At The Wake For The Woke

Jim Duffy highlights the stultifying effect of political correctness. 

I have been making this point for a decade.

All the research shows that political correctness is rejected by a majority of all groups - even the young, by a landslide.

The issue isn't that the principle is a bad one, but that its application has been arrogant, intolerant and dictatorial, not to mention ludicrous on occasion. Instead of convincing people why they should be careful in their language, it involves shouting and screaming "shut up. You cannot say that. You are a bigot." That doesn't win people over. It drives them away, and pushes their views underground where they festered until someone appeared in politics who built their campaign around attacking PC, at which point the anger of people silenced comes out.

The scale of opposition to PC is highlighted in this quote:
Among the general population, a full 80 percent believe that ‘political correctness is a problem in our country.’ Even young people are uncomfortable with it, including 74 percent ages 24 to 29, and 79 percent under age 24. On this particular issue, the woke are in a clear minority across all ages. Youth isn’t a good proxy for support of political correctness — and it turns out race isn’t, either. Whites are ever so slightly less likely than average to believe that political correctness is a problem in the country: 79 percent of them share this sentiment. Instead, it is Asians (82 percent), Hispanics (87 percent) and American Indians (88 percent) who are most likely to oppose political correctness.
An example of the screwed up way PC activists behave was shown in the last few days. A broadcaster made a comment with questioned whether blackface was racist. Instead of explaining to her why she was wrong the PC 'woke' brigades turned into their usual mob, screaming that she must apologise, she must be sacked, that she was a racist. A perfect chance to explain a PC viewpoint was turned, as usual, into a baying hate-filled mob of 'woke' activists.

The decision of social democrats to move from the concerns of their communities (mainly economic) to identity politics and PC has been catastrophic. It is a key reason social democracy has almost collapsed across Europe. They left their support base behind to adopt the concerns of 'woke' activists and many of their support base moved to support anti-system wrecking ball politicians and movements - from the far right in Italy, Poland, Hungary, France, Germany, etc, while it delivered the wrecking ball craziness of Trump in the US and Brexit in Britain. In Ireland, we have witnessed it in the presidential election with the repulsive bigotry of Peter Casey, who may well have created the nucleus for a similar wrecking ball party in Ireland - attacking travellers, minorities, social welfare recipients, etc.

The Democrats have been the 'woke' party in the US, despite its PC devotion being rejected by an overwhelming majority of every class, every age group, every race. It entirely overshadowed the Clinton presidential run, and has produced a situation where the Democrats have lost many state houses, many governorships, both houses and the presidency and where Trump is likely to be re-elected in 2020 and the Republicans may win in 2024 with someone like Pence. It is akin to the Social Democrats in Germany, who have had their worst election results in history. And yet the Democrats continue under the control of the “woke” social-justice culture of progressive activists who only amount to 8% of the population.

➽Jim Duffy is a writer.

40 comments:

  1. P.C Has been a bugbear of mine for well over a decade Jim but thank the flying spaghetti monster that we have that multi meaning word Fuck! , a word that fits comfortably into every circumstance in which we may find ourselves at odds with the P.C. brigade ,these eejits here for e.g fall over themselves to welcome migrants from all over the world ,which as the record shows quite a percentage are rouges and villains, as if we didn't have enough of our own yet turn a blind eye to our homeless and struggling NHS, my doc,s is almost impossible to get an appointment with yet the surgery is usually full of migrants carrying fuck knows what ,all very un P.C,of me I know but as you say the P.c eejits will shout you down and people remain silenced through feeling guilty for thinking those thoughts also, but the bubble will burst and of course the P,C brigades will fuck of back to their ivory towers,and wait for another bandwagon to jump upon , that's why I say what I think and fuck the p,c brigades ,

