CAMPUS CORRESPONDENCE : PC Bashing: The Latest in Campus Name-Calling

For several years, college campuses have been prominent stages for the “political correctness,” or “PC,” debate. Its central question--whether enforcement, formal or informal, of politically sensitive speech infringes on freedom of expression--is mostly characterized as a cut-and-dry quarrel between conservatives and liberals. Typically, liberals are portrayed as the driving force behind the attempts to culturally sensitize the language. But such simple characterizations mask the different--and ugly--course the debate has taken.

Part of the problem is that the term politically correct sounds too authoritarian. If a more judicious term had been adopted, like socially conscious or unbiased , liberals would be less vulnerable to criticism and the right would not be having a never-ending field day, parodying this fascistic-sounding term.

But the right has its own version of “politically correct” language. The anti-abortion group, Collegians for Life, for example, insists on calling a fetus a baby .

A day on the UCLA campus shows how far the debate has strayed and degenerated into name-calling. Conservatives, who routinely accuse liberals and leftists of trying to silence people and obstruct dialogue, now scream PC whenever they aren’t comfortable with the politics of another group or individual. Students involved in last spring’s struggle to broaden the university’s curriculum through the creation of a Chicano studies department were dubbed “PC fascists” by members of the Bruin Republicans. Indeed, whether seeking aid for earthquake victims in India, working to stop date-rape or advocating wheelchair access--all such activists are now mocked, labeled and dismissed by the right as “politically correct.”

One result of such “PC-baiting” is that more and more students are shying away from community activism or scholarly work that might expose them to the epithet of “politically correct weirdo.” The right has been effective in silencing, or trivializing, its opponents on whatever issue it refuses to deal with honestly.

As an editor in the Daily Bruin’s Viewpoint section, I have become familiar with the right’s PC-baiting tactic. The tip-off is an unsigned letter that accuses someone of “political correctness.” No analysis of, or possible solution to, problems on the campus is offered. One letter asserted that a certain African-American columnist ought to shove his “political correctness”--well, you know where.

True, overzealous liberal and leftist students have been known to break into impassioned sermons when people use so-called politically incorrect terms. They might consider that history is on their side--it has consistently shown that social evolution is inevitable; however, it takes time and patience.

Meanwhile, conservatives need to stop pinning quick-fix labels on their opponents and join the dialogue they’ve accused liberals of trying to crush.