Politically Correct

I think that doing anything for the sake of being politically correct is such bullshit... and I think it may eventually infringe on our right to free speech.

Let me explain.

Today I saw a blog called "Racist People Getting Fired/Getting Racist People Fired."
Essentially, the viewers of the blog browse twitter and facebook looking for racist comments. (Especially with the #ferguson tag.) Then they post the screenshot to this blog with as much information about the writer as possible, name, address, place of employment. Then they ask the other viewers to send notes to the employer of the person who wrote the post saying how offended they were by the post. When an employer responds... usually something along the lines of "XYZ company does not condone racism or bigotry of any kind. This person is no longer a part of the XYZ team," all the viewers comment with a sense of accomplishment as if they've truly taught this person a lesson and made the world a better place.

No doubt the writer of the post has learned a lesson at this point, but I fear that the lesson may be more about what to post and what not to post to social media than about racism.

I'm very sensitive when someone's job is at risk in general, just because I know that if I made some dumb mistake and had it blasted all over the internet and got fired for it, I would be up a creek without a paddle.

I hope that eventually something good will come from their lapses in judgment in these tweets and facebook posts... but getting them fired from their jobs isn't the answer. A company shouldn't be held responsible for the actions and posts of any employee when they are posting things while off the clock and off of company property. The mob mentality we've got going right now is destructive, and companies just don't want to get caught in the crossfire; they dismiss the employee before someone gets a chance to accuse the whole company of being racist. Even if these people are legitimately racist... don't they have a right to be? THIS IS AMERICA. Hurting someone's feelings is not a crime. Don't they have a right to say anything that they want? Sure, that also comes with a responsibility to deal with the consequences of those words.. but don't they also have the same right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as every other American?

I think a vast majority of our society would agree that treating someone differently because of their race or ethnicity is terrible. But morality is not dictated by majority rule, thank goodness. Morals are not relative.. they do involve absolutes. In this case, they coincide, but what about in other cases? We've already seen instances of priests and pastors getting sent to jail for speaking about homosexuality and the teachings of the Bible.

And what about the people posting these things? Who is going to love them enough to get past being offended by their comments and show them the truth and the errors of their thinking?

What's next? I don't support the use of birth control.. if I write a post about the pill being bad for women, marriages and families, will I get fired from my job? I don't support premarital sex.. what if I write a post about chastity?


St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us.