Check yourself before you "politically correct" yourself.

Yesterday in my sociology class at Pensacola State College, we were discussing "culture shock", which can be loosely defined as "personal disorientation from culture". Professor asked the class if any of us could think of any times when we felt that we had experienced culture shock. 

I raised my hand.

"I went to a black church once." I said.

"What's a black church?" the teacher asked me.

"It's a church black people go to." I replied, surprised at her display of ignorance.

She didn't like my example. "OK. Time-out class." She did the time-out symbol with her hands. "How many of you found what he just said, to be offensive?"

Something like 15 students raised their hands to which I responded with a laugh and a remark. 

"You guys are just trying to be PC." I said.

The professor continued on, and said we will not be having this type of behavior in her classroom. It is unacceptable for such an offensive tone to be taken on matters. A few students chimed in.

"You say it like, they only let black people go to their church. Like nobody else is allowed in."

To which of course i responded, "Okay well that is obviously not the case considering the fact that I ATTENDED THE SERVICE." I wasn't implying that at all. 

The professor says I should have referred to them as African-Americans.

Really? Is that really what I should have said teacher? So I reminded her then, of her conversation with us the day before regarding a young black male from Orlando,Fl who has started an online movement with the agenda of removing the title "African-American" that has been so dumbly placed upon the heads of every black citizen of the United States. His argument is that he is NOT from Africa. He is from the United States of America and should be referred to as an American. He has nothing to do with Africa. 

So, why again should I be referring to said congregation as one of "African-American" descent? Because I think most of them lived here. In America. So which one is it teacher? Should i have taken a poll to find out what percentage of the church actually derived from Africa? And if the greater percent leaned towards American, rather than Africa, what would I call it then?

 

"A predominantly black church." she responded. 

"So that one word changes the statement from racist to politically correct ?" I asked to which she responded with a simple, "yes."

Throughout the remainder of the class, the black students, when discussing anything that involved white culture, they would say "predominantly white" and act like that's the way they always talk. 

You aren't fooling anyone.

What's even funnier to me, is that later on in the class, we were discussing Helen Keller. The teacher said something along the lines of, "It's not like she was retarded."

Retarded.

I wanted to call her out so bad.

If you are going to be enforcing a "politically correct" atmosphere in your classroom, you can't be stepping in and out of the essence. Shouldn't you have said, "mentally handicapped" or "mentally challenged"? 

If you think the word black is offensive, but not the word retarded, there is something wrong with you. I think that may even borderline racism in itself. And maybe even prejudice.

Check yourself before you "politically correct" yourself.