The plebiscite was to be held on November 25 with the government offering to remove the $15m of public funds for the yes and no cases.

On Wednesday morning the government attempted to restore the plebiscite bill to the Senate notice paper. Labor, the Greens and Nick Xenophon Team used their numbers in the Senate to block the attempt to revisit it, with Derryn Hinch voting to allow debate but committing to block the plebiscite.

With the compulsory plebiscite rejected again, the government will now attempt to fall back on its Plan B of a voluntary postal ballot to be conducted between 12 September and 15 November.

Earlier, Tony Abbott urged Australians to vote against marriage equality, arguing that a no vote would protect religious freedom and stop political correctness in its tracks.

The former prime minister hit the ground running in the campaign against same-sex marriage at a doorstop on Wednesday, in contrast to Malcolm Turnbull who said on Tuesday he would certainly support a yes vote but I have many other calls [on] my time.

Marriage equality advocates are still investigating a legal challenge, with several legal experts questioning the constitutionality of appropriating $122m to pay for a postal plebiscite and using the Australian Bureau of Statistics to run it.

Asked before the result if he was disappointed that a voluntary postal vote would be held instead, Abbott said no, saying it was important that we make the most of the opportunity we now have.

Obviously I will be voting no but in the end this is not about the politicians, this is about the people its about your view.

And I say to you if you dont like same-sex marriage, vote no. If youre worried about religious freedom and freedom of speech, vote no, and if you dont like political correctness, vote no because voting no will help to stop political correctness in its tracks.

The Australian Marriage Equality co-chair Alex Greenwich said Abbotts intervention was totally dishonest but nothing new because opponents have always tried to make this issue about something else.

They know the settled will of the Australian people is in favour of marriage equality and in support of all couples being treated equally under the law.

On Tuesday the government argued it was on strong legal ground with a voluntary postal vote, despite lacking parliamentary approval.

The acting special minister of state, Mathias Cormann, said the plebiscite would be conducted as a survey by the ABS, paid for by an appropriation made through a finance ministers advance to the agency.

The constitutional law expert George Williams told Guardian Australia the decision to have the ABS run a postal plebiscite remains vulnerable to legal attack.

It can be challenged on the ground that the expenditure of money on a postal vote lacks parliamentary approval, the dean of University of New South Wales law faculty said.

In addition, the use of the ABS will open up a new line of attack based upon arguments that the functions of the ABS do not permit it to conduct a poll of this kind.

Williams warned that running the poll so quickly would have the effect of disenfranchising large numbers of young people and that a postal vote would mean that the votes of many young people and people from overseas will not be counted.

The constitutional expert Anne Twomey told Guardian Australia the ABS had the power to collect statistics, or numerical data concerning facts describing it as most unusual for it to collect opinions rather than facts.

It is arguable that this goes outside its functions, although it could also be argued that it was collecting statistics about the number of people who hold particular opinions, she said.

On ABCs AM Twomey also questioned the method of appropriating funds, noting that a finance ministers advance has to be for some kind of emergency thats unforeseen [and] here we have an issue that has been foreseen and previously there had been allocations for it in the budget.

Greenwich said it was encouraging that constitutional experts were speaking out about the fact that parliament, not a plebiscite, needed to resolve marriage equality, adding that no minister should be able to spend $120m without parliamentary oversight.

Labors deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, told ABC AM a plebiscite would put Australian families through the trauma of having their relationships discussed as inadequate, described as having something wrong with them.

Plibersek said Labor would remind people [the plebiscite] is a flawed process, but you can count on us to continue to make the case for marriage equality.

She labelled Turnbulls claim he was too busy to campaign as a weak cop-out. On Tuesday Greenwich described it as an an absolute disgrace that would reduce confidence in the postal plebiscite.

Plibersek said Abbotts comments were exactly the sort of thing Id expect Tony Abbott to say, responding that religious ministers would not be forced to solemnise same-sex marriage and it was not political correctness for gay couples to politely ask to have the same rights as others.

