A question on political correctness.

[slowmotion]

Warm people! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!!!!!!

 

[Accy cyclist]

How many pipe smokers do you see nowadays.

Last one I knew died a few years ago(Pipe smoker not snowman).

There was a bloke aged about 85, who smoked a clay pipe and sneaked his own whisky into my then local pub, but that was in the early 1980's.

 

[classic33]

There was a bloke aged about 85, who smoked a clay pipe and sneaked his own whisky into my then local pub, but that was in the early 1980's.

Quarter century ago, at least, then.

 

[slowmotion]

I've spotted a few German and Dutch pipe smokers in their mid forties. They all seem to have carefully manicured moustaches. Odd that.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Quarter century ago, at least, then.

Yes,time flies! I can still see his face and hear his voice in my head even now.

 

[winjim]

Why not build snowladies with your daughter and snowmen with your son? THAT'S inclusivity.

Rather the opposite, I'd have thought.

 

[steveindenmark]

My grandad often had a pipe in his mouth but he had never smoked.

He used to say he had destroyed so many pencils by chewing them that the pipe saved him money. Its a habit he passed down to me. But I just destroy pencils.

But a snowman with a pipe in his mouth is acceptable providing he does not light it.

Much more acceptable than the 6 shooters your American collegues will be dressing theirs up in.

 

[rich p]

I'm sure there's a gag about snowflakes here but you get the drift ..

 

[swansonj]

I build snowladies with my daughter and I hope I will with my son. That's not political correctness, it's inclusivity. Anyway, don't worry about what's politically correct, that's a terribly negative way of thinking, try to consider what"s morally or ethically correct. Political correctness is morally dubious.

Wot winjim said.

If anyone ever asks "is this politically correct" they are already on the wrong track because they are judging against some artificial supposed standard (and one created to make it easier to criticise at that).

Substitute "is this polite", "respectful", or "helpful" if you actually want to know the answer. They are existing standards that we are all familiar with and will give the same answer.

 

[Drago]

I'm actually quite insulted. Everyone knows that the snowmen were Hitlers paymasters and responsible for the deaths of millions of non snowmen in the ovens.

If anyone ever asks "is this politically correct" they are already on the wrong track because they are judging against some artificial supposed standard (and one created to make it easier to criticise at that).

It would respectfully disagree. Political correctness exists, and refusing to acknowledge it does not make it any less so. There are reasonable and worthy objections and there is political correctness, which takes things beyond the limits of the desirable or sensible.

An example. Some time circa the turn of the century the police were told by ACPO to stop using the term 'brainstorm' in training and meetings. Apparently, it was offensive to people with epilepsy. When queried it would seem that no one with epilepsy had complained to ACPO over the matter, and even the Epilepsy Society stated that it was utter nonsense.

Another example. At about the same time a lot of large government organisations such as the Feds, NHS etc, were under pressure not promise the term "nitty gritty". It has connotations with the slave trade, and is therefore offensive, we were told. Radio 4 got wind of this and did an entite programme on the matter. They followed a leading lexicographer as he researched the matter, and he could find no recorded use of the term prior to the late 1920s. Therefore, it could not possibly have anything g to do with the slave trade.

Yet large organisations employed Diversity Advisors who merrily cracked down on the use of such language.

And that is political correctness. Someone, somewhere, usually unrelated in any way to the matter at hand, taking it upon themselves to create rules and procedures which are inevitably unsolicited by the party they are supposed to protect from offence, and utterly nonsensical.

 

[Beebo]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/24/santa-pipe-new-night-before-christmas

We have two versions of A night before Christmas at home the second one has edited the pipe out of the text.

 

[chriswoody]

You could always take a leaf out of Bill Watterson's book.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Yes,time flies! I can still see his face and hear his voice in my head even now.

You've always struck me as a person who hears voices in your head.

 

[sleuthey]

The invention of the word snowman was beyond your control, just like the word father Christmas, so if your drawing a snowman then draw a snowman.

Wrt the pipe, perhaps draw a coughing snowman with rotting teeth to show it's no good for you.

 

[derrick]

Today in work we had one of the team building/culture days in work the Americans are so fond off and guest speakers and all the rest of it. There was also an element of charity work and one of the things we were expected to do was to design a Christmas card and the best designs would be selected, printed and sold for charity.

It was actually a lot of fun and I know I'm nowhere near a good enough artist to have my card selected anyway but I had drawn a snowman and as was common when I last drew Christmas cards when I was probably about 4 or 5, I put a pipe in the snowman's mouth. I then pondered the question of whether or not it acceptable to have a pipe-smoking snowman in this day and age or is it politically incorrect and potentially encouraging youngsters to smoke? The other thing of course is whether or not it's sexist to have a snowman and not a snowperson. One cannot be too careful these days days in case someone takes offence....

It's no wonder the country is in such a mess.