Last night, I did a meme on MySpace where you filled in X’s regarding statements that fit you and it determined a fake ethnicity for you. One of my friends from college (who is bi-racial) was the one who originally posted it and I went along with it for giggles. Well… apparently someone on my friends-list didn’t like it and commented about how they found it offensive and that we don’t need these vast assumptions and generalizations.
Yeah…
On the one hand, I agree with them because a lot of the statements were stereotypical (i.e. the Irish ones had to do with liking beer, liking the color green, and going to St. Paddy’s Day parties) but… on the other hand, it was a meme for fun and I took it as such.Â? I commented back, saying that their opinion was duly noted and I understood their point even though I disagreed.
Later,Â? I was watching “Celebrity Fit Club” (yes, I know some of you have moral and ethical issues with the show) and one of the contestants this season is Dustin Diamond who played “Screech” on “Saved by the Bell”.Â? He is trying to distance himself from “Screech” and is just being an absolute jerk in the process.Â? The other 7 cast members support each other despite the fact that the teams are men vs. women — Dustin, on the other hand, just rips people apart.Â? He got all bothered because he was talking about his pr0n tape at dinner during the second fitcamp and people weren’t paying attention to him alone.Â? Yeah… sorry but a meal is not the time nor the place to discuss these things.Â? He ended up just cursing everybody out and he’s threatening to quit the show next episode.Â? My thought: good freaking riddance.
So… back to the subject line, which occasion is the more appropriate time for PC speech: a blog which all of 10 people read and is passworded or… a televised gathering over a meal?Â? Ideally, the answer is both places but the televised gathering is the more realistic answer.Â? Not to mention… people don’t HAVE to read my MySpace blog — it’s not like I really ever post there.
I would love to be able to say “if you don’t like it, don’t read it” but that would be wrong for some unexplained reason.Â? All I know is this: there is a time and place for politically-correct speech and that meme post was not either of them.
No, it isn’t wrong to say, “If you don’t like it, don’t read it.” People are so damn over sensitive, and everyone seems to have “moral and ethical issues” with almost everything. That’s FINE. It’s great that people have morals and opinions. But it gets annoying when they try to foist theirs on other folks.
Do what makes you comfortable and happy. If any of that offends someone else, they’re welcome to bow out. (And I can say this knowing you’re not out to hurt anyone or put anyone down.)