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Sunday, January 31, 2021

On Being "Politically Correct"

By Claudia A. Fox Tree
 
  The Replica Senate Chamber at Edward M. Kennedy Institute (Boston, MA)
Photos by Claudia A. Fox Tree

When I hear someone say, "politically correct," it is usually in the context of criticism or making fun of something that is responding to the needs of a historically oppressed group. It essentially says, "I don't want to hear the truth" or "I am making fun of the people who want to spread the truth." It is often spoken by someone show has had their voice and story told and who hasn't had to fight for that right. The folks using the phrase should feel embarrassed because it signals they don't feel like they have anything to learn or unlearn. 

Don't you know that everything is "political"? What we choose to include and what we choose to exclude from education are all political decisions, so that phrase doesn't even make sense. Everything is political, and putting something down by saying it is "politically correct" means only listening to one perspective, typically the one not telling the whole truth, raising one voice, and continuing to oppress another. It acknowledges that there is a missing information, and often an unwillingness to learn. It's a way to put down people who want to respect all our relations and right historical inequities. The truth is that things can't be fixed without knowing the truth. In fact, you can't have "Truth and Reconciliation" without truth, it's that important.

We can only offer the Indigenous perspectives from community (that we've grown up with) and lessons from history (that we have had to relearn because they were omitted). Communities and individuals need to think about where they are going and what legacy of justice they want to leave the next generation.