There’s a grosser irony about Politically Correct English. This is that PCE purports to be the dialect of progressive reform but is in fact — in its Orwellian substitution of the euphemisms of social equality for social equality itself — of vastly more help to conservatives and the U.S. status quo […]. Were I, for instance, a political conservative who opposed taxation as a means of redistributing national wealth, I would be delighted to watch PCE progressives spend their time and energy arguing over whether a poor person should be described as “low-income” or “economically disadvantaged” or “pre-prosperous” rather than constructing effective public arguments for redistributive legislation or higher marginal tax rates on corporations. (Not to mention that strict codes of egalitarian euphemism serve to burke the sorts of painful, unpretty, and sometimes offensive discourse that in a pluralistic democracy leads to actual political change rather than symbolic political change.


In other words, Politically Correct English functions as a form of censorship, and censorship always serves the status quo.

Authority and American Usage, David Foster Wallace (via themadeshop)
  1. barush reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  2. mgraceee reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  3. dlwendel reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  4. zososweet reblogged this from hitrecordjoe and added:
    …reminds me of George Carlin’s bit on “soft language.” Heh.
  5. yeahnobutreally reblogged this from hitrecordjoe and added:
    Words vs. Action?
  6. ultimate-nihilistic-love reblogged this from tvlanddryspell
  7. tvlanddryspell reblogged this from lovedhouseswent
  8. gooop reblogged this from lovedhouseswent
  9. lovedhouseswent reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  10. nightbirdcalling reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  11. niknok reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  12. wine-darksea reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  13. allthechocolatesinthebox reblogged this from hitrecordjoe and added:
    BUT - we have to make sure not to confuse civil behavior, language that respects other people, with political...
  14. coookiedoh reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  15. pandacocks reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  16. burninator13 reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  17. gladlybeyond reblogged this from thatfizzsound
  18. abeautifulchaos reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  19. drunkseabird reblogged this from isamarie
  20. runawayscars reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  21. isamarie reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  22. celeryaneffigy reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  23. pnoiknight reblogged this from hitrecordjoe and added:
    Ya hear that? I will use this to justify my racist, discriminating comments on society. FUCK YOU! BITCHES FOR YOUR...
  24. penguinsparade reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  25. janeavrils reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  26. vandyb3ar reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  27. itcomesandgoes reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  28. slwiem reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  29. wearingthatstupidmansuit reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  30. puckling reblogged this from hitrecordjoe and added:
    For the record 1) This is bullshit 2) Calling people what they want to be called and not by terms that carry derogatory...
  31. gthecookiemonster reblogged this from hitrecordjoe and added:
    Writings like this is what makes me appreciate the course that I am spending 3 years doing (paying out of my arse for)....
  32. alliegangi reblogged this from themadeshop
  33. emoseal reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  34. sueechan reblogged this from hitrecordjoe
  35. found-drama reblogged this from neutralmilkhostel
  36. catholicschoolgirl reblogged this from itscandidlycara
  37. adesideratum reblogged this from itscandidlycara