The Big Picture: Correctitude

[Ipsen]

Most notably? a cultural assumption of something being impure or evil if it is black for one. for two it's not even correct.

Black can be associated with non evil things. Does anyone associate tuxedos with evilness? How about black ties? No they both are symbols of elegance.

Only a troll would try to argue black always symbolizes evil.

Funny how you quote the guy and yet still assume he's 'always' labeling black as symbolizing evil. But as for the color black, its a color we see every day, so it can have many different symbols. But when it comes to calling a person 'black' by skin color, I would say is pretty much entirely residue from American/European culture before those called 'black' were considered second class citizens (take note, more than one culture has been called 'black' in history, including Hindus). If you still can't see the issue with the skin color 'black', maybe look at someone you would call black. Does their skin absorb all frequencies of visible light?

Most likely not.

~From selsi, your beloved captcha.

 

[shadyh8er]

Wow... Now I feel bad for ever laughing at Jeff Dunham.

It's ok dude. Even after this video I will continue to laugh at him. Provided I still find his jokes good of course. If that makes me a jerk, so be it.

 

[omegawyrm]

In Today's Big Picture Thread: Jerks say "Irony, what's that?"

 

[Mr_Jellyfish]

Great video! Not much more to say other than, this was one of the best ones yet! I think when people try to boil anything down into either one thing or the other there's always problems. It's really just a case of sometimes people go too far, one way or the other.
That said I don't think Resident Evil 5 meant to be offensive, they just didn't think. But Resident Evil 5's biggest crime is still that it's just not as fun as Resident Evil 4.
Also I'm so bored of the way computer games portray women. I mean why do they both? Pixels aren't sexy, why bother trying to make them sexy?

 

[Mr_Jellyfish]

Well, white people aren't white either. And there's no way I'm going to call people coloured, because I think it's offensive, and a lot of my friends would wince if someone called them "coloured".

 

[Luke Cartner]

While I agree with everything Bob said, I also cringe everytime my children watch various 'politically correct' cartoons telling stories like the three little pigs where they make friends with the wolf and invite him in. I also shudder every-time my society turns a blind eye to blatant sexism/xenophobia in the name of 'political correctness'/'cultural sensitivity'.
But I doubt either of those issues were what this was about.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Being nice is different than politically correct as PC is going a few steps further to sanitize and localize and just make whatever it is you are saying that much more fake sounding.

Also you can be a nice jerk just like Bob. hehehehehhehehee

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I'm sure someone can educate me here, but what's actually racist about the fried chicken stereotype? If it is in some way linked to the oppression of black people, like '******' or talking about picking cotton, or slavery, or alternatively, the racism of insinuating that blacks are criminals or dishonest or ill educated, then it's bad, it's racism, cool, let's trash it.

However, if it's just something that's been noticed, that a lot of black people seemingly like KFC, then is that an insult? IF it is, it's surely on the same level as British people having awful food and only liking bland stuff.

I'm not trying to stir anything up, I just genuinely am not seeing what's insulting about the idea that some black people like chicken.

If the running gag was white people like pizza, I'd not be calling for it to never be mentioned on TV.

However, as I said above, if it's linked to a deeper and more offensive meaning, then I'm all for having it seen as a bad thing.

I guess my point is, is a stereotype racist, if it's not actually saying a bad thing about that race? It's not making fun of looks, it's not associating a behaviour with that group of people, so surely it's not up there with 'black people are more likely to steal' as an example of a stereotype that is harmful.

I will state however that I think the banning of the terms Master and slave in terms of hard drives in LA is ridiculous. Even if all master hard drives came in a white case and all slave drives came in a black case, it would still be a stretch to say it was reflecting on the slavery issues of a hundred years previous. Master and Slave are two words that are still in current use to describe things, and unlike words we want to see the back of, like '******', they're not only used in one, offensive way.

 

[NaramSuen]

On this issue Bob, you and I are in complete agreement.

 

[no one really]

Thank god I'm not the only one that hates Achmed the dead terrorist (or whatever)...
Every single one of my friends think it's hillarious as s**t. Maybe I'm just in the wrong place. : /

 

[CitySquirrel]

Ahhh, I love you sometimes, Movie Bob.

 

[Gralian]

I'm sure someone can educate me here, but what's actually racist about the fried chicken stereotype? If it is in some way linked to the oppression of black people, like '******' or talking about picking cotton, or slavery, or alternatively, the racism of insinuating that blacks are criminals or dishonest or ill educated, then it's bad, it's racism, cool, let's trash it.

