There’s nothing right about political correctness
TIM DUNBAR
dunbar@mscd.edu

Now, I have nothing against the whole separation of church and state thing; in fact, I
believe in it wholeheartedly. But let’s face it: the Easter Bunny has about as much to do with Easter as Santa Claus has to do with Christmas, which is absolutely NOTHING!

  Political correctness, I’m afraid, has finally gotten too far out of hand. Two weeks ago, in a move to make someone happy—although I’m not sure exactly who—City Call in St. Paul, Minn. removed the Easter Bunny from its foyer.   Apparently, someone complained, saying they were offended by the Easter Bunny (or, more likely, the presence of the Easter Bunny) at city hall. Offended! So, city officials did what any spineless organization does in these situations: they folded like a card player with a bad hand, and got the offensive critter the hell outta there. What’s next? Are they going to change the name of the city to just “Paul to avoid any religious connotation?”
  Now, I have nothing against the whole separation of church and state thing; in fact, I believe in it wholeheartedly. But let’s face it: the Easter Bunny has about as much to do with Easter as Santa Claus has to do with Christmas, which is absolutely NOTHING!
  So what if someone is offended? Let them be offended, that doesn’t mean I have to change; it simply means someone—who is not me—is offended. Like Dr. Phil says, “eew’ve got to own yer feelings. Own ‘em, but don’t expect others tew chaynge becuz of ‘em.” That, by the way, is not an actual quote, but it is something I’m fairly sure the good doc says on a daily basis.
  Also two weeks ago, Longmont Skyline High School principal Tom Stumph banned the American and Mexican flags at the school because “one flag was thrown into the face of another group, and another flag was being brandished in front of another group” during a protest over immigrant rights.
  I say as long as they’re not whacking each other over the head or stabbing each other with the sharp end of the flagpole, let ‘em brandish all they want. At least they’re communicating.
  Frankly, I’m not too jazzed about people flying the flags of the country they couldn’t wait to get out of in the country they adopt as their home, either. But I do realize that they have the absolute right to do so, and leave it at that.
  The dumbest things offend people. Take Howard Stern, for example. The self-proclaimed “King of All Media” has been fined, several times and for several thousand dollars, by the Federal Communications Commission—one of the most useless government organizations there is, if you ask me—because someone was offended by what he had to say. Why these idiots didn’t just change the station or turn the radio off is beyond me.
  The same thing happens with TV shows like “South Park” and “Family Guy,” two of the funniest shows ever to hit the airwaves. And though I’m a big fan (especially of “Family Guy”), I’ve even seen scenes where I’ve thought they’ve pushed the envelope a little too far. Have I stopped watching? No. And neither would I complain to an organization that could feasibly cause the cancellation of these shows because I know other people, regardless of whether I’m offended, still enjoy them.
  The old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me,” has apparently been forgotten in these politically correct days. And that’s too bad. For one thing, it makes Americans out to be a bunch of whiney wusses, who can’t handle a few ugly words thrown at them. We even go as far as concocting laws to help prevent people from being offended by things that probably weren’t meant to be offensive in the first place (i.e. teams with names like “Redskins,” “Chiefs,” or anything even remotely ethnic).
  I survived a childhood of being called “dummy Dumbar” by slapping my knee in an exaggerated manner and then holding my stomach while howling, ‘That’s hilarious, I’ve never heard that one before’ at anyone who called me that. My classmates would have killed me if I’d complained to the principal every time it happened.   Eventually, everyone wised up to the fact that, one, they weren’t being very original, and two, it didn’t really bother me all that much.
  So, to anyone who cries, “I’m offended by (add offense here)” and expects anyone to change their actions because of it I say, buck up, develop a thick skin—be it red, yellow, white or otherwise—and shut the hell up!