Amherst: Have college protests gone too far in their political correctness, or are they truly helping to prevent the alienation of students? Political correctness has taken the nation by storm. Defined as “the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against,” various activist groups and/or students have taken to protest aspects of everyday American life in a way that prevents the marginalization of groups of people, particularly minorities. Although other noteworthy news stories like Starbucks’ action to remove the emblems from their ‘notorious’ Christmas cups in order to avoid discriminating against those who do not practice Christianity are great examples of political correctness that I believe have gone too far, I am going to focus on the surge of college protests and what the three biggest ones truly mean. Amherst College, founded and named after the town it presides in, finds its origins in Jeffrey Amherst, an American “hero” of the French and Indian war who instructed his soldiers to purposely give the enemy Native Americans blankets laced with the smallpox virus. While the college claims it does not stand by the man and that they are solely called Amherst because of the town, the college’s nickname does happen to be the “Lord Jeffs,” which after protests led to a unanimous faculty decision to change the name. A student-generated list of demands issued every type of apology you could come up with from the university for its supposed “white supremacy.”
Although Jeffrey Amherst did cruelly manipulate the Native Americans in what could be seen as one of the preliminary attempts of biological warfare, the fifth demand on the students’ list brings up a large flaw in the arguments of most of these politically correct protests that explicitly displays their hypocrisies. The students of Amherst issued a demand that the school condemn those who display signs promoting All Lives Matter and free speech. Yes, the language may be offensive, and racism should be suppressed, but how could you argue that you are not being protected by the college when at the same time you can take away a liberty from those who supposedly committed wrongdoing against you? Even our extremely left-wing President Obama feels the same. Obama noted that when his kids are both in college, he hopes they stand up to racism and injustice. But, he believes that they should not try and shut up anyone who practices bigotry just because his kids simply do not agree with the bigots. Censorship, Obama feels, is a recipe for dogmatism.
Any actions that have been taken by Amherst to suppress the works of its students with these signs should be taken back. This does not mean that racism should continue. Rather, it means that freedom of speech should be protected. And considering many politically correct people claim that Christians should quit whining about the coffee cup change at Starbucks as just a cup, well can we not say the same about it being just a nickname at Amherst? Do not both actions take away from groups on both sides, or as believers of the arguments above may say, is it really that big of a deal?
While “PC” people claim, “who cares, it is just a cup,” I say to that, “who cares, it's just a nickname.” Are we really going to go around changing parts of this country so that everyone feels included? Do Jews really get offended when their cups are lined with Christmas decorations? I think what is even more offensive than a sign is the the U-C Irvine Student Council’s decision to take down the flag of America, the flag of the country they should be fortunate they were raised in for its freedoms unparalleled in many countries, claiming it to be a symbol of “colonialism and imperialism.” Or, as the PC principal (watch the new season of South Park) may correct me, the flag of the “United States,” because saying solely “America” alienates Central America, South America, and Canada. Jerry Seinfeld even commented that political correctness has prevented him from performing at colleges and ruined comedy. Buckle up, because the movement is in full swing. The age of political correctness is here and changing our country as we speak.
Amherst: Have college protests gone too far in their political correctness, or are they truly helping to prevent the alienation of students? Political correctness has taken the nation by storm. Defined as “the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against,” various activist groups and/or students have taken to protest aspects of everyday American life in a way that prevents the marginalization of groups of people, particularly minorities. Although other noteworthy news stories like Starbucks’ action to remove the emblems from their ‘notorious’ Christmas cups in order to avoid discriminating against those who do not practice Christianity are great examples of political correctness that I believe have gone too far, I am going to focus on the surge of college protests and what the three biggest ones truly mean. Amherst College, founded and named after the town it presides in, finds its origins in Jeffrey Amherst, an American “hero” of the French and Indian war who instructed his soldiers to purposely give the enemy Native Americans blankets laced with the smallpox virus. While the college claims it does not stand by the man and that they are solely called Amherst because of the town, the college’s nickname does happen to be the “Lord Jeffs,” which after protests led to a unanimous faculty decision to change the name. A student-generated list of demands issued every type of apology you could come up with from the university for its supposed “white supremacy.”
Although Jeffrey Amherst did cruelly manipulate the Native Americans in what could be seen as one of the preliminary attempts of biological warfare, the fifth demand on the students’ list brings up a large flaw in the arguments of most of these politically correct protests that explicitly displays their hypocrisies. The students of Amherst issued a demand that the school condemn those who display signs promoting All Lives Matter and free speech. Yes, the language may be offensive, and racism should be suppressed, but how could you argue that you are not being protected by the college when at the same time you can take away a liberty from those who supposedly committed wrongdoing against you? Even our extremely left-wing President Obama feels the same. Obama noted that when his kids are both in college, he hopes they stand up to racism and injustice. But, he believes that they should not try and shut up anyone who practices bigotry just because his kids simply do not agree with the bigots. Censorship, Obama feels, is a recipe for dogmatism.
Any actions that have been taken by Amherst to suppress the works of its students with these signs should be taken back. This does not mean that racism should continue. Rather, it means that freedom of speech should be protected. And considering many politically correct people claim that Christians should quit whining about the coffee cup change at Starbucks as just a cup, well can we not say the same about it being just a nickname at Amherst? Do not both actions take away from groups on both sides, or as believers of the arguments above may say, is it really that big of a deal?
While “PC” people claim, “who cares, it is just a cup,” I say to that, “who cares, it's just a nickname.” Are we really going to go around changing parts of this country so that everyone feels included? Do Jews really get offended when their cups are lined with Christmas decorations? I think what is even more offensive than a sign is the the U-C Irvine Student Council’s decision to take down the flag of America, the flag of the country they should be fortunate they were raised in for its freedoms unparalleled in many countries, claiming it to be a symbol of “colonialism and imperialism.” Or, as the PC principal (watch the new season of South Park) may correct me, the flag of the “United States,” because saying solely “America” alienates Central America, South America, and Canada. Jerry Seinfeld even commented that political correctness has prevented him from performing at colleges and ruined comedy. Buckle up, because the movement is in full swing. The age of political correctness is here and changing our country as we speak.
