George
Fraser, a gentleman—or so I assume—unknown to me, recently shared with the rest
of us in digital space an interesting and humorous story about the meaning of
“political correctness.” I want to share that story with you if for no other
reason than that it’s time for a bit of laughter. The story may not prove originality, but it does give us a rough definition of the concept
that you may enjoy. The story also illustrates that the people we respect, such
as elected leaders, are not always the ladies or gentlemen we assume them to
be—with apologies along with thanks to George Fraser.
Also ahead of time an apology to you, reader, for the coarse lingo to
which alleged gentlemen occasionally resort.
It’s not my usual stuff.
On
August 8, 2015, George published an article with the title “What a Brilliant
Definition.” Since it reached me via via via, I take it that there are no
copyright restrictions involved. It’s gone way beyond that. Here then in another
font but in his own words, goes Fraser:
For the
last six odd years, almost all of the things I wanted to write or
say, have been stymied by the modern term referred to as 'POLITICAL
CORRECTNESS'. Although I consider myself reasonably fluent in English,
that term was not in my vocabulary.
Curiosity
got the better of me so I decided to do a little research, and after two weeks
of chasing fruitless leads, I found what I'd been looking for at the Truman
Library and Museum in Independence
Missouri . An unnamed
source there sent me copies of four telegrams between then-President Harry
Truman and Gen Douglas MacArthur on the day before the actual signing of the
WW2 Surrender Agreement in September 1945.
The
contents of those four telegrams below are exactly as received at the end of
the war -- not a word has been added or deleted!
-----------------------------------
(1) Tokyo
, Japan
0800-September
1,1945
To: President Harry S
Truman
From: General D A
MacArthur
Tomorrow we meet with
those yellow-bellied bastards and sign the Surrender Documents, any last minute
instructions?
(2) Washington, D C
1300-September 1,
1945
To: D A MacArthur
From: H S Truman
Congratulations, job
well done, but you must tone down your obvious dislike of the Japanese when
discussing the terms of the surrender with the press, because some of your
remarks are fundamentally not politically correct!
(3) Tokyo , Japan
1630-September 1, 1945
To: H S Truman
From: D A MacArthur and
C H Nimitz
Wilco Sir, but both Chester and I are
somewhat confused, exactly what does the term politically correct mean?
(4) Washington, D C
2120-September 1, 1945
To: D A MacArthur/C H
Nimitz
From: H S Truman
Political Correctness is
a doctrine, recently fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and promoted
by a sick mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is
entirely possible to pick up a piece of … by the clean end! (Boer: The ellipsis represents a crude word I,
ever the gentleman, deleted, but it is synonymous with “manure.”)
Now, with special thanks to the Truman Museum
and Harry himself, you and I finally have a full understanding of what
'POLITICAL CORRECTNESS' really means.
End of
Fraser Input
There
you have it, improprieties and all. I asked myself whether I should apologize
to the Japanese about participating in the spread of this story. After all, it
is not exactly flattering to them. But then I compared the tone and language of
this story to the atrocities the Japanese unleashed on the people in Asia, such that even today’s Japanese are ashamed of. And
not only on the people of Asia, that is, Asians, but also on the non-Asians
residing there. My middle name is Harm, named after my father’s oldest brother,
who was living in Indonesia
along with his Dutch family and was interned in a Japanese concentration camp.
His wife eventually died from the after effects. Of course, you can
legitimately ask what these people were doing in Indonesia in the first place, but
that’s another story. This story about
political correctness with all of its insults is peanuts compared to atrocities the Japanese inflicted on their neighbours. So, I am not about to turn to political correctness and apologize
to the Japanese.
In more
politically correct terminology, the website < http://www.freedictionarydefinitions.com > offers this definition: “conforming to a belief that language and
practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or
race) should be eliminated.”
So, now
you have two definitions of the term. Take your pick. Personally, as you may
have noticed, I don’t embrace either one.
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