Have we really become more sensitive?

[Fru]

 

 

 

I think society has definitely become more accepting, and that's great. But, sometimes that acceptance borders on over-sensitivity.

 

Can you give some examples of where acceptance has gone too far?

 

This may not be "acceptance" but any type of crappy behavior by a kid, and the kid is given a behavior-label as a doctor, so his or her behavior is excused.

 

 

I would think that's less an example of PC culture than an example of our overly-medicated/diagnosed society.

 

 

That's a WHOLE other ball of wax.

[StPaulHusker]

Someone speaking up against social injustices and inequalities that have been the norm for many years doesn't make you soft. Or a snowflake. It makes you less tolerant of bullsh#t. And that's okay sometimes

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

 

I think society has definitely become more accepting, and that's great. But, sometimes that acceptance borders on over-sensitivity.

 

Can you give some examples of where acceptance has gone too far?

 

This may not be "acceptance" but any type of crappy behavior by a kid, and the kid is given a behavior-label as a doctor, so his or her behavior is excused.

 

 

I would think that's less an example of PC culture than an example of our overly-medicated/diagnosed society.

 

Fair enough. But, it still comes from a PC culture, because how dare someone else call a child "weird" or "behaving badly".

 

This doesn't apply to me because I have been married for over 15 years, but I am curious about how young people go through the process of hooking up. I could be way wrong, but it seems like having a few drinks, looking for people hook up with is frowned upon now. Is it really objectifying a woman if I think she is attractive? What is wrong with being physically attracted to someone? We are all animals in our DNA, so it's in our nature to have certain instincts.

 

Again, I am a 40 year old, married man, so I have no idea what people in their teens and 20's think about, but things that I thought of as "normal behavior" seem to be considered "bad" now.

[knapplc]

I am a 40 year old

[Moiraine]

In some things we've gotten better, but at the same time, we have things like trigger warnings and safe spaces because people don't want to be challenged in their worldview.

 

 

I don't deny those exist, but they have been there as long as the existence of religion. I'm guessing people can come up with loads more examples but my entire freaking town of 8,000 was a safe space protected from the evils of Beavis and Butthead and Marilyn Manson. There was only 1 cable provider.

[Moiraine]

 

 

 

 

I think society has definitely become more accepting, and that's great. But, sometimes that acceptance borders on over-sensitivity.

 

Can you give some examples of where acceptance has gone too far?

This may not be "acceptance" but any type of crappy behavior by a kid, and the kid is given a behavior-label as a doctor, so his or her behavior is excused.

I would think that's less an example of PC culture than an example of our overly-medicated/diagnosed society.

Fair enough. But, it still comes from a PC culture, because how dare someone else call a child "weird" or "behaving badly".

 

This doesn't apply to me because I have been married for over 15 years, but I am curious about how young people go through the process of hooking up. I could be way wrong, but it seems like having a few drinks, looking for people hook up with is frowned upon now. Is it really objectifying a woman if I think she is attractive? What is wrong with being physically attracted to someone? We are all animals in our DNA, so it's in our nature to have certain instincts.

 

Again, I am a 40 year old, married man, so I have no idea what people in their teens and 20's think about, but things that I thought of as "normal behavior" seem to be considered "bad" now.

You seem to be saying people are looked down upon for going to bars and clubs and hooking up now.

 

I'm really confused now.

 

Are the whippersnappers morally depraved now or are they all prudes?

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

 

 

 

I think society has definitely become more accepting, and that's great. But, sometimes that acceptance borders on over-sensitivity.

Can you give some examples of where acceptance has gone too far?

This may not be "acceptance" but any type of crappy behavior by a kid, and the kid is given a behavior-label as a doctor, so his or her behavior is excused.

I would think that's less an example of PC culture than an example of our overly-medicated/diagnosed society.

Fair enough. But, it still comes from a PC culture, because how dare someone else call a child "weird" or "behaving badly".

 

This doesn't apply to me because I have been married for over 15 years, but I am curious about how young people go through the process of hooking up. I could be way wrong, but it seems like having a few drinks, looking for people hook up with is frowned upon now. Is it really objectifying a woman if I think she is attractive? What is wrong with being physically attracted to someone? We are all animals in our DNA, so it's in our nature to have certain instincts.

 

Again, I am a 40 year old, married man, so I have no idea what people in their teens and 20's think about, but things that I thought of as "normal behavior" seem to be considered "bad" now.

You seem to be saying people are looked down upon for going to bars and clubs and hooking up now.

 

I'm really confused now.

