Pot calls kettle what, now?

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

First off, Im'ma just toss two pieces here that I recently found interesting...

“That’s not racist, you idiot”: Jay Leno slams college kids for being too “politically correct”
...Leno also took umbrage at a former intern's suggestion that not liking Mexican food made him racist.

Student Blasts Her College’s ‘Thought Police’ and Political Correctness That’s ‘Reached the Level of Crazy’
...Weiss described the campus-wide initiative in which students are told to avoid using words “that are not inclusive”; the mandatory session that discouraged extending the wish of “Merry Christmas”; and a freshman seminar in which her friend was lambasted by the lecturer for being a white heterosexual man from Georgia.

That said, now let's put the shoe on the other foot just for the sake of a thought experiment, and see where this goes. So here's a suggestion.

"Pot calls the kettle black" - we've often heard that phrase. But, given the present-day perception of subtle racial overtones as detrimental to constructive discourse, inclusiveness, social harmony and equality, I have to ask, why black? If we're to remain true to the extant social mores and tendencies of the day, is it really OK that black should constantly be associated with something bad? I mean: economic black hole, herd's black ram, black pit of Hell, etc.

Shouldn't we now rephrase this to "Coffee cup calls salad plate greasy" or something? I say we wage a war on all well-known and long-established proverbs and sayings that are no longer OK and have become offensive to the modern sensitivities of our civilized society! What say you? Are you with me? And why not?

Comments

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

It's fascinating how for some, offensive language isn't really about principle (i.e. is something really potentially offensive in principle), but more like a matter of expedience (i.e. if no one happens to complain that they're offended, then it isn't truly offensive).

Not to mention that we can't know for sure if no one is being offended by something, even if we haven't personally heard anyone explicitly complaining about it.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

What's more fascinating to me is how the whole premise is being dismissed outright based on the character of the particular source.

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

That sort of approach reminds me of a bullet-proof vest. Whatever you toss at it, is bounced back with remarkable ease.