by Lauren Bulfin<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve had an anonymous complaint,\u201d began my supervisor Cesar sounding oddly hesitant for a man so bounding with aggression that he often throws office supplies at our heads for no reason. \u201cThe music is too loud. And the conversations have been\u2026raunchy. And, quite frankly\u2026racial.\u201d (Upon pronouncing this last word, his pale Cuban skin flushed pink.) Cesar looked at our blank faces, hoping for a sign of contrition. Nothing. Cesar continued: \u201cThe Deputy Manager wanted to come up in here and tell you guys himself, but I convinced him not to.\u201d Cesar looked at us almost pleadingly: \u201cwhen it\u2019s just us, we can say what we want, but when there are outsiders around, we have to be careful.\u201d Odd words coming from a man who said things like: \u201ctoday, I\u2019m wearing briefs instead of boxers. It\u2019s like walking around all day with a wedgie when you don\u2019t have a wedgie.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n
The anonymous complainant was obviously the cancer researcher who had occupied an empty desk in our cubicle pod for several days. But it was hard to think about any specific incidents she was referring to due to the sheer volume of inappropriateness. Raunchy? Was it when an elderly coworker who liked to flirt was told that he \u201cshouldn\u2019t make promises the body can\u2019t keep?\u201d Was the researcher offended when I was told I shouldn\u2019t drink coffee because \u201cyou know, White people don\u2019t age well\u201d? Or was it when a Black employee said \u201cif that woman had been White you know they wouldn\u2019t a\u2019 never convicted her?\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t even categorize whether these events had taken place before or during the researchers\u2019 arrival. We didn\u2019t censor ourselves for no researcher. My co-workers are largely a working-class, multiracial group of people who talk fearlessly about social issues that the students at my liberal arts college spend expensive sums to talk around, using political correctness as a shield.<\/p>\n
During the school year, I\u2019d gotten in trouble for the way I expressed myself about these issues, and was forcefully made to realize that I needed to tone myself down. At first I had protested: \u201cbut this is<\/em> me toned down.\u201d And in comparison to my co-workers at the hospital, where any opinion was best expressed as bluntly as possible, often for comic effect, I was toned down. But in comparison to the students in my seminar, I was toned way the fuck up. On one occasion, the White students even got mad on behalf of the minorities in our class.<\/p>\nWhile I was shaken up enough by this incident to modify my own behavior, I sincerely hoped that Cesar\u2019s speech didn\u2019t lead my co-workers to water themselves down too.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the precepts of right speech is to “abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others.”\u00a0 But one of the ‘near enemies’ of loving-kindness, is comfort, which I interpret to mean as engaging with others in a superficial way, so as to avoid things getting awkward or ‘messy.’\u00a0 Political correctness can be this near-enemy at times.\u00a0 Yes, I do feel ashamed when one of my White co-worker starts spouting racial slurs in a room filled with people of all different colors.\u00a0 But when I notice that no one else cares, I find myself caring less.\u00a0 Words are just words.\u00a0 When you allow people to express themselves outrageously, you are often clearing the way for them to work out their complex feelings towards a sensitive subject, even if they appear to be engaging only in “idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth.”\u00a0 (A no-no for right speech.).\u00a0 For example, a Black man at my job would often say things such as: “Well, there are too many White people in the room, I have to leave.”\u00a0 Eventually, he started telling us about all the fucked up things he had experienced growing up in the Jim Crow South.<\/p>\n
So I was glad when Cesar barked at me a few days later: \u201cLauren, I know you\u2019re White and all, but do you have to be so pale? Its summer time, go out and get yourself a tan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Political correctness had came and went from our hospital department, much like the researcher.<\/p>\n
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by Lauren Bulfin \u201cWe\u2019ve had an anonymous complaint,\u201d began my supervisor Cesar sounding oddly hesitant for a man so bounding with aggression that he often throws office supplies at our heads for no reason. \u201cThe music is too loud. And the conversations have been\u2026raunchy. And, quite frankly\u2026racial.\u201d (Upon pronouncing this last word, his pale Cuban…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":340,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-media"],"yoast_head":"\n
Right Speech: Candidness 1, Political Correctness 0 - One City<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/08\/right-speech-candidness-1-political-correctness-0.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Right Speech: Candidness 1, Political Correctness 0 - One City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Lauren Bulfin \u201cWe\u2019ve had an anonymous complaint,\u201d began my supervisor Cesar sounding oddly hesitant for a man so bounding with aggression that he often throws office supplies at our heads for no reason. \u201cThe music is too loud. And the conversations have been\u2026raunchy. And, quite frankly\u2026racial.\u201d (Upon pronouncing this last word, his pale Cuban…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/08\/right-speech-candidness-1-political-correctness-0.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"One City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-08-30T09:48:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rewriteable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Right Speech: Candidness 1, Political Correctness 0 - One City","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/08\/right-speech-candidness-1-political-correctness-0.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Right Speech: Candidness 1, Political Correctness 0 - One City","og_description":"by Lauren Bulfin \u201cWe\u2019ve had an anonymous complaint,\u201d began my supervisor Cesar sounding oddly hesitant for a man so bounding with aggression that he often throws office supplies at our heads for no reason. \u201cThe music is too loud. 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