Political Correctness is a pervasive disorder which affects almost every aspect of our existence. It is a mutant offspring of Communism and feminism. It takes its basic premises from collectivism and a set of unquestioned premises:
1. Everyone is equal, therefore the only reason outcomes are ever unequal is because of flaws in the system. In a perfect system, equality of outcomes would be assured.
2. Since everyone is equal, there can be no differences between people; men and women, therefore, are not just equal, but are identical in every way. Anatomy is no longer destiny, in fact, it is irrelevant.
3. All differences in outcome, therefore, must be the result of the powerful group, the ruling class, discriminating against the weaker groups.
Almost everything that we think of as Politically Correct has its root in these "axioms." The insistence on equality of outcome as a way to prove equality of opportunity and value, leads to bizarre situations that even a child can understand.
Oslo Girl (hat tip: Fjordman) is, apparently, a contented resident of Norway who moved there at the age of 10 from Long Island (where I grew up, in point of fact).
She seems to be a liberal, though she reports:
"I have grown more tolerant of Republicans over the years. (Point #24 on her list of 100thingsaboutoslogirl.)
After moving to Norway, she has her first encounter with Socialism. She is a bright youngster and finds school a pleasure and the work easy. In America, she would quickly finish her work and move onto something else of interest. In Norway, this was not to be the case:
So easy and so much fun, in fact, that I fly through the assignments and am impatient to learn more. I eagerly raise my hand and announce that I'm done and may I please start the next chapter?
"No, Elise," I am told by the teacher whom I quickly grow to resent. "Not everyone has understood division yet. We only move ahead as a class."
I protest, say I can do it on my own, can I just advance a few pages? To no avail. I am to wait patiently until everyone in the class, including G. who I suspect is mildly retarded, has understood it. It takes fucking forever, and I make sure the teacher knows I think so by rolling my eyes fairly often. In pretty bad taste I know now, but hey, I'm ten.
Over the next three years until I move back to the States, I get used to the system and learn how to take advantage of it. I rarely do homework (we don't get grades, anyway) and only do the bare minimum of what's required of me. I guess you could say I am temporarily denerdified, although I fear I was on the verge of losing something far more important.
People are manifestly not equal in ability and therefore, the only way to assure equality of outcome is to handicap the gifted so that they can move as slowly as the slowest student. A bright grade school student learns to play the game. In general, people will take the easiest approach to any problem that gives them the desired outcome. In a competitive educational system which demands the best from its students, the easiest way to succeed is to work hard. In Westchester county, a relatively wealthy area, home values are highest in the most competitive school districts. The children are expected to accelerate if they have the ability. If they lag, all sorts of services are offered. The idea of slowing down an entire class because a few students are having trouble would be considered farcical. Yet, when the New York State Board of Regents decides that the passing grade on a Regent's Exam should be 55 because too many children are failing at 65 (and when typical grades in upscale districts have 75% of their students scoring above 90% on the same tests) it is worth while wondering who is failing whom. The efforts to ensure equality of outcome in New York may lag behind Norway, but the result is similar: when the Nanny State is the parent of all, no one will take much responsibility for himself.
Oslo Girl ends her post with an interesting comment:
Tangent: I know it's a very complicated problem, but I sometimes wonder if there isn't any connection between this form of socialism and the fact that Oslo is the heroin-addict capital of the world?
Psychoanalysts have understood Heroin addiction (a somewhat outmoded point of view; psychoanalysis is relatively unhelpful for most addictions) as reflecting a wish by the addict for the "oceanic feeling" which represents a fantasied union with the primitive all encompassing, all caring mother. When the State is the mother who feeds and nurtures, addiction may not seem unattractive.
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