 

Are the whippersnappers morally depraved now or are they all prudes?

 

I'm confused as well. Oh well, I will just continue living my life.

[Saunders]

 

In some things we've gotten better, but at the same time, we have things like trigger warnings and safe spaces because people don't want to be challenged in their worldview.

 

Are "trigger warnings" and "safe spaces" a widely used or accepted thing, or are they fringe buzzwords for small groups that have gotten big headlines?

 

I can't remember the last time in real life anyone has mentioned a trigger, except ironically. Certainly hasn't happened here.

 

The only time on HuskerBoard I can remember anyone talking about a safe space for themselves was when several conservative members of the board wanted a conservative-only thread or forum just for them to talk politics in because they didn't want to interact with "liberals."

 

It seems to be mostly prominent in colleges, which seems like a bad idea because it's when people really begin to form their own ideas and opinions on life.

[knapplc]

Colleges have been the forefront of different cultures since the 1800s, so that would belie the "we're more PC now" idea that's going around.

 

I think there's a recency bias at play with the perception of "PC culture" today. Colleges especially have always been progressive when it comes to acceptance. The Hippie culture and Counter Cultures of the 1960s - two generations ago! - were pushing these ideas.

[ColoradoHusk]

I'm basically the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

My gripe against PC culture is that it takes away jokes. Jokes are intended to make fun of people, but it's so hard to make jokes now without offending people.

[RedSavage]

Reading through this and even in Teach's thread, I keep thinking about the movie Blazing Saddles. There's no way a movie like that would ever even be thought about being made today. That movie is about as un-"PC" as you can get. Now a lot of that has to do with race and even though racism is still very much out there, I think we've definitely become more sensitive to that. So it's probably stating the obvious but it really all depends on the subject matter - as a population we've become less sensitive about some things and more sensitive about others.

[ColoradoHusk]

Reading through this and even in Teach's thread, I keep thinking about the movie Blazing Saddles. There's no way a movie like that would ever even be thought about being made today. That movie is about as un-"PC" as you can get. Now a lot of that has to do with race and even though racism is still very much out there, I think we've definitely become more sensitive to that. So it's probably stating the obvious but it really all depends on the subject matter - as a population we've become less sensitive about some things and more sensitive about others.

I feel like such a nerd for having never seen Blazing Saddles. I need to find that on Netflix or Amazon Prime and watch that movie. It sounds hilarious!!!

[teachercd]

Reading through this and even in Teach's thread, I keep thinking about the movie Blazing Saddles. There's no way a movie like that would ever even be thought about being made today. That movie is about as un-"PC" as you can get. Now a lot of that has to do with race and even though racism is still very much out there, I think we've definitely become more sensitive to that. So it's probably stating the obvious but it really all depends on the subject matter - as a population we've become less sensitive about some things and more sensitive about others.

My thread was made for a reason...wink

[knapplc]

Turns out, Blazing Saddles almost didn't get made, too. For the same reasons we're talking about it not getting made today.

 

LINK

What did Warner Bros. executives think when they first saw Blazing Saddles?

They wanted to bury me and the film. The head of distribution told the owners not to release the picture but they only did because it was already booked in theaters and they didn’t have a picture they could replace it with. Only John Calley, an extremely filmmaker-friendly executive at the studio, championed it. The rest of the executives wouldn’t acknowledge me on the lot even when Blazing Saddles became a huge money maker.”

 

Why did they hate the film so much?

I actually got notes from the studio head in vivid detail who said, “Lose the fart scene, cut out any racial and ethnic jokes, edit scenes where a horse and an old lady get punched,” and my favorite note: “Can you reshoot Black Bart with a white actor?” If I had made their changes the film would have been just 14 minutes long! I stupidly threw all their notes in the trash. Imagine the book I could have written on them today. Then I had a screening on the lot for anyone who worked there, so the executives couldn’t think I was faking the results. The screening proved everything the big shots hated was funny beyond belief, and yet the big shots didn’t believe the comic tastes of their own employees. I only got my first royalty check recently, which meant it took all these years to show a profit. Hopefully my next check will be in three figures!

 

 

Aren't these exactly why we think it couldn't be made today? And yet, it was made 40 years ago, way before the "PC Culture" allegedly arose.

 

 

 

 

And, Mel Brooks doesn't think it would be made today:

 

Do you think Blazing Saddles would ever get made in politically correct 2016?

No!

 

 

 

But, Django Unchained was made in 2012. If that movie makes the screens, so does a modern Blazing Saddles.