Landmines are strewn everywhere, and it is easy to step on one, especially if you are a well-known personality… or if you have a loose tongue. Today, political correctness reigns supreme, and woe to anyone who utters anything even slightly equivocal.
Politically correct agents (like Iran’s morality police) are patrolling the media, ready to pounce on any offender. They will jump on you if you dare to disagree with the PCP’s (Politically Correct Party) party line. Their strategy, by the way, is strangely reminiscent of Middle-ages Christianity when you could be declared a heretic and burned at the stake without any trial for your blasphemous thinking.
The cost of political incorrectness can be high. If you err on the wrong side of the track, you might lose your job and your livelihood. Whenever you broach the subject of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration, and God knows what, you better be on your toes because the guardians of correctness are watching. One loose remark can trigger a landmine.
Recently British TV broadcaster Piers Morgan got in big trouble for doubting Meghan Markle’s thoughts about suicide.
He said, “I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.”
Meghan fans (41,000 of them) were deeply offended by his remark and demanded Morgan’s head. They got it. He left (or was pushed out) of ITV’s Good Morning Britain following this incident.
I also doubted Meghan’s suicidal thoughts. Should I be ostracized for it? I don’t think so. Mental health is not a trivial matter but doubting one’s assertions is not a crime. In any case, I am my own (unpaid) boss, and I refuse to quit my job.
Today, no matter what you say, you are bound to offend somebody. I am not advocating insulting or slandering anybody, but one should be entitled to his own (hopefully fair-minded) opinions without fear of retribution.
In Cambodia, they are using sniffing rats to detect landmines. An excellent idea that saved thousands of lives. I might trade my worthless cat for such a rat to keep me on the straight and narrow.
Speaking your mind is becoming increasingly hazardous, and it is unfortunate. Blindly toeing the party line has never done much for society.
Respect yes, censure no.
Alain