Steven P. BarrettBE POLITICALLY DISCOMFORTING: THAT REALLY RATTLES PEOPLE
July 5th 2008 05:38
Steven Barrett
I had my first brush with political incorrectness some 18 or so years ago while working for Mount Holyoke College and representing the Library on a campus-wide committee set up to establish new rules to accomodate staffers' concerns about campus-based Christmas celebrations and appropriate holiday decorations.
It all started when a secretary complained about a complaint concerning the appropriatness of her having any specific religious holiday decorations on her desk in a "multi-cultural" setting as most colleges and universities tend to be. This is especially so on formerly religious institutions such as Mount Holyoke -- which ironically was founded by Mary Lyons as America's first all-women's seminary -- back in 1837.
I was particularly piqued around this time since the nearby Jones Library (Town of Amherst) decided to stop keeping a Christmas tree in the kids room and all in the name of -- you guessed it -- political correctness. Never mind the fact that very few people ever complained about the tree or its appropriateness. Hell's bells. It was a library trustee and she wasn't the kind of easily persuadeable type to back down in the name of good will to all. Not this Ms. Grinch.
When it came time for me to do my "civic campus duty" I demonstrated all the innocence I could've offered short of telling them I believed in Santa Claus. (Well ... who makes sure parents have enough coffee on Christmas Eve to make sure everything's in order the next day? Hmmm?) When a woman began to bitterly -- and yes she deliberately betrayed a certain amount of venom -- about Christmas -- OOPS -- "Holiday Parties" on campus around Christmas time, I offered up this original gem: "Well, when it Rome ... and most of the celebrants of Christmas or related holidays happen to be Christians."
Damn. Did I step in it and I'm not referring to snow. Another member of the committee, who was also a curate at the Episcopal parish in Amherst my family and I were members of then, called me a "cultural fascist." And a large woman of African American heritage who somehow managed to bag both jobs of college ombudsperson and affirmative action officer was also chair of this meeting and she was not in the least amused by such a sharp contrast of opinions between the Rev and myself. (We later became friends and the contentiousness was never personal.) Well, Madam Chairboss, was much less agreeable, and thus being more demonstrably upset, knew who to blame for this discord. The "cultural fascist."
I was now a "cultual fascist." Welcome to a new world, Steven--a world of "political correctness" on American college campuses. The Berlin Wall had just fallen a year or so before and here I was defending myself against the local STASI and KGB.
I was tempted to blow out and quit right on the spot -- but what good would that've done? Who'd represent my fellow "cultural fascists"?
Over time the "cultural fascist's" ideas became mainstream again. A small tree was even allowed in a branch of the library building and we never stopped holding our parties anyway, no matter what we called them. Santas and mini-creches adorned desks, etc. once again. As for the young lady who questioned any appropriateness of a predominately Christian theme at these parties, well, I could only respond that one of the library employees who is Jewish made sure everyone who attended helped to make it a success since it was also the YEAR END blow off the steam party which always occured after the biggest pile of books returned. (Yes, library employees aren't all nerds.) I also also reminded the anti-campus locale parties that having a party at a faculty or department head's home would open wide the door to a host of other and bigger conflicts of interest, protocols or whatever the hell else bothering anyone or would bother them.
So what happened? Voila! A campus-wide party was established but if there was to be any tree, it couldn't even be called a generic "holiday" tree.
I was pleased for partial victories back then so how could I complain?
Quite frankly, I'd rather be called a "cultural fascist" for speaking out on behalf of the majority of people (providing the majority wasn't into holding an "in your face" across-the-board reaction) on behalf of defending longstanding and wholly innocent traditions.
We don't live in Taliban-land. We don't live in Iran. We don't live in Saudi Arabia or Sudan.
So I'll be, and I hope you -- my good readers -- will, too, be much more comfortable with the idea of discomforting anyone who's into political correctness. Yes, be politically discomforting as hell. In doing so, you'll make the rest of our lives a lot more comfortable. The way to fight against religious or other forms of intolerance, intolerance and bigotry is not by using the iron fist, but by making the bullies feel such discomfort so as to never entertain the thought of bossing anybody around. And I mean anybody.
