The birth of the teenage cynic.
Good evening readers. You may have noticed that it has been some weeks since I last wrote to you, this is due to the lack of any internet connectivity at home. I am now blessed with a mobile internet dongle which grants me (limited and slow) access to the wonders of the world wide web. Seeing as though it is so late and I’ve been feeling very nostalgic as of late, what with having a few extra shifts back at the cafe in the Valley Gardens and spending the evening with a very old friend of mind I thought it apt that I share with you the origins of Pointless Ramblings of a Teenage Cynic.
See back before I had too much time on my hands that is now wasted spending money on alcohol and numerous hours of gameplay on the xbox, I studied A-levels (the results for which are out on Thursday and I’m absolutely laying a brick about them). For my English Language AS-level we were given the task to write an editorial persuasive piece about any topic we wished.I chose to base mine on the excessive nanny-state and use of political correctness; attempting to persuade people that it was foolish to adopt such a social practice. I entitled the article written as a BBC Ouch! piece, ‘The Pointless Ramblings of a Teenage Cynic’.
So, here is the article in its original entirety; it’s not the most articulately written piece or the most thought inspiring, but like I said I just wanted to share a bit of history with you.
So, goodnight to you all. If you decide to stay up and read the following article then I hope you enjoy reading it, if not, sleep well and I hope to talk to you very soon.
I love you.
Originally written 10th November 2008
The pointless ramblings of a teenage cynic… or should I say…
By Clarke Roberts
We’ve fought two world wars, won numerous battles and gained our freedom from countless invaders and conquerors, so why is it in the 21st Century, we have to have as to the right words we can and cannot say?
I might be a young adolescent living in the United Kingdom sovereign state of England, but it really doesn’t take much to notice how far political correctness has been taken in modern day society.
There is outrage over the very well known revision of the once classic, Baa Baa Black Sheep, being changed to Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep. The change formed because it was deemed inappropriate to single out people or animals in this case, by the colour of their skin (or fur). I’ve never once heard of a complaint by any friends of mine when I’ve made reference to them as being black, as that is what they are! They are black people just as we are white people. Have you ever heard newly elected US president Barack Obama make statements about how he wishes not be referred to as a black man? No. “…and watched tensions fade as black, white, and Latino…” is a quote taken from Obama’s victory speech as being named as the US president-elect on November 4th in Chicago. Originating from Africa himself, now the most powerful man in the world, if he can put aside the terminology about the colour of skin, then why can’t Asians, Chinese, Africans and even Europeans?
Woops, I seem to have strayed from my point just a little. The fact is, the British government has deemed it inappropriate for the public to make reference to a sheep in a song, solely based on its colour. So. Tell me this. To what extent do we take it? Orange-kneed Mexican tarantulas? A green frog? The black bird? Heaven help the poor chocolate Labrador or the golden Retriever! For what do we call them now?
You get the idea. There is much controversy over the way we use colours and/or adjectives to describe people and even animals it appears. But it’s not just language that it affects. A recent survey showed that over 85% of the British public were unaware that political correctness affects broadcasting and common practices as well as language. A fire station in Kent had to remove the traditional fireman’s pole for fear that in a blind panic; a fire-fighter could risk injuring their ankle or any other limb from stumbling or falling at the bottom of the pole. Pray tell me, would you trust a person, clumsy enough to fall at the bottom of a pole used in children’s parks, to save your house from complete disaster?
I may have stepped out of line in the latter paragraph. I called it a fireman’s pole, but now I’m discriminating against female fire… erm… fighters. The ploughman’s lunch? Should it now be called the ploughperson’s lunch? Or what about if instead of Barak Obama, Hillary Clinton had been elected, would that have made Bill the first gentleman? We are no longer able to define people by their sex, so policemen, firemen etc are words of the past. “Good evening… people!” Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?
“Outrageous, pedantic and damn right stupid!” The words of a secondary school teacher in Stoke-upon-Trent. Yes. PC is all those things, but only because we allow it to be. If the British public stopped obeying the ‘PC laws’ then we would not have to adopt these absurd restrictions. We have fought for our freedom for thousands of years, to be free from the Normans, the Vikings even the Nazis. But yet still, our government imposes a restriction on a basic human right to be able to utter the words that you want to. What are next, electrocuting dog collars?
Tom and Jerry. Taken from our screens because it was deemed too violent to show young children. Firstly, what mice and cats have you ever seen chasing each other round with giant weights and catapults? None. It is an entertaining cartoon meant to amuse children because it is so fictitious. Instead of worrying about a fifty-year old cartoon with such innocent intentions, why don’t the magnificent people in charge of our country worry about shows like Skins on Channel 4, which glamorises the teenage life of unprotected sex, drug parties and alcohol abuse? Our prime minister complains that our country has the highest rate of teenage drinking and pregnancy in the whole of Europe, well why not tackle the propaganda that shows teenagers that that is the ‘cool’ way to behave?!
I challenge you to come up with a reasonable excuse for the use of political correctness.
