Strollerderby : political correctness

Will Our Kids Be Allowed to Say Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah?

JeanneSager — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:59:00 GMT

I'm all for thinking the neighbor's holiday light show is just five blinking strands of twinkle lights this side of tacky, but telling someone they're being offensive to non-Christians? That's what they call political correctness gone wild.

A mom of three in England got a call from her community association, telling her she had to take down her elaborate display because it might offend the neighbors. Not that it was too big. Not that it was too gaudy. Not that she'd had it up since early November (who has the time for that? or the money to pay the electric bill).

Dorothy Glenn's kids are well past the Santa belief stage, but with three still at home, I get that she still wants to "do up" the holidays. So, apparently, do most of the people in her neighborhood, and the area politicians who have decried the community association for being ridiculous.

The problem has been solved - the lights are still up, but this kind of thing has made it harder to enjoy Christmas (or Hanukkah for that matter) with the kids. Instead of taking in the spirit with which tidings of joy are meant, people are quick to take offense at a "Merry Christmas" when they're not Christian or "Happy Hanukkah" when they're not Jewish. And lest you think the easy answer is to say "happy holidays," try standing in the post office, clutching your toddler's hand while an older member of your family's Catholic parish berates you for taking Christ out of Christmas. Not exactly what my daughter needed to hear - or me for that matter.

So what do we teach our kids to say? Happy Kwanahanamas? That way they can offend everyone. Or maybe their's will finally be the generation that just lets people be.

Image/Source: The Daily Mail

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Mom Gets Hate Mail for Ending Kids Thanksgiving Party

Would You Give Gifts Bought At Wal-Mart Where Man Died?

What Makes a Yuppie Parent?

Babble Podcast for December 8, 2008

Brett Singer — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:25:00 GMT

Here is the sixth Babble Podcast.

You can either listen right here

or download the MP3 file by clicking here.

On today's episode:

1.    Quick news update:
       - Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating People may not be all that fascinating
       - Plaxico Burress. Oy vey.
       - The Senate race in Minnesota is starting to sound like one of Al Franken's SNL sketches

2. The Week in Blog
- Pregnant 1 year old, Cream Booties and Britney Spears. Not all at once.

3. Comment of the Week
- Might want to re-think those rules for your son, dude.

4. The Last Word
- Political Correctness is back!

Notes on this podcast:

Songs parodied:

- REM, Stand
- Billy Joel, Captain Jack
- Movin' On Up, Theme Song from The Jeffersons

Posts mentioned:

Pregnant 1-Year-Old

Calculate the Odds You'll Get Divorced

10 WORST. BABY. PRODUCTS. EVER! (Part 2)

Top 10 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Baby Products

Cyber Monday Deals: The Complete List of Online Discounts

Brookstone Item That's Truly Useful for Parents

Organic Cream Booties

Video: Britney's X Factor "Womanizer" Performance! Hot!

Chris Brown Dumps Pregnant Rihanna?!!?

Brad To Apologize To Jen For Cheating (Little Late Now Isn't It)?

50 Rules for My Unborn Son

Do You Take Your Baby Bar Hopping?

They Say: Get Some Sleep or Die

Explaining Plaxico Burress To A Seven Year Old

Suri Cruise: Most Powerful Child On The Planet

Grown Kids Try Forcing Dad To Divorce Second Wife In Court

Past Podcasts:

Babble Podcast for November 24, 2008

Babble Podcast for November 17, 2008

Babble Podcast for November 10, 2008

Huffing and Puffing and Blowing Your Common Sense Down

makeitadouble — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:03:00 GMT

Which one of the following recent PC-driven revisions to classic children’s stories and nursery rhymes is true: A rewrite of the Three Little Pigs called The Three Cowboy Builders being called offensive to Muslims and insulting to builders, Baa Baa Black Sheep being changed to Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep to satisfy race relations, the “Seven Dwarfs” removed from the title of Snow White to avoid offending the vertically challenged or the ending of Humpty Dumpty being rewritten to avoid upsetting sensitive children?

Trick Question, they’re all true.

A 3-D Educational Book based on the nursery rhyme The Three Little Pigs - called The Three Cowboy Builders (the cowboys are still pigs) – was criticized by Becta, England’s education technology agency, because the use of pigs could be offensive to Muslims and the story stereotypes builders. The condemnation of the Award winning interactive book occurred during the judging of entries at the annual BETT Awards, a ceremony designed to honor the best educational stories, programs and teaching aids for children.