However, if it's just something that's been noticed, that a lot of black people seemingly like KFC, then is that an insult? IF it is, it's surely on the same level as British people having awful food and only liking bland stuff.

I'm not trying to stir anything up, I just genuinely am not seeing what's insulting about the idea that some black people like chicken.

If the running gag was white people like pizza, I'd not be calling for it to never be mentioned on TV.

However, as I said above, if it's linked to a deeper and more offensive meaning, then I'm all for having it seen as a bad thing.

I guess my point is, is a stereotype racist, if it's not actually saying a bad thing about that race? It's not making fun of looks, it's not associating a behaviour with that group of people, so surely it's not up there with 'black people are more likely to steal' as an example of a stereotype that is harmful.

I get your point, but i think the idea is that you're singling a minority out for ridicule. The reason people wouldn't be upset over the 'what if white people liked pizza' line is because white people are in the majority and it's not got quite the same impact. Here's an example. Imagine you are at school. There is a small group of 5 or so nerds, the 25 other classmates are "normal" and the majority. The 25 classmates laugh at the nerds because they like nerd things like dungeons and dragons. The 5 nerds laugh at the 25 others for being shallow / liking simple things. Here, the nerds are clearly the underdog and the ones being victimised. You probably wouldn't think twice about the 25 other people being victimised, because they are the majority and the status quo. Using your pizza example again, if you stereotypes Italians as eating nothing but pizza, it'd be just as harmful - simply because it's fulfilling a one dimensional stereotype. Saying "Oh, Italians must only eat pizza" is on the same level as saying "Oh, black people must only eat fried chicken."

Incidentally, since there seems to be some confusion between whether you should say "black" or "African American", i'd like to point out that America does not constitute the rest of the world and some of us over here in Europe have no other choice but to refer to others as "black", unless we (in the UK anyway) have to refer to them as "Jamaican British". But then, not everyone is from Jamaica. The focus on what is and isn't acceptable to denote somebody as is one example of PC going a bit mad in my opinion.

 

[J-Alfred]

Nice job, Bob. I'm pretty sure at this point I rewatch more of your Big Picture videos when I'm bored then your Escape to the Movies vidoes. Keep up the complex thoughts.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

There's a common term for the French in Britain 'Cheese eating surrender monkeys'.

Now I can see the offensiveness in calling them cowards, this stemming from WWII and from an ancient rivalry between France and the UK, who knows when and why it started.

However, the cheese eating part. France is well known for its cheeses, as it is for its wines. Therefore, despite it being a mildly derogatory term, it's not really unfair, as a lot of French people like cheese. (of course the cowardice part is offensive and rude).

So French eat cheese, English drink tea, the Italians eat Pizza, blacks eat fried chicken.

I'd say that to say that the Irish drink a lot is more offensive than saying blacks eat chicken, as there's just no real negative impact in saying someone eats fried chicken.

Unless of course, they mean it as 'KFC is a low class cheap eatery, and therefore blacks eat there because they're poor and low class', but maybe I'm overanalysing it in some bid to get an answer as to why it's bad.

As an Italian, I'd have every right to be offended about the old jokes about Italian tanks having only reverse gears, yet to say I eat pizza? Where's the malice or hatred, even if it is a shoddy, desperate stereotype? That's what I mean about the whole 'blacks eat fried chicken', while a stereotype, is it because of the example I chose above , or is it actually a fairly innocent piece of 'racist stereotyping'?

 

[rokudan]

So how is political correctness not censorship when Juan Williams gets fired from NPR after 10 years for saying "But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."

 

[Slash47]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Bob isn't fighting for PC, he's saying it's annoying how people hide behind the shield of 'oh you're just trying to be PC' or 'you're against free speech' when someone calls them out for being a dick. Right?

If so, I agree. I don't care who you are but if you're neglecting facts, opinions and moral values only because it's convenient, you're not -just- politically incorrect, you're also lazy/jealous/greedy/whichever of the seven sins you want to haul out of the Old Testament.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

It's always good to see a big(ish) geek icon calling out Resident Evil 5. Gamers like to think that all Games are exceptable. That's just bullshit, obviously Games are getting called out a lot these days by people who just don't get it but that doesn't mean people who shouldn't call out certain games too.

