Ho! Ho! Ho! No more: Political correctness gone wrong.

Political correctness is defined as a measure taken to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in a society. It is mainly focused on the language spoken because it is closely linked with the attitude one possesses. Even though it was introduced to bring about a non-discriminatory society, certain rules have gone too far and created widespread hostility on this concept. 

One such example is the use of the phrase ‘Ho Ho Ho’ by Santa Claus during Christmas in Sydney. It was prohibited because some individuals believed that this phrase would frighten children and could even be derogatory to women because this phrase was too close to the American slang for prostitute. In an interview with the operations manager at Westaff, the company that insisted its trainees to use the word Ha! Ha! Ha!, said that it was “misleading” to say the company had banned Santa’s traditional greeting. Rather, it has been left up to the discretion of Santa himself. 

A few raised their concerns over such a ban as this seemed like the latest example of political correctness gone mad. Many said that there is no stronger tradition for children other than Santa’s ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’ during Christmas. If the phrase ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’ is used at an appropriate time like Christmas, it wouldn’t be considered offensive to either women or their children. 

Most people are not aware of such a situation and mostly it is just the politically correct police trying to impose their views on society. I wouldn’t say that political correctness is bad, however, this kind of insensible rule cause debates among certain societies leading to a misunderstanding much worse than intended. What do you think of this situation? Do you know any examples of absurd political correctness?

by Kuenden