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  2. Fuck it you,ve got me started,I took my biology exam last week,I was asked to name two things commonly found in cells,apparently Poles and Romanians were not the correct answer ,an Irish boy stand crying at the side of the road, a man passing asks "whats wrong "the boy says "me ma is dead" "oh bejaysuss"the man says "do you want me to call fr O Reilly for you ""No thank you" says the boy "sex is the last thing on my mind at the mo "years ago it was said "an apple a day keeps the doctor away "but since these days nearly all the doctors are muslim I have found a bacon sandwich works better "Japanese scientists have developed a camera with an immensely fast shutter speed,it is now possible to take a picture of a woman with her mouth shut,I hate all this terrorist business,I used to love the days when you could look at an unattended bag on a train or bus and think "I,m gonna have that,A man in a hot air balloon flying over Ireland ,he looks down and sees Big Bob doh Brains in a field , he shouts down "where am I ?" Big Bob doh brains looks up and shouts back , "you cant fool me your up there in that basket "I had a trivia competition in the bag until the last question.... which I got wrong the question was "where do women have the curliest hair?" apparently the correct answer was Fiji....A woman has a medical at the doctors "your grossly overweight"he says "I want a 2nd opinion"she exclaims,"ok your bloody ugly as well"

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  3. This is an excellent article , the march of the perpetually offended is something I’ve been astonished to witness. It looks a miserable movement to be in too, having to repent for imagined transgressions. Infact they aren’t really offended, they just think they should be, and it’s screwing their heads their emotions don’t match what their peers say they should be.
    Only a suitable enemy could keep such an awful coalition together : the Nazis. They needs to see themselves as fighting a bigger evil to tolerate the awful present resulting from, perhaps speculative, social decisions taken during Freshers week.

    I flutter between wanting to see them beaten off the public space to sympathy with their intentions.

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  4. Jim - thanks for allowing TPQ to carry this.

    DaithiD - I too thought it an excellent piece. When I saw it on Facebook I asked the author if TPQ could run it and he unhesitatingly assented. I imagine PC has played a big part in the result Peter Casey got moreso than his anti-Traveller sentiment. We want the issues thrashed out, not every critical or uncomfortable idea labelled a phobia and suffocated.

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  5. Where is Larry Hughes when we need him? Whatever his often OTT approach he could not brook PC and told it to get lost at every opportunity.

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  6. Marty - you have assumed Larry's mantle - leading the anti PC charge!

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  7. AM, Larry’s dreaded St Patrick’s Day float in NY of ‘ blow jobbing and buttfucking leprechauns ‘ was a minor classic in imagery.

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  8. Political correctness has wrecked, strangled and paralyzed America. I thought Ireland was immune sadly that appears to be not the case. This week the Stalinist PC cops have been attacking childrens costumes hard. Marty very sorry to read of your problems with the doctor appointment. All those brave Volunteers died for what? So that migrants could overrun Ireland and displace the native Irish? Who allowed this all to happen. About the only thing the loyalists were ever on the right side of is the issue of migrants/immigration. They always had it right and the Adams Sinn Fein globalist brigade were always wrong on that.

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  9. Ryan - there is nothing wrong with immigrants. America was built on them, even displacing the natives in the course of making America what it is. What is wrong is the manner in which governments strategically deal with increasing population size and movements of people, whatever the origins. Cork might not be infrastructurally fit for purpose for dealing with a large influx of people from Dublin or Hungary. Opposition to that influx taking place should not be characterised as racist. The brave volunteers - and I knew quite a few of them - did not die to ban people coming into Ireland from other countries.

    The last job I was in I made it very clear that we would protect the jobs of all those there, mostly Hungarian. There was never a chance that I would allow Irishness as a reason for putting a Hungarian out of a job. And there was nothing politically correct about it. Just a basic human instinct to do no harm.

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  10. AM-America and Ireland are very different situations. The US at 330 million can absorb many immigrants and different ethnicities. Ireland cannot. I don't understand how its racist to be concerned at the levels of immigration and migration in Europe. Is it racist to be concerned that Sweden will one day be a minority of ethnic Swedes? Is it racist to be somewhat bewildered that Muhammad is now the most popular boys name in London. Of course the Stalinist PC police would say yes. I don't think so. I just don't see mass migration to Ireland as a good thing. I guess most republicans in their inclination to side with the oppressed or underdog would disagree. We will have to agree to disagree and see what the future holds.

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  11. P.C exponents and political parties are to the front in opening welcoming centers and offices usually funded by grants from govt and other charitable organisations ,yet food bank centers are growing by the day and finding it difficult to cope ,the streets are filling with homeless,families are being forced to split up , the health service cant cope , why is that ,and yet eejits are telling us these people are coming here for a better life , ffs when business are failing usually the first step is downsize back to basics as it where, we shouldn't differentiate between colour or country but honestly in a lifeboat there is a limit and unless we get our own infrastructure correct then we surely we will all drown , but then again if we keep putting these gangsters that are in power back into power as we do then its akin to pulling up the planks in that lifeboat to light a fire,if we really want to be politically correct then we need to get politically correct and dump the wasters who piss down our backs and tell us its raining ,

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  12. Ryan - and if the most popular name in London was Paddy?

