Couldn't help but think of this during our discussion today. George Carlin on politically correct language, especially that regarding racial distinctions. It's pretty much just for fun but he does make some good points.
In case the video doesn't work (YouTube likes to act funny every now and then), here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lszfpmpKNv8
-Buğra Murat Altan
People of size! I had no idea that Fillmore (Cars) had his own TV show!! In some parts, I felt really bad for laughing at the things he said since some of them are absolutely true but he is really fun :)
ReplyDelete-Ezgi Ulusoy
It is really important to understand the concept of being "politically correct" in the USA. The whole concept of "PC" usually revolves around labels and names. People--especially white people--in the USA are extremely concerned about what to call people. Many of our discussions of "race" are not actually about how race operates through social structures, but about what words to use to call certain people. On the one hand, these conversations avoid the larger problems (structural inequality, for example), but, on the other hand, labels and words are important and have social meaning and content. The point is to understand where the terms come from, and why society chooses some labels over others. Actually, what Carlin is talking about here...is really how labels are *a social construction.* That is, what labels and names we use for people, depends on where and when and to whom we are speaking. Great video to intersect with today's class!
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