Politically Correct

polit'ically correct', adj. marked by or adhering to a typically progressive orthodoxy on issues involving esp. race, gender, sexual affinity, or ecology. Abbr.: PC, P.C. —polit'ical correct'ness, n.

Sometimes I think the whole point of political correctness is to sensitize us by keeping us off-balance. We ran through the obstacle course of: crippled, challenged, retarded, developmentally disadvantaged, disabled, differently-abled. And the variations of: aborigines, red man, Indians, Native Americans, American Indians. Every time we think we’ve found the right hue on our linguistic palette, some person or group continues to hear dissonance. Small wonder that politically correct, itself a label, is becoming more associated with enforcing orthodoxy and less with making progress.

I don’t with to add to the discontent, but I have a problem with X-American, where X is Latin, Asian, African, Native or some other designation. The combination makes these people sound like hybrids, not true Americans. Why am I not designated an ESIF-American (English, Scottish, Italian, French)? Why am I consigned to checking White on applications and health forms? White is neither an ethnicity nor a race. I understand that a community may wish to proudly retain the identity of its cultural heritage, shared creed, or geographic origin, as do Mexican-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Polish-Americans, Greek-Americans and others. Individuals sometimes prefer one or more of these designations as well. However, the heritage of individuals in the melting pot of America is becoming less precise. Golf’s Tiger Woods, responding to persistent media descriptions of him as African-American, publicly asserted his pride in his African, Thai, Chinese, Native American and European roots.

Please don’t misunderstand. Racial identity may be essential to researchers, for targeting recipients of social programs, or for diagnosing illnesses endemic to a particular group. I’m proud to be part Scottish. Celtic music resonates in me. But I don’t want to be known as Tom Gibbs, as ESIF-American. I have disabilities, but I’m reluctant to call myself disabled. I just want to be just Tom Gibbs, without labels that are an imperfect fit.