Religion, sex, and racism are just a few things this new generation of politically correct students are trying to avoid discussing.
“South Park” recently aired an episode about college students trying to be politically correct to the point of ridiculousness. While this episode may have been a funny jab at college students, it brings up an important problem: The amount of over-prideful, politically correct college students is growing.
Students at the University of California, Berkeley, recently attempted to stop Bill Maher from speaking at their school. This came after Maher took a jab at religious groups on his late night show. Richard Dawkins, a well-known biologist, discussed the incident on Maher’s show and said, “If you only get exposed to ideas you believe in, what kind of university would that be?”
Political correctness has gone past just trying to make sure to be kind to people and has transformed into a monster by over-sensitizing everyone at all times. College campuses are by far the leading offenders of this new trend. Even Obama called students who ban speakers because of their beliefs coddled. Trying to appease every walk of life and every type of person seems like an impossible task, but these students will try their hardest to do it and make sure everyone around them is overly cautious about what they say when it comes to topics like religion, race, and sex.
Even at our own Dixie State University we have had instances of political correctness shutting down others. The Dixie Sun News used to have a column where the author would talk about a variety of topics involving sex. However, many students felt it was not appropriate for college age students to read and this led to the column being shut down over fear of offending more people.
I am in no way promoting blatant racism or being hateful to others, but why is it that having a differing opinion on something is not being politically correct? In the recent “South Park” episode, the most accurate representation to the real world they had was that of Caitlyn Jenner. Even those who do not disagree with her being a female but do not find her a hero cannot speak their mind without being called out by politically correct students. Because speaking your mind about her makes you trans-phobic in their eyes. This is insane to me, but there are many “politically correct” students that will shame you if you have a differing opinion from them.
Many comedians have stopped performing at campuses because of fear of the students getting offended and disapproving of what they say. This needs to stop because more often than not comedy is the best way to have a true dialogue about real world problems we face every day. It is insane that just because a small group of people are afraid other people will be offended that entire campuses are losing the right to have open discussions about these kinds of things.
Comedian Jerry Seinfield told USA Today he thinks college students do not understand what political correctness truly is.
“[The younger generation] just want to use these words,” Seinfeld said. “‘That’s racist, that’s sexist, that’s prejudice.’ They don’t even know what they’re talking about.”
One thing is for sure: political correctness has taken over our generation, and I hope it is another phase we all can get through unscathed. We need to allow people to say what is on their mind without fear of offending people because how can we talk about real world issues if you will be shamed for it?