I have long marveled (and been distressed) at how quickly Media is able to get people to alter their vocabulary. The political manipulation of language is a powerful tool and most everybody seems to give into it.

Do you call Hobos - Homeless?

Do you call Homosexuals - Gays?

Do you call Blacks - African Americans even if the guy/gal has never even BEEN to Africa or America?

Do you feel compelled to use this kind of language? Do you feel resentment? Do you pick up the latest PC talk as soon as you encounter it, or does it take a period of weeks before it sinks in?

I myself won't use PC speech and find it offensive. Take "Homeless" as an example; in the old daze "homeless" might be used to describe a family who had lost their home to a fire. Today we lump these folks in with the rail riding Hobos thru this "Homeless" business.

How do, you confront this problem of Politically manipulated speech? (Or do you?)

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An ascendant man, living in a degenerate age, MUST, by definition, live in contradistinction to his times.

badgerrr:

I have long marveled (and been distressed) at how quickly Media is able to get people to alter their vocabulary. The political manipulation of language is a powerful tool and most everybody seems to give into it.
How do, you confront this problem of Politically manipulated speech? (Or do you?)

 Those of us who are old enough to remember multiple iterations really get a bang out of the latest PC silliness:
       Blacks (negros) petitioned HARD to be called "blacks", and it didn't come easy, as the American society was in the habit of referring to negros as "colored". The trend-setting, progressive, influential people of the day PUSHED for the "black" appellation - and it made sense, much more sense than "colored". There was an equity in it too but, oddly, as soon as it was completely and thoroughly adopted, for reasons known only to social engineers, it had to be changed. The replacement was, imaginatively, "African American", a completely arbitrary, baseless moniker. Most of the folks identifying themselves as "African American" are in fact closer to "English American" or "Italian American".
    I've watched similar silliness in the naming of Oregon state agencies. First it was "CSD" (Childrens Services Division). Then all the stationary had to be changed to SOSCF (State Office of Services for Children and Families?) Then the stationary had to be changed again to DHS (Department of Human Services?). Whatever - and I think I'm missing one in there - and I'm only covering fifteen years. If they spent as much time trying to improve the agency reputation and less time trying to change the label they'd be better off.
    I guess the fact that we spend so much time on this silliness means we really don't have any significant problems in the world...
    All this nonsense is uniquely American, by the way, and whatever silliness we hatch in this country is amplified in Eugene, as we've become an exaggerated caricature of ourselves.
    Meanwhile, there are plenty of blacks, whites, asians, hispanics and others who get along, work together, problem solve, compete, share, raise families, go to church and improve the world without the need to lable, analyze or participate in the Eugene-socio-blabbery-baloney. They just get along as people. That's what we like to do in our family - in spite of the fact that we're from Eugene. (Eugene wasn't weird in the old days...it was just a normal American town, so we were not force-fed this crapola... And "gay" meant happy and festive.)

Yes, I use it. I don't think it's politically manipulated. The dictionary is always changing.

I have but one regret. I don't like the use of the word 'gay' for homosexuals. Gay is a great word that means cheerful and happy, and even joyous. This meaning is now lost. And not all homosexuals are happy-go-lucky people. Some are very serious minded. ALso, some suffer from depression, just like heteros.

I don't have anything against gays, but I do want my word back. However, this is unlikely to happen, so I deal with it. It's really a non-issue. This certainly doesn't rank high on my list of things to think about.