How I became a member of the PC Police: A Short Scene
Setting: Bucolic campus. Happy coeds in collegiate conversation:
Super Ju: They charged me six dollars for this measly sandwich! I really got jipped!
FOSJ (Friend of Super Ju): Do you know what "gypped" means?
Super Ju: Yeah, it means ripped off, cheated.
FOSJ: How do you spell "gyp"?
Super Ju: "jay ai pee"
FOSJ: No, it's "gee wai pee", as in Gypsy, as in "Gypsies who con you and steal your money". It's a totally racist term.
Super Ju never used the term "gypped" again. Why?
Not because she was afraid of the reprobation of her smart liberal friends.
Not because she wanted to hide her secret internal racism.
But because now that she knew where the word came from, it no longer meant what she wanted to say.
She grew as a person that day. No one was censoring her. No one was telling her she couldn't say "gypped". She just didn't want to anymore.
(story continues)
A few weeks later, she was talking to some other friends. One of them used the word "gypped" in conversation. Aha! thought Super Ju. They probably don't know what it means! I shall tell them! And she did. But wait a minute! The response was not the thoughtful "Wow! I had no idea!" that she expected. Instead, she was laughed at:
IAOSJ (Idiot Acquaintance of Super Ju): Ha Ha Ha! So what? Everyone knows I'm not really talking about "gypsies". Duh! Who even knows any real gypsies? You're not a gypsy, why should you care?
Super Ju: But it's an insulting racist term!
IAOSJ: I'm not racist - I've never even met a gypsy! Don't tell me what I can and can't say! I thought you liberals were all about free speech. You're such a hypocrite. I bet gypsies can use the term "gypped" all they want. But because I'm white, I can't say it? That's what's racist!
Super Ju: I never told you what you can and can't say. I just thought you would want to know that it might be offensive to some people.
IAOSJ: Everyone's always offended by everything! Christ, you can't say anything anymore. That's what I like about George Bush. He's not afraid of you "P.C. Police" - he just says it like it is...(blah blah blah).
Super Ju wandered away, wondering why anyone would want to use a stupid racist word just because they can.