I had my first brush with political incorrectness some 18 or so years ago while working for Mount Holyoke College and representing the Library on a campus-wide committee set up to establish new rules to accomodate staffers' concerns about campus-based Christmas celebrations and appropriate holiday decorations.
It all started when a secretary complained about a complaint concerning the appropriatness of her having any specific religious holiday decorations on her desk in a "multi-cultural" setting as most colleges and universities tend to be. This is especially so on formerly religious institutions such as Mount Holyoke -- which ironically was founded by Mary Lyons as America's first all-women's seminary -- back in 1837.
I was particularly piqued around this time since the nearby Jones Library (Town of Amherst) decided to stop keeping a Christmas tree in the kids room and all in the name of -- you guessed it -- political correctness. Never mind the fact that very few people ever complained about the tree or its appropriateness. Hell's bells. It was a library trustee and she wasn't the kind of easily persuadeable type to back down in the name of good will to all. Not this Ms. Grinch.
When it came time for me to do my "civic campus duty" I demonstrated all the innocence I could've offered short of telling them I believed in Santa Claus. (Well ... who makes sure parents have enough coffee on Christmas Eve to make sure everything's in order the next day? Hmmm?) When a woman began to bitterly -- and yes she deliberately betrayed a certain amount of venom -- about Christmas -- OOPS -- "Holiday Parties" on campus around Christmas time, I offered up this original gem: "Well, when it Rome ... and most of the celebrants of Christmas or related holidays happen to be Christians."
Damn. Did I step in it and I'm not referring to snow. Another member of the committee, who was also a curate at the Episcopal parish in Amherst my family and I were members of then, called me a "cultural fascist." And a large woman of African American heritage who somehow managed to bag both jobs of college ombudsperson and affirmative action officer was also chair of this meeting and she was not in the least amused by such a sharp contrast of opinions between the Rev and myself. (We later became friends and the contentiousness was never personal.) Well, Madam Chairboss, was much less agreeable, and thus being more demonstrably upset, knew who to blame for this discord. The "cultural fascist."
I was now a "cultual fascist." Welcome to a new world, Steven--a world of "political correctness" on American college campuses. The Berlin Wall had just fallen a year or so before and here I was defending myself against the local STASI and KGB.
I was tempted to blow out and quit right on the spot -- but what good would that've done? Who'd represent my fellow "cultural fascists"?
Over time the "cultural fascist's" ideas became mainstream again. A small tree was even allowed in a branch of the library building and we never stopped holding our parties anyway, no matter what we called them. Santas and mini-creches adorned desks, etc. once again. As for the young lady who questioned any appropriateness of a predominately Christian theme at these parties, well, I could only respond that one of the library employees who is Jewish made sure everyone who attended helped to make it a success since it was also the YEAR END blow off the steam party which always occured after the biggest pile of books returned. (Yes, library employees aren't all nerds.) I also also reminded the anti-campus locale parties that having a party at a faculty or department head's home would open wide the door to a host of other and bigger conflicts of interest, protocols or whatever the hell else bothering anyone or would bother them.
So what happened? Voila! A campus-wide party was established but if there was to be any tree, it couldn't even be called a generic "holiday" tree.
I was pleased for partial victories back then so how could I complain?
Quite frankly, I'd rather be called a "cultural fascist" for speaking out on behalf of the majority of people (providing the majority wasn't into holding an "in your face" across-the-board reaction) on behalf of defending longstanding and wholly innocent traditions.
We don't live in Taliban-land. We don't live in Iran. We don't live in Saudi Arabia or Sudan.
So I'll be, and I hope you -- my good readers -- will, too, be much more comfortable with the idea of discomforting anyone who's into political correctness. Yes, be politically discomforting as hell. In doing so, you'll make the rest of our lives a lot more comfortable. The way to fight against religious or other forms of intolerance, intolerance and bigotry is not by using the iron fist, but by making the bullies feel such discomfort so as to never entertain the thought of bossing anybody around. And I mean anybody.
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