I completely disagree. It’s not about ‘PC’ going too far, it’s about people not taking responsibility for their actions. No one should be subjected to any for of abuse or otherwise due to something that is completely out of their control. That means race, gender, disability etc. Allowing jokes and comments that play to stereotypes simply creates a toxic environment that isn’t welcoming to others. It degrades and potentially singles out people based on who they are, and it’s wrong. It’s something you can do with your mates in the pub because you know them, and you can judge how they react, and you can see the emotions they are giving. Online it’s virtually impossible to know if your offending someone, they may never even post, and to push to the victim to point out when you’ve gone too far as the default position is completely wrong.
‘Political correctness gone too far’ is simply an excuse for people to defend being ignorant and refusing to move with the times. See also ‘I remember when it was ok to say’ or ‘in my day’ or ‘boys will be boys’ etc. Times change.
You specifically being from a minority that is often picked on and also being thick skinned doesn’t give you the right to decide for others either.
We are talking about people from all walks of life, you don’t know their experiences. They may be bullied all through their lives, mental health issues, perhaps even close to suicide and just looking to escape the a-holes who treat them like second class citizens, or animals. They’re car enthusiasts who want to escape it all and instead of escaping they find themselves right back in it, jokes at their expenses.
It’s pathetic and people should feel ashamed of themselves for it in my opinion, and if they are willing to partake, they should also be willing to be called out on it. There are plenty of ways to laugh without resorting to diminishing people by race, culture, sex etc.
All that being said, I’m pragmatic and simply skip over the bits of SM that I don’t like, but then as a British late 30s white male, I’m not exactly the butt of any degrading, though I think I’m also more progressive / liberal etc than the majority on here, as has been evident in a few off topic threads.
There isn’t that much that’s all that bad on here.
Female form stuff is the obvious offender, given the make up of the majority on here. There is a difference however between discussing women you admired / were attracted to in the past, and posting suggestive comments about what you’d like to do to them, just as there is a line between pictures of good looking people and nudity.
The other 90% of the Internet has the second bit pretty well (un)covered if that’s what you’re after.
My opinions aside, the suggestions in the first post certainly seem like a well thought out list of and very worthy of a try. I presume the aim is to not completely alienate new members of the community before they’ve even arrived!
The reality is that these mechanisms are to try to limit, restrict or possibly just hide the need for a real cultural shift that many aren’t willing to make.
I think it’s great that Conaero is having a go though. Kudos to you as is clear to see the differing opinions around here