    In our multi ethnic and interdependent world why should Swedish nationalism be any more privileged than some other nationalism? The world was not always carved into nations and will not always be carved as such. The Native Americans long ago went the way you fear Swedish nationalism might go but not a word about it. My only reason for finding mass immigration problematic is infrastructural - can the structures in society cope? The origins or colour of those who come here are irrelevant to me. I love being with people of other ethnic backgrounds - Hungarians, Americans and Romanians are the people I have most experience of and I find them great. My wife immigrated here - I am hardly going to benefit from the joys of immigration and then scream when somebody else arrives. Of course it can be a nuisance when I can't understand them and they can't understand me. But that applies too when somebody speaks to me in a higher standard of Irish than I have.

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  13. Ryan, those who claim to value diversity need to reflect why all their justifications and defences of it indicate they (need to?) see everyone as the same. Of course if Mohammed is the most common name of new born, society will reflect that differently than if the first name is Paddy, or Sven.

    We don’t need to hypothesise this, those that doubt it can live in Tower Hamlets , and school their kids there to get the authentic minority experience.

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  14. DaithiD - being colour blind does not mean seeing everybody as the same. But once society sees everybody as human it sees it no matter the diversity and does not exclude people from the category of humanity on the basis of colour, nationality or religion. The real racism in the world for me is when we want diversity to allow for people to be regarded as less than human and therefore merit less rights than we might assert for ourselves. Mohammed and Paddy should have the same human rights and despite all you animosity towards Muslims you have singularly failed to demonstrate that it should be any other way.

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  15. AM, interesting you mention colour blind on this article , this is enough to qualify you as a bigot in the modern parlance, because it erases a ‘person of colour’s’ identity and lived experience.

    I’m no biologist, but I suspect most Muslims are human, and wouldn’t claim any different. What they want a society to resemble under Sharia, as measured by 1400 years of precedence, is what I object to.

    Maybe you are right, and the current Western institutions can withstand this, a quick look at the recent Sabaditsch-Wolff / ECHR judgement on the legality of reporting that Mohammad had a 6 year old wife shows how likely this will be. What a reckless risk to take at such a time in our history, we are the casino bankers of culture.

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  16. DaithiD - fiar point. I guess PC would in the interests of tolerance hang me for using the term colour blind. I reckon I could make a pretty good case for its usage prior to reaching the gallows.

    You only suspect most Muslims are - can you point to just one that is not? Do you also suspect that most non Muslims are human as well? Popper's theory of falsifiability might help you in your quest. You need only find one black sheep to falsify the thesis that all sheep are white. You should maybe go back to the drawing board with that one. But it is the comments section of a blog so we should not take a literal reading of something written in haste. You have not been read the Miranda card for the comments section!!

    I am on the same ground as you when opposing Sharia Law. But is there any homogenous Muslim community that wants Sharia Law? Or is this used as a device for anti-Muslim prejudice (not referring to you or this discussion). As you pointed out there is no Vatican to impose the whip. If Christians can break from the evils of the bible I am sure Muslims have the human capacity to do likewise.

    But you have me worried because that judgement against Sabaditsch-Wolff is frightening. Might be worth your while writing a piece on it.

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  17. AM, you know very well in the Republican sphere, many that would assume the label but do not have actions or tendencies congruent to the term. If you are asking do many who claim to be Muslim not call for the Sharia, I say yes, from personal experience many are friends of mine. But they are not Muslim in action or tendency, according to their own texts they are apostates. If you can point to some tangible progress that offers hope to oscillating between Brieviks and Bataclans , I’d be interested. Otherwise I’ll be chucking fruit at you on the gallows, disavowing any prior connection, I’ll say I was hacked or something. Forgive me.

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  18. DaithiD - who are the true Christians then? Only those who believe it is ok for God to commit genocide? Were you an apostate for not believing in biblical genocide? As you point out there is no Vatican to pull it all together so the chances of Muslims being a monolith are less than those of Catholicism.

