I’ve
just gotten a lesson in political correctness.
A book I recently wrote is now being reviewed by my publisher for any
corrections required before publication, and by corrections this includes matters
involving spelling, syntax, factual errors and other matters of indiscretion or
inappropriateness. In all my writings I
welcome a second party review, as I certainly make my share of mistakes. For those of you who think otherwise, your
computer’s Spell Check can’t catch every misspelled word. And, sad to say, the legendary The Elements of Style by Strunk and
White, dating back to 1935, won’t guarantee a flawless sentence. With this said, I’ll share my lesson with
you.
In a
chapter critical of gambling, I had included the following entry:
More
than half the nation’s states together with several Canadian provinces host
Indian casinos, where roulette wheels, blackjack tables, and slot machines
operate around-the-clock to scalp the paleface—and whoever else strays onto the
reservation. I’m afraid it’s too late to
circle the wagons, as most of them already have chattel mortgages attached.
My publisher’s comment:
“This comes across as racist.” My
response:
Yes,
I suppose by 21st Century pseudo-academic standards, this can be declared to be
“racist.” Fast forward another dozen
years and it might possibly qualify as a hate crime, good for five years in the
penitentiary. Frankly, I put my lines
into the Mel Brooks category of humor and would prefer to keep it exactly as
I’ve composed it. However, if you
believe it will in any way adversely affect acceptance of the book, then we’ll
eliminate it. If that’s the case, simply
place a period following the term “around-the-clock,” while deleting the rest
of the paragraph—and humor be damned.
Over
the years I’ve observed it, what’s funny has changed. Whatever passes as humor now seems devoid of
it. Canned laughter punctuating insipid lines
on a TV show does not constitute humor.
Neither does a standup “comedian,” whose only response from an audience
is a few guffaws whenever he utters a string of four-letter expletives. And as for political correctness, it seems to
have preempted common sense—or perhaps it’s now uncommon sense. If anyone
can give me a good explanation as to why society has fallen to this level, I’m
eager to know why.
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If you enjoy this
weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly
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