Becta judges said that whereas the retelling of a story was acceptable, the story should not single-out and alienate sections of the workforce then added that builders should be positive role models for children. "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?" the judges asked.

Is there no end to this absurd hypersensitive politically correct bullshit? Even the head of education at the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “We are not offended by (the book) at all.” This isn’t the same as Disney’s intentional racially and ethnically insensitive characters (see Metrodad’s post on Cinderella Dolls & the Disney Industrial Complex) we’re talking about cowboy pigs building houses. Come on, lighten up people.

Where’s the story about how Hindus may be offended by the similarities between Babar the Elephant and their sacred deity Ganesha and Jack’s blasphemous selling of a sacred cow for magic beans? Will Clifford from here on in be the Big Rainbow Dog to avoid racial tension with American Indians or will that be an affront to Gay Pride? Will contestants from The Biggest Loser speak out against The Very Hungry Caterpillar because of the way it misrepresents the eating habits of the overweight?

They’re just harmless kids books and they’re for reading, not for reading into.

(Image from front cover of 'Ladybird' reading book - Illustrator: Robert Lumley)

Where the Tame Things Are: Children’s Books Censored

makeitadouble — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:04:00 GMT

One of our oldest son’s favorite books when he was younger, which was read to him a Guinness Book record 1,097,653 times in one calendar year, was called “Eight Silly Monkeys”. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? It begins, “Eight silly monkeys sitting sedately on the floor. One got up and walked out the door. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, “I’m not sure what I can do for you Mrs. Monkey. Walking out the door really isn’t a medical issue.” OK, so maybe the book didn’t read exactly like that but it might someday if certain publishers who have taken to censoring children’s books have anything to do with it.

Editors stricken with an acute strain of the PC bug are taking the heavy red pen of censorship to children’s books due to concerns of health and safety. In one book called “Who Wants a Dragon?” publishers insisted a scene containing a Dragon toasting marshmallows on flames from his nostrils be changed because “it looked dangerous and goes against health and safety.” When did John Ashcroft start editing children’s books? Seriously, what’s the point of being able to breathe fire out of your nose if you can’t whip up the occasional batch of S’mores? It wasn’t like he was lighting his farts, which in certain freshman college dorms after a couple wine coolers is actually pretty funny; I mean from what I’ve heard.

In another book a boy climbing a ladder was deemed precarious and was changed, oddly enough, to a boy standing on three stacked paint cans. They might as well have just dressed him in an oily rag Superman cape and stood him next to a dragon with an open bag of Stay-Pufts.

This is nothing more than PC extremists covering their own asses while enabling some parents to surrender yet another responsibility in their children’s upbringing. For me this is as bad as when Sesame Street sold out and bastardized Cookie Monster into some vegetable eating namby pamby. Children are so inundated with influential messages from friends, television, books, movies, the internet and a thousand other sources parents need to guide them in learning to process these messages, in comparing them to the values they’ve been taught and hopefully in making the right choices. Sheltering a child will not teach them the right message nor will censoring a harmless children’s book protect kids from the risks they’ll encounter in real life.

What’s next? How The Grinch Politely Asked To Borrow Christmas Then Returned It In A Timely Fashion And Said Thank You? I’d rather teach my kid to light his farts.

You Aren't Getting Snuggled Thanks To Political Correctness?

Kelly Mills — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:33:00 GMT

Some British psychologists say we all need hugs, like at least one a day. However, "Political correctness is partly to blame as we have been conditioned not to touch anyone anymore as it can easily be deemed inappropriate." M'kay. Even if you don't feel the yearning for some snuggle action, the researchers say that while our kids are getting all the love, the adults are cold and lonely. Hugging for kids drops off at around age 11, and then picks up at age 18, I guess when they start going to college parties, though we didn't call that hugging when I was younger. Ahem.

Look, I'm not anti-hug at all, but is it really being P.C. that has destroyed our cuddles? When I think of the folks who might want to hug me but worry it could be inappropriate, I think, "thank god that person isn't hugging me." And maybe some of the adolescent hug drop off has more to do with the nature of teens. The study says, "Those aged between the ages of 15 and 17 are the ones least likely to receive, or even want to receive, a hug." I bet.

Because this study was sponsored by a soap company, the spokesperson also says, "Our study found having huggable, snuggleable soft skin makes us feel happier when coming into contact with loved ones." What a crucial finding. But whatever, go hug yerself.