Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 08:32:37 EST
From: Wayne Glowka wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAIL.GAC.PEACHNET.EDU
Subject: Re: offending idioms
Isn't PC just another form of the old middle class tendency toward
euphemism, you know, the kind that gave us _white meat_ and _dark meat_ and
_gentleman cow_? PC always comes across as quaint to folks who lived on
the wrong side of the expressway and know even worse terms than the
apparently innocent ones vilified by the PC.
Sometimes PC and euphemism in general can backfire: I have run into people
in Texas and Georgia who refer in the singular to a descendant of African
slaves as _a minority_--"A minority just came in here and gave me some
trouble about . . . ." The whole euphemism is lost in the sarcastic tone
of voice that frames the word. Further, I've just read about a company
that tried to produce optimism among workers by referring to problems in
production or marketing as _opportunities_. Workers began using the term
_opportunity_ in ironic ways: "I hear that he had an opportunity with his
car this morning on the way to work. Yeah, he blew out his transmission."
An educator experiencing wellness but awaiting the opportunity of passing,
Wayne Glowka
Professor of English
Director of Research and Graduate Student Services
Georgia College
Milledgeville, GA 31061
912-453-4222
wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]mail.gac.peachnet.edu
BITNET Address: Wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]USCN