Over at Mr Nighttime’s place this morning, there’s a piece up about children and racism. It seems that some idiot somewhere has decided that if a child reacts to a culturally unfamiliar food by rejecting it with a disgusted expression, then he or she, toddler or no, should be branded racist and Steps should be Taken. Needless to say, this made me hopping mad. Political correctness has gone way beyond too far. It is - as I told Mr N - one of the biggest social evils of our time, having the effect of branding half the population with exactly the sort of social labelling it professes to deplore, and making the other half paranoid with suspicion of everyone else and terrified that the finger will turn upon themselves if they dare protest.
My own dear OH (who is so morally and ethically upright he’s in a very small minority these days) has been known to remark as we innocently watch the children at play in the local primary school as we walk past, that he’d better not watch for too long or he’ll be put on some kind of register. But those who work for organisations such as the NHS or the Education Department have to be particularly careful what they say or do, for fear of losing their jobs and being blacklisted. This is no joke at all, because not only does it mean that those who don’t toe the line are hounded out, but it also means that in an effort to toe that line, the lesser worker ants get more and more politically correct and the whole thing snowballs until everyone is nice and everyone is equal and no-one can be blamed for anything because nothing can possibly be their fault, they’re all misunderstood and/or discriminated against - yes, even that evil bastard over there who makes everyone’s life a misery. Unless, of course, said evil bastard is doing something considered politically incorrect, then they’ll throw the book at him. Oh, wait … um … unless the evil bastard is a member of an ethnic minority, then they’ll hesitate to throw that heavy volume in case they offend the whole of his ethnic group by doing so.
The thing about BA is this: back in May, they decided that in order not offend Jews or Hindus, they would remove pork and beef from their tourist class menu, leaving vegetarian options, chicken or fish.
Um … EXCUSE ME!!! This disenfranchises me, and that offends me deeply. I am a white English woman, of no particularly threatened ethnic grouping (although the number of racist events aimed at whites is escalating rapidly) but I have a problem with that menu. Owing to a number of allergies, I cannot usually choose the vegetarian option and I would probably die mid-flight if I ate the fish. Also, very much to the point, I have a strong ethical objection to eating battery-produced chicken. A Jew or a Hindu could choose not to take a meal containing beef or pork, I don’t have that luxury because nothing on the menu is now suitable for me. Yes, I could ring and order a special, but in all my years of flying with various airlines, this only once worked out well for me and that was on the now defunct MAXjet.
I feel a letter to BA coming on. I didn’t like the airline much anyway, but now? I wouldn’t fly with them unless they were the last airline left on earth - and even then it would have to be a serious emergency.
I’m not a racist - I don’t judge people on race or skin colour or appearance, and I don’t think white English people are superior or due any special treatment. I just think it would be nice if everyone could be treated equally and we could maintain some sense of perspective.
And, excuse me, but isn’t the fact that they still serve these items to First Class and Club World passengers in itself discriminatory? Does this not smack of the suggestion that Jews and Hindus don’t travel in those categories? I think, if I were Jewish or Hindu, I might possibly be more offended by this than by having to share air-space with someone who is eating a forbidden food.
So, any Jewish or Hindu people reading this? What do you think? Feel free to set me right if I’m wrong. I’m always willing to listen and learn.
I don’t bite .. not unless I’m on a long-haul BA flight with no menu options, anyway.
How far are these ‘accommodations’ going to go? You have a valid point about it should be ALL menus or not at all Jay. I don’t think it should even have been considered.
No one could accuse me of racism or predudice but it is starting to look to me like the only people, in this country at least, that you can be racist to and get away with it are White British with Anglo heritage. Then you can point the finger and say what you like and no one bats an eyelid.
Hey Jay, thanks for quoting me (and commenting!) and I agree with all that you say. I was raised Jewish, and though I lost my faith a long time ago, I can tell you pretty much point blank that:
A. Unless one is an Orthodox Jew, and is a strict adherent to “kashruth,” (Jewish dietary laws) then most Jews will not care about whether or not beef or pork is on the menu. Most overseas flights these days, especially those to the UK have kosher menu options anyway.
B. If someone, because of religious or cultural restriction, cannot eat certain foods, THEY WON’T BLOODY ORDER IT! (Sorry, didn’t mean to yell.)
Sigh…and here I thought PC’ness was bad here. It seems that the UK has escalated it to an entirely new level. BTW, you might be interested in these two blogposts:
http://kingmagic.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/street-soldier/
Another example of PC effects gone awry. (They had to treat the little gobshite (god, how I LOVE that word!) with “respect.”)
Mr. Nighttimes last blog post..The "y" word.
Whoops, Only meant “this blogpost.” Time for more coffee.
Mr. Nighttimes last blog post..The "y" word.
*stands and applauds*
Great, great, great post. You are one hundred percent correct, Jay. The most discriminated-against class of people (in America, at least) is white people who work for a living. It’s wrong and it is destroying our society one remark at a time.
Because you see, no matter how many rules we make, everyone is still seething inside. No one who is hard-working to the best of their ability, and law-abiding, is any better or worse than anyone else … and NO ONE is entitled to a free ride because of their color or how many of them there are or what was done to their ancestors. That’s bogus.
Spike Lee’s recent incendiary comment about Washington DC becoming a “chocolate city” in an Obama administration is a good example. Can you IMAGINE the hue and cry that would ensue if a white person said DC was going to stay a “vanilla city”? There would be riots. People would die in the streets. Political careers would END.
Political correctness is indeed the biggest social evil of our time.
Now I’m going to read Mr. Nighttime’s post and get further incensed! LOL!
