Re: Amerind an offensive term (was: Early Amerind assimilation
Stephen Barnard (barnard@nas.nasa.gov)
Mon, 12 Aug 1996 11:11:34 -0700
Joel and Lynn Gazis-Sax wrote:
>
> But to return to Mr. Barnard: I have found that "politically correct" is most
> often invoked by persons who believe that freedom of speech also means freedom
> from rebuke. This is a common flaw on the InterNet and when I first started
> a few years ago (1989), it took the more direct form of "You can't criticize
> me for holding the views that I do." Usually the views being defended are
> racist or otherwise offensive to other people. Freedom of speech does give
> one the right to utter such views, but it does not protect one's speech from
> criticism. By using the term "politically correct", Mr. Barnard is feebly
> trying to turn his right to be offensive if he pleases into a dictatorship
> of one where no one can criticize him at all.
I'd like you to read carefully the excerpt from Ms Cockcroft's post. I'll quote
it again: "Blacks, women, and the disabled (probably all politically incorrect
terms) have all fought for control and escape from anglo male culture." I'll
draw your attention to the phrase in parentheses.
Now just who is invoking the term "politically incorrect" here? Ms Cockcroft is
saying that "women" is probably a politically incorrect term. This seems to me
like an astonishing thing to say.
>
> There's another dimension to this and that is one related to FACT. Mr.
> Barnard has effectively put words into the mouth of Ms. Cockcroft.
What words did I put in her mouth? I quoted her verbatim.
There is something very peculiar going on in this newsgroup. Several times in
the period of about one week, I've been either misquoted, assigned a false
attribution, or (as in this case) accused of something that I am obviously not
guilty of (bringing up the term "politically incorrect".) Is this the way that
anthropologists normally act?
Steve Barnard
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