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  19. AM, was I an apostate , yes very clearly I was. I feel I strayed out of my lane, into a topic a guy had twenty years at her majesties pleasure to meditate on and it showed. I know a bit about physics, a bit about trading system statistics and Bloomberg’s C# API, and a bit more about Provisional Republicanism.

    I don’t know what the right answer to this is, what I object to is the herding of debate onto the maker of these arguements rather than the arguement. Tommy Robinson was in court this week, he was previously locked up without being able to plead, sent straight to jail. Instead of the media examining the first journalist to be locked up for contempt of court , and his extrajudicial jailing, they focused on the littter his thousands of supporters left outside the old Bailey. It’s fucking cuckoo land.

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  20. DaithiD - it is not about you or what you used to believe. It is about the status of all those Catholics who do disagree with mass murder of children during the Passover - are they apostates?

    Most people probably don't give a toss for Tommy Robinson. The maker of the argument is open season if they display inconsistency on these matters. Practice what you preach sort of thing.

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  21. I thought this post was about P.C and those who get into your face telling/yelling "that,s not p.c."so I have taken these last few years to having a Robinsons "Golly" hanging from my rearview mirror, now it,s not that I,m in favour of hanging black or white people,no sireee it,s the annoyance its causes those "P,C"fuckers,the look on some of their faces is priceless.

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  22. Mackers et al

    Just a Larry Hughes update here. We communicate regularly via Fb messenger, and let me tell you, the banter is fierce and the craic mighty. I had a meal with him in Donegal two years ago and learned then that he's one of the funniest human beings on earth, and that has a lot to do with his utter disregard for Political Correctness. Larry's in the mystical East teaching English as a second language. He has a vast arsenal of vocabulary to share with his charges. His diversions are predictable and diverting. Larry's also glad to be far from Northern Ireland. I'll let him know you boys were asking after him. Carry on.

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  23. Marty I only brought up immigration because the PC police now say you cannot criticize it or you are racist. Racist is now their favorite term and they beat that term into the ground to get their way on anything. Like 1930's Russia anyone who disagrees with the Bono/Sinn Fein/Prince Leo Varad whats his face globalist worldview is an enemy of the people. They use political correctness to stifle dissent and further their filthy agenda(i.e swamping Europe with migrants). The whole thing is an absolute disgusting sham. 50 years from now future generations are gonna look back and say "what the hell were you thinking"? Why did you do this? China, Russia, Japan, South Korea have essentially zero immigration. Almost impossible to get in there to settle and they are doing just fine.

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  24. From Larry Hughes

    Mackers and Co. Frankie brought this article to my attention and I have had a good laugh reading the comments. Good to see Marty and Daithi D still in full swing no pun intended. PC is nothing but a coward's method of bullying people. Hiding behind a perceived better standard. All rubbish - just vile minorities throttling ordinary normal people they can't relate to from the margins of society. In our teachers' office here we have western females who for all their efforts cannot get a dog to bark at them. So many attractive females in this locality all very happy being females and feminine who wants a cart horse with bad attitude? They have been told in no uncertain terms their controlling ambitions will find zero traction here. I even used the McIntyre thought police slap down and boy did that stun-gun them in their tracks.... Priceless. Anyhow nice to read the comments and glad you are all blazing away there on the keyboards. Just thought I would let you know I haven't gone away ya know.... even though I have actually gone away you know.... if ya get me.

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  25. Ryan

    Can you cite any evidence for the "filthy" agenda of Varadkar, the EU and all those other evil globalists in "swamping Europe with migrants" This sort of vile Trumpian rhetoric is similar to Nigel Farage's "Breaking Point" imagery of Middle Eastern migrants flooding Europe during the EU ref in the UK which formed the backdrop to the murder of Jo Cox MP.

    While cognisant of the absurd lengths to which some well-meaning proponents of PC have taken it; I do believe that PC is just basic good manners.

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  26. Do you know whats vile Barry? The Madrid train bombings, the London tube bombings, the Bataclan mass murder, the New Years eve mass rape of German women in Cologne, the Manchester concert bombing, the Nice truck attack, the Brussels bombings, the London Bridge attack, last years Barcelona attack. Did I miss any? There's been so many its difficult to keep track. Sorry if I offended Barry it probably is not politically correct to list all these incidents.