 

[geoflo1024]

I feel Bob was being a little too black and white on this issue. There are definitely people who do this thing, and several people who make offensive jokes are in fact @$$holes or bigots, but not all. I think it's perfectly possible to make offensive jokes or observe that sometimes politically incorrect assumptions have some element of truth to them.

I agree that Carlos Mencia is a joke of a comic. And that hurts for me to say, because I'm Mexican-American and as such want to see other Hispanic Americans do well. But he is terrible. He is the living embodiment of everything Bob seems to be hating on this week, and is stupid enough to tell you as much. Jeff Dunham is just not very funny. Seriously Jeff, I liked you the first ten minutes, but you really should've quit while you were ahead.

On the black Thor character, I'm against Bob. If you are indeed fighting FOR political correctness as you claim you are, and fighting AGAINST people who say "oh, you're just being PC," you will realize that there are no black Norse Gods. I have no problem with a black Spider-Man or Captain America because their "whiteness" is not central to their character. The fact that Spidey is white doesn't define him, so if a black, asian, or indian actor does a great job playing him, I'm all for it. But the Norse Gods are WHITE. That IS central to who they are. They are the WHITE gods of a WHITE people. This is one of the very few instances where a character's "whiteness" IS central to the character, so to make him any other race, IS in fact politically incorrect.

As for black Nick Fury, there is a more subjective topic that someone brought up. I personally think white Nick Fury is better. When Fury is white, he's tough as nails, gritty, and in your face. He doesn't take your crap, and he won't hesitate to tell you so. For some reason, black Nick Fury didn't just get a color swap, he got a personality change. Suddenly he's a smooth talking bad-@$$ mutha... etc. I'm not okay with that. I think it defeats the purpose of political correctness if you make a white character black for diversity, and then change that character's personality to match that of walking stereotype Samuel L. Jackson.

I guess my biggest problem was actually Bob's defense of a black Norse god, because as much as I don't like agreeing with people that would appreciate my support then call me a spic or wetback, they're right. Norse gods were white, and that's important to their character.

 

[person11]

You're of course angry at the misuse, but their are real problems with the obsession over PC. Like when their have to be a few 'white' zombies in an infected isolated african tribe, just so they are not accused of racism. It's disgusting.

 

[Treblaine]

Criticise liberalism "not politically incorrect"

Then lists liberal comedians as examples of Political correctness.

Wow, he had me till the end, that was SOOO transparent. Didn't list a single person of remotely conservative perspective and that is a shame because it utterly undermines his whole argument.

I mean the fried chicken joke... that is an anti-joke, I mean of ALL the negative stereotypes heaped on African Americans that has to be the most benign and trivial, especially considering we ALL like Fried Chicken. Who doesn't? Why is it so horrible to imply that black people like fried chicken? No one really thinks they like it any more than any other race, I mean foodstuffs, how petty is that?

Black people make fun of white people for being in love with mayonnaise, even though consumption is not actually that different between the demographics.

I mean IF I went to a restaurant and ordered fried chicken for everyone in my group and ONE of them happened to be black, is that incredibly insensitive? Or should I have bought him a separate meal after a value bucket for all my friends of different races. If I had mayonnaise with mine and he teased me over it would I get offended? No.

No, really that is political correctness that people have a problem with and it IS political correctness which is the centre of those jokes. Why can't you make a joke like that but yet get away with this:


How's this for a "politically incorrect joke":

"It's really sad when President Obama got inaugurated there was a sheet of bulletproof glass between him and the public. I mean just because he's balck it's not like he's going to shoot anyone"

-Frankie Boyle (UK)

Now that IS funny, the reversal of dismay over racist aggression against a black president playing off African American community stereotype for gun crime. But it is still politically incorrect and that's part of the reason why it is so damn funny.

Bottom line: just because they are being an ass does not mean they are "not being politically incorrect"

as if they are not being "incorrect" the they are being "politically correct"... huh?

Here is the process:

Politically correct -> Politically incorrect -> bigot

Being a bigot does not make you "un-in-correct", they are BOTH!

The only way I can possibly agree with Bob is that Political In-correctness is not IN ITSELF a protection which he seems to argue in the beginning then at the last minute change to say "politically Incorrect" is exclusively the protection of liberal comedians and does not apply to ANY conservative comedians!

I'm of the opinion that conservatism and liberalism need each other to keep each other in balance.

But Bob seems to favour want a power imbalance where liberal perspective can slaughter any sacred cows of the other side but no reciprocation.