Ron Brown, a loan specialist from Puyallup, Washington wrote a great blog today titled "Are these words "offensive?"
It's about two things... (1) What we can and can't say in real estate advertising to avoid Fair Housing Law violations, and (2) the condition and requirement that has sneaked into our society of being "PC," politically correct.
It seems that, at the beginning of every new year, Ron's local Multiple Listing Service board sends out a list of words to be avoided in real estate advertising by all their members because they may be found "offensive." The list is long, and includes such really nasty words as (dare I write them?):
- Adult
- American
- Church
- Couple
- Family
- Grandmas house
- Healthy
- Married
- Older person
- Retired
- Student
- Traditional
- Woman
- Working, and
- Young
At my last count, Ron's blog post had over 100 comments from my colleagues around the country, most of which included words to describe the list as "absolutely pathetic, sad, outrageous, downright stupid, ridiculous," and "extremism to the 'n'th degree."
One commenter said "There is nothing in our Constitution that says that we have the right to NOT be offended." Another said, "We can't say 'America' without offending someone? This is what I fought for in the Marine Corps for the last 14 years!" And yet another pondered, "Let's see... Realtors can't use the word 'Negro' but the Speaker of the House of Representatives can."
I have to admit, I agree 100 percent with the sentiments and comments expressed by my colleagues. I'm sick of being worried about being "politically correct," the accompanying guilt trips associated with not being "politically correct," and even the term itself. I realize that there are words in our lexicon that are offensive to some individuals and groups, and we shouldn't use them... in advertising, or anywhere else. But, the reason we shouldn't use offensive words is out of respect for our fellow human beings and/or their condition, not because we're worried about being politically correct.
Come on people! We need to stop being a nation of wimps. If you're worried about calling someone, or offended by being called an "Adult American who takes the Family to Grandmas House after Church on Sunday," you need to pull up your big-girl panties and get a life!
Allegedly, there's an annual contest at a major Texas university which calls for entrants to write the most appropriate definition for a contemporary term. Last years term was "Political Correctness." The winning entry was:
"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."
My sentiments exactly!
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