IF YOU ARE OLD, YOU ARE OLD, JUST TELL IT LIKE IT IS

People are simply too damn sensitive nowadays, but I find it surprising when it's the older generation who gets on board the old politcal correctness bandwagon as well. Because that's just not something from the past, that's something that's unfortunately developed only recently as we've become more and more a really touchy-feely kind of society.

The old man said, "I don't like the word 'senior,' I think it has a bit of a negative feel to it."

I can sympathize with not wanting to be called certain things. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to clearly understand that there are certain things that should very well be off limits, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with political correctness. Those "off limits" things would be obvious derogatory terms. In the case of an old man, calling him a 'geezer,' for example, is probably not a very nice thing to do, and should rightly be refrained from. Calling an old man an old man? Well, that's a bit different isn't it? If you are on in the years you are old. Even if old could potentially mean used up or out of useful commission. Old could also mean built better, more solid, or more ornate. An old house has character, for example. Nowadays it's just two-by-fours, cheap walls, and a roof. So in this context, being referred to as "old" might even be a compliment.

Taking it one step further, there are some black folks who like to be called black. Others like to be called African-American. Though I've run into some black folks who hated to be called African-American, and others who have hated to be called black.

The fact is that this kind of thinking just serves to make the world a very difficult place in which to live together, peacefully, and harmoniously. It makes people seem too fragile, and certainly unapproachable. Perhaps if I don't know what to call you, I just won't talk to you at all.

One wonders why, in today's society, people barely bother to even say a simple 'hello' when they pass by you on the street, or in a grocery store, or in a parking lot. You'd be lucky to get even a smile. After all, someone might be offended you've said hello to them. They might become suspicious you've smiled at them.

"Excuse me, but do I know you?" As though that is somehow a prerequisite to acknowledging the very presense of another human being.

To the offended old man and subscribers of political correctness I say this; this is not the kind of world I want to live in. I don't think it's the kind of world you grew up in. And it's this kind of thinking, this kind of immediate offense that is quite literally ripping apart the fabric of our communities across the country, and shame on us for letting it get this way.

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