Jennys last blog post..Ravinia Festival … A Fond Reminiscence
great well put article Where is the Johnny hiding I sent - on your desktop ha ha
sandys last blog post..Meet me in the cabana wth a mai-tai
Jay, do I know you? I live in a very flat part of the country, I love JD, I hate PC, I hate fish, I hate battery reared chickens, I loved Maxijet and I hate BA. And your comments about the menu are spot on!
anns last blog post..POLICING THE PROBLEM
Agh! The Yeti sent me that link yesterday. It provoked several “blue” phrases from me. Out loud. In the office. Where everyone stood around and wondered why I was bleeping at the computer. Once again. (Happens regularly.)
Anyway, it’s such BS, this PC hoohah. I feel sorry for plain, white, middle-aged men. They’re the ones getting the shaft the most these days. Jenny is right on with her comment. It’s perfectly fine to have the NAACP or some other organization create a scholarship for African Americans or a Hispanic or ..take your pick from any number of supposed minorities. But if someone were to say, “This scholarship is for white people only” — well, we all know what would happen then. Bah! Bugger! Now my blood pressure is back up.
Jeni - You’re right. All or none, that should be the rule. And I’d love to see them try to accuse you of racism. It would be kinda funny. LOL!
I’m not telling you where I’ve put Johnny, on the grounds that it might incriminate me. LOL! I have several posts in the pipeline, and I must and will get around to one about the awards people have given me. I really do appreciate them, very much!
Mr N - Interesting but rather sad link, that. *Sigh* We all know it goes on, but what can we do? Yell all you like, I think it’s a worthy subject.
Jenny - I knew you’d agree, but thanks for the enthusiastic support! I hadn’t heard that about ‘chocolate city’ .. Yep, that’s insensitive.
Sandy - Thanks!
Ann - Looks like we need to meet and put the world to rights over a coffee!
Kimberley - I can imagine the scene! Did you tell them about it? Sorry about the blood pressure … go back and take a look at Miss July, that should help! She’s a PAT Therapy dog.
ah, darn it - everything I wanted to say in here has already been elequently enough expressed. I can only echo all of the above sentiments.
You writing is sharp, concisive and always compulsive, I so do enjoy reading it!
I agree that as long as you give them something they can choose, that should be sufficient.
And I’m guessing that we may have matching allergies. I cannot eat soy or fish, so I can’t do vegetarian or seafood. What’s your issue with vegetarian?
Ruth Hull Chatliens last blog post..Storm Blindness
Don’t Tibetans avoid fish? If the airline keeps it up, they won’t have much of a menu at all.
Also, thanks for stopping by Blogtations. I’m glad I found your site. It’s always nice to meet a fellow Depp fanatic.
Shrinky - I’m blushing! Thank you so much!
Ruth HC - My problem with vegetarian is that I am allergic to eggs, intolerant to malt, yeast, and oats, and have a mild allergy to some nuts, and also can’t eat hot spices. It’s pretty impossible to get that lot across to an airline catering contact, and then they usually assume that if I can’t eat eggs, I can’t eat dairy, which is not true. Actually, I’m OK with soy, but with the many allergies I do have, I also have a strong reluctance to try anything new at 33,000 feet, hours away from any real medical assistance. LOL!
Hi Musing! Thanks for coming along to take a look! Ah, another Depp fan! Excellent!
Yes, you’re absolutely right, of course. Their menu is going to dwindle to nothing!
My blood starts to boil as I’m reading this.
BA is STUPID! What an idiot! So today is Jews & Hindu, tomorrow is Monkey God? And what about Jesus? God said we need to eat bread without yeast so when is BA serving that?
And yes, not forgetting the Thai hookers, the Vietnam Vets, the Chinese dirty men who all love snakes? Since Asia is booming and BA is flying there to make money, are they going to include snake in the menu? And since I’m a freaking Asian, can I demand that?
Screw BA!
The Real Mother Hens last blog post..Chickypedia: Your Anatomy Is Exposed
if you are white and working here in america you are screwed. and now they will bail you out of your bad mortgage decision. what about the folks that bought houses they actually could afford? and it goes on…..
well said, Jay. Oh and tagged you back! It’s not a meme, it’s a UU so as per the rules pthththth!
Belles last blog post..The Pig’s Progress
I mentioned this to my mate Pinks. She was aflame and ranted for an hour. She likes a good rant. She also said that it was probably started because the people making the economy class meals in the first place won’t handle pork or beef so it costs more to get those items on the menu.Now would you say that’s a racist comment or a reasonable presumption? She did work in catering for many years until quite recently.
RealMotherHen - Oh, I HOPE so!! Please, please, write to BA and ask them? And publish their reply? LOL!
Dawn - Yep, what indeed? Seems those who try to help themselves are left to sink or swim by themselves. Same here..
Belle - It’s up!
Jeni - I can imagine Pinky ranting for an hour! She’s probably right, too! I didn’t think of that! Damn, now I’m even more angry about it!!
Oh Man! Don’t get me started. I can feel my blood pressure hitting the boiling point too!
Great - well written - hit-it-on-the-nail - post!
You are more than welcome to come say whatever you want over on mine any time!
Hi Aims! Nice to see you here!
Thanks for the compliment!
Nothing I can add except - Very well said! I despair at what is happening, and can’t imagine where it is leading us.
Babs - beetles last blog post..Our living nightmare!
Thanks, Babs. I despair at times, but I think one day things will change again. Society does tend to go through these insane phases. In the grand scheme of things it’ll all come out in the wash, but meanwhile, we are the ones who have to live with it.
I think we try to be too PC in this world and it’s getting worse. You can please all of the people all of the time. I love what you wrote:
the effect of branding half the population with exactly the sort of social labelling it professes to deplore, and making the other half paranoid with suspicion of everyone else
Naturals last blog post..Brain Damaged
Thanks, Valerie! I only wish it wasn’t so true …