A cautionary tale…
Political Correctness, has it gone mad?

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Firstdog / Tuesday, 9 February 2010 / 4
A cautionary tale…
Bernard Keane / Tuesday, 9 February 2010 / 9
The Government’s weekend handout to the free-to-air television networks — $100-odd million this year and $150m next -– has sunk with barely a trace in the media.
Glenn Dyer / Tuesday, 9 February 2010 / 0
The booming Aussie dollar is encouraging Australians to travel more overseas, yesterday’s Super Bowl was the most watched game in history and the most watched TV show ever, Clive Palmer is back to his old tricks and more business briefs.

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28 Comments
Well said!
What a doozy!
The thing which makes me puke is everyone gaily ignoring our own unique racism whilst groveling at the feet of America. For Christ’s sake; do we even have to take on board their shameful record? The English too have been giving us heaps. And look at their wonderful record. All in all a classic case of two powerful nations picking on a much smaller nation in an effort to hide their own shoddy track-records.
If I need a good dose of despair I need only to look at the hovels and shanty-towns, town dumps, leprous dogs, and no reason for hope, to be found in the majority of Aboriginal Oz. At least the Americans are trying to make things better.
That the whole thing was tasteless. It got past the dress-rehearsal (?) HOW?
Bullseye!!
I guess it won’t win a Walkley…..But it should.
I love ideological soundness.
Was it really necessary, to get the message across, to use the ‘c’ word?
I always thought that the opposite of being politically correct is to be a racist bigot. Being proved again and again.
@FD you have done it again.
@Carol, were you offended by the ‘c’ word, but not the Hey Hey It’s Saturday skit? And if so, why one and not the other? You might equally ask was it really necessary, to get the joke across, for Hey Hey It’s Saturday to show a racist skit. This is FD’s point.
I think the use of the word cunt is crucial to this comic.
Oh no, not the ‘c’ word. Won’t somebody think of the children!
I know its the whole point of the cartoon but I still flinch anytime the n-word is used…
I guess I’m the wrong generation but what I’m most astonished about is that enough people watched Hey Hey It’s Saturday for this to be a big deal.
Seriously though: racism is always a big deal, but making fun of Michael Jackson is hardly racism. Boring, yes. Racist, not really.
Yeah, pardon my sudden attack of partially political correctness. C-nt was a bit like Arnhem - a bridge too far for me. Arseholes, arsewipes in fact pick up any of Jasper’s plural nouns and the cartoon works as well if not better.
The Kamahl quote in Frame 6 is … however… absolute genius.
I think that FD has by far the most insightful commentry on Crikey on this issue.
I also think that using the n-word or the c-word are, and should be, like weeing on an electric fence. Or painting your face black and going on TV. You just don’t do it. This is FD’s point.
@carol, @mungo, @deccles, was the skit OK but using these words not?
I had thought that you had reached a pinnacle with “better than a hand job from Jesus’ in your succinct ability to offend the offendable to the greatest degree with the fewest possible words, but you have surpassed yourself in Frame 5
Bravo
if the ‘C’ word is now off the leash, can we have a cartoon about Planet Janet?
I can’t be the only one wondering whether that choker she was wearing on the telly last night was hiding the stictches where her old head was sewn onto her new body.
either that or it was hiding a nasty Chinese burn, although I can’t think why anyone might try to strangle her
OMG who could seriously object to the use of the word c-nt in this skit - thats just political correctness gone mad … oh, wait …
FD thanks for not watering this down.
What in the name of God does anyone objecting to the word cunt use for brains? Does anyone here think First Dog is stupid? I don’t. He used the cunt knowing that there were people who would regard it to be a worse tragedy than the crime itself. And, oh boy, didn’t some people walk straight into the trap.
Ooops: Line two should have read. “He used the word cunt knowing……”
Was it on or off the medication FD ? sorry to be pedantic but surely on the medication PC is a c — t and off it PC is ideologically sound……whereas you indicate that off the medication PC is still a c — t, using the word too……somehow this has confused me…..
The only thing more entertaining than the comic is the discussion thread.
I would like to turn the spotlight on one of the people benefitting most from the fuss. Mr Connick. There is a clue to whether he staged this or at least grasped an opportunity in the moment. Take a listen to his normal accent (American of course) and then listen carefully when he is voicing his displeasure to Darryl Somers at the end. There is for me a clear change of accent to a southern black American accent. This kind of theatrics seems somewhat out of place for someone really outraged. Perhaps he had a vision of how a bit of publicity may assist himself. I thought he was taking the mickey but I don’t know his accent well.
Too PC??? Not at all!
A White guy apologising to another white guy because of a crappy black joke…hmm not PC at all.
Errol: I think you’re overreading it. Furthermore, your intepretation of his motives are not particularly pertinent to the discussion.
Given that he’s ended up cancelling promotional appearances due to some of the reactions he’s received, I’m not so sure that he’s benefiting.
The most interesting thing about the reaction to this cartoon is the objection by individuals to the use of either the “C” word or the “N” word, but no-one seems to have objected to the use of *both* words in this context.
Spell it “cunce” - that way you beat the filters (assuming you don’t type in GIF format) and it’s, maybe, slightly less offensive to the 3 people left that are still offended.
Yes,political corectness has gone mad.But the ‘C***” is a word I use ,when in extreme frustration and anger.Never as sentence filler.(I’m 56 and no prude).When was the last time YOU used the word.Maybe recently but I’ll bet it wasn’t a family gathering.The problem is, even shows like ‘chasers war on everything’has to come up with something more ‘edgy’ than last seasons efforts and that’s where they came undone. the point is ,stretching the boundaries of what is funny and ‘your generation’ is freer and cooler than mine,is a fallacy.There is more conformity now than 40 years ago.And that’ pisses me off’ !(can I say that?) Jeff
JEFRO20: For what it’s worth, I use the word cunt a lot-admittedly mostly in traffic- and yelled at blond bimbos who are driving huge SUVs and trying to do a ‘U’ turn in the middle of Glenferrie road. In this, and other situations the word is both apposite and fair. I am both older than you, and a woman.
FWIIWorth, again: Today’s younger generations are what we used to call ‘square’. Also terribly pleased with themselves, esp the women.
I heartily approve of this strip in its magnificent, inspired, artfully ambiguous entirety.
FD, don’t you go changin’ for any cunt.