A place for honest talk about the nation and American Life. Go ahead. Argue. That's the point. That's our republic.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Even PCs must be PC?
How do you know when political correctness has gone too far? If your own name is flagged for being inappropriate, well...that would be a good start. As reported in a story by worldnetdaily out of New Zealand, Gay Hamilton, a lesbian teacher, was sent an automated response which reads, "[Your email] was identified by our content filtering processes as containing language that may be considered inappropriate for business-like communication. ... The content which caused this to happen was ... 'gay' eight times, at two points each, for an expression score of 16 points." Yep, Gay was too "gay," but not because she is gay, because she's called Gay. The irony meter is off the charts on this one. Telecom, the broadband provider that sent the automated messege, says the messege was never meant for Ms. Hamilton, but for employees as part of a general filtering process. One has to wonder, though, why this process is needed at all. To increase productivity, or as employers like to say, to keep employees from "hooking up" on myspace.com, they place filters on their sites to make sure workers stay on task. Despite the obvious, I'll go ahead and give you the dictionary definition of the word "gay"as listed by dictionary.com.
gay /geɪ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[gey] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, -er, -est, noun, adverb
–adjective
1.
having or showing a merry, lively mood: gay spirits; gay music.
2.
bright or showy: gay colors; gay ornaments.
3.
given to or abounding in social or other pleasures: a gay social season.
4.
licentious; dissipated; wanton: The baron is a gay old rogue with an eye for the ladies.
5.
homosexual.
6.
of, indicating, or supporting homosexual interests or issues: a gay organization. –noun
7.
a homosexual person, esp. a male. –adverb
8.
in a gay manner.
[Origin: 1275–1325; 1950–55 for def. 5; ME gai < OF < Gmc; cf. OHG gāhi fast, sudden] —Related forms
gayness, noun
So, there you go. Another perfectly normal name corrupted by the tortured language of political correctness. Sure, she may have been writing e-mails about being gay, but she was talking about what her parents named her! Think about people who have nicknames like, "Dick," or "Harry," or even "Rosie." I hope my name never goes into the lexicon of public usage as "inappropriate for business-like communication." Oh...WAIT! It already has. Remember those "Big Johnson" T-Shirts from the 90's? I'm in so much trouble......My whole name will be banned as offensive. I won't be allowed to blog anymore, because my PC won't be PC.....You can find me at the bar, drinking my sorrows away with Rush Limbaugh and Don Imus. Just don't call me by name. Apparently, it's offensive.
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1 comment:
Now that's funny :)
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