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Senate blocks government attempt to restore compulsory plebiscite for marriage equality - The Guardian

Actor, writer and director Lena Dunham. In Dunhams world opinions and thoughts that dont align with hers need to be shut down. Photograph: Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images

Last week, the actor, writer and director Lena Dunham sent out a provocative tweet to her 5.5 million followers, while frustrated at a flight delay in JFK.

The creator, writer and star of the HBO series Girls, believed she had earwigged on a conversation that deserved to be called out on social media the supreme court of public opinion.

Her tweet read: Just overheard 2 @AmericanAir attendants having a transphobic talk. We should be teaching our employees about love and inclusivity.

This was an arbitrary, unfounded accusation, against two humans who have nothing to do with her, and who are trigger warning! fully entitled to think what they like; totally free to have a personal conversation about whatever they please.

But in Dunhams world opinions and thoughts that dont align with hers need to be shut down, in an approach that wouldnt be out of place in the censorship culture of East Germany.

There was no proof provided. American Airlines later said that the times and places didnt match up. They dont fly from the terminal she was flying from. They were unable to substantiate her allegation.

Clearly, she couldnt miss the opportunity to jump on board the most current, right-on cause. It showed her up to be, at best, incoherent, and at worst wrong.

Her actions represents a hijacking of true liberalism that has its basis in stifling free speech. Those who really are liberal definition: willing to respect and accept behaviour and opinions different to our own must fight this pervasive belief system that is threatening the most cherished of all liberties. Otherwise we are rolling back decades of progress that has created a western world where free speech is one of the fundamental tenets of society.

Why is is now acceptable for certain political groups to shout down and shut down anyone who isnt in agreement with their orthodoxy?

Why is it coming from the left, not the right. The branch of politics we should be able to trust seems to have largely forgotten that tolerance and equality cannot be parsed.

In the process it has alienated good people with diverse opinions and important minds. Rather than debate, many people now say nothing. Instead, they keep their thoughts to themselves. The space for intellectual debate is reduced. But a society without an open and honest debate is one that is more likely to turn to violence.

Political correctness, a stultifying, boring, self-righteous and prissy movement that patronisingly assumes everyone is a victim, began as a good idea to protect the vulnerable in society. Now it is silencing dissenting voices of any kind. What started as awareness and education has morphed into finger-pointing and thought-policing.

But if people dont feel free to tell you what they are thinking, how can you confront them? How can you change the other persons mind if their voice is not allowed to be heard?

We cannot confront racism, discrimination and prejudice without first knowing they are there. We cannot develop certainty in our own convictions, unless we have had them challenged.

The smothering of free speech is being carried out in a very modern way and appears to be the preserve of naive activists.

In the media, its about wilfully conflating opinion with news. Its about reading the headline and deciding youre offended, without any context, and instantly labelling the target sexist/misogynistic/homophobic/racist, delete as applicable. Its lazy and its anti-intellectual.

On campus, its about protesting against talks at universities until they are called off for security reasons, and bleating about no-platforming censorship by another name.

Its about setting a lynch mob on social media, calling for the sacking and destruction of people with whom you do not agree. Making them social pariahs, or turning an individual with the brain to question a contentious issue into a bad guy.

Its creating a climate of fear so that those few brave enough to do the important job of putting a voice to what many people are thinking but are afraid to say are intimidated and cowed.

And ultimately there is a reaction. Irish-American satirist Bill Maher believes that the backlash against this forced thinking and free-speech stifling has resulted in a madman in the White House.

Talking about the importance of freedom of expression, he said: The Democrats have gone from the party that protects people to the party that protects feelings. Liberals do this all the time. They get offended for people who themselves wouldnt be offended.

Nearer home, Rory ONeill, whose alter ego Panti Bliss was the figurehead of the marriage equality referendum campaign, is similarly minded and argues an inclusive society is one in which we all have to accept a difference of opinion. If everyone feels browbeaten into acting the same, we lose the creativity of difference. I think its absolutely fine if an evangelical Christian dislikes homosexuality. I just dont want them to try and make everybody else be the same as them.

The lesson is simple: let those with dissenting views speak you might learn something.

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Larissa Nolan: Political correctness will hurt us all in the end - Irish Times