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  27. Ryan - agreed. They were vile. Did you miss any? Yes, Gaza.

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  28. You’re right Anthony I missed one the Berlin Christmas market attack. I may have helped stray this comments section a bit off the original PC focus but i do believe all these issues are closely related. Another Honduran caravan heading for the US and if you believe it should be stopped you’re a cold hearted racist. As for Gaza not touching that one! Just hope all this madness never reaches Ireland.

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  29. Ryan, you missed Charlie Hebdo as well. But how could you miss Gaza?

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  30. Good to hear my aul sparring partner is alive and well. You've been missed Hughes.

    Bit monotonous hearing Grouch being the solitary voice of unreason on TPQ!

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  31. Hey AM then I would have had to mention all the other side's attacks too! Have you ever seen Gerry Kelly on the Stephen Nolan show when he is surrounded by people like Jeffrey Donaldson, Jim Allister, that clownish buffoon Bryson and about 95% of the audience looks like they just came from a Shankill Road bonfire? That's what I feel like here discussing the Middle East. Too outnumbered Not touching it. But its good to be back on the Palestinian Qui oops excuse me the Pensive Quill!

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  32. Ryan - you did mention a lot of vicious actions but ignored the elephant in the room. How come? It is hard to believe that you are authentic in defence of the people subjected to the unpardonable and vile attacks you referred to when you refuse to mention other innocents slaughtered. Are they not all worthy of the same right not to be slaughtered? Or are some less human than others - an Untermenschen sort of concept - and therefore not worthy of the same human rights as the others? For yourself it is not a matter of who is being killed just so long as those who are killing are on the same side as your. I don't watch Nolan but regard your reference to it as a cop out.

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  33. Lets not forget these migrants, we are told, bring excess value and contributions to their host nations, and lets pretend that is true.

    If we take migration from outside Europe for example, is it not at least a factor in why these countries remain so poor? So many that could make a difference in their homeland choose to work in the West?

    Of course there are those who will claim it a human right to give their labour where they wish, but then it begs the question, if its not their responsibility to help their kin in the dire need, why is it ours? If its because we authored an economic system that leads to such poverty, then should the choice of said migrants to enter into such a system be considered a neutral choice morally?

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  34. Hearing Larry left Letterkenny in a hurry , apparently he was handing out compliments to the local lassies, he kept telling them their hair smelt nice , whats the problem you may well ask ,the simple answer is Letterkenny lassies esp in heels are quite tall, Larry on the other hand is Irelands tallest dwarf ,

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  35. Ryan

    No you did not offend me by listing all these atrocities and the perpetrators were scum just like the white supremacist shooter in the Pittsburgh synagogue.

    It is just that those responsible were mostly born in Europe and were radicalised byt Saudi petro-dollar fuelled Wahhabi extremism a form of Islam that is alien to most Muslims and migrants from the Middle East.

    Ascribing collective responsibility to an entire ethnic group for the crimes of a crazed minority of that collectivity is a rather dangerous thing as we know from our rather recent history.

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  36. I was replying to Barry and all the attacks that have hit Europe due to this globalist obsession with open borders and political correctness. Gaza did not seem relevant to the discussion but I condemn attacks on all civilians everywhere. I do not care for either side I just have never quite understood the infatuation Irish nationalists/republicans have for the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Not a criticism just an observation.

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  37. Larry Hughes said

    Good to get a mention from both Steve R and Marty.

    Marty's comment reminds of the pygmy who married a Brazilian supermodel... When they were nose to nose his toes were 'in it' and when they were toe to toe his nose was 'in it.'

    Asia seems to be full of 'normal' sized people. I like it here lol

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  38. Ryan

    It is the failure to integrate some immigrant communities into some Western societies that has been problematic not migration per se. The twelve or so murder of Jews in France, Belgium and Germany were committed by young men of North African heritage who had imbibed hatred of Jews as part of their Islamist culture.

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  39. I wonder what the P.C brigade would have to say about the 50 year old Kenyan woman who murdered a 27 year old Malawain man (whose mates are all in jail)and cut his nuts of, this happened in Foxrock Co Dublin, meanwhile indigenous families are being evicted in their droves ,

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  40. Marty

    That they should be subject to the rule of law like anyone else.

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