Friday 6 January 2006

An Upset Mind

If Anthony Browne, who has recently had published his tract on the ravages of political correctness, is looking for a pithy exposition of the mind-set of its adherents, he would do well to consider this example from the letter-page of The Independent:
Sir: The fact that affluent white men such as Anthony Browne can so easily get their absurd and unsupported arguments published suggests that political correctness has not gone nearly “mad” enough.
Ruth Kelly, Letter to The Independent, 6th January 2006.
It has the essential ingredients: the outrage that anyone dare question the cause, the obsession with group-identity, the hatred of putative privilege, the wild defamation of other’s views, the despotic proclivities, and the radical-extremist creed that no measure is ever enough – which together speak of a dark and corrupt character.
Then again, Mr Browne was asking for trouble; for the bounder had not even the decency to be poor black woman.

5 comments:

The Pedant-General said...

... and the very next letter demonstrated clearly that AB's argument was rather well supported and not in the least absurd.

But then what is truth when it is poltically inconvenient....

James G. said...

It is amazing that so many of his detractors are actually proving his point for him...

Well, maybe not so amazing, after all.

Deogolwulf said...

It should not cease to amaze us.

The Moai said...

Ms Kelly's leter has followed the predictable pattern of reaction to Mr Browne's essay, namely ad hominem attacks.

The Pedant-General said...

Gaahh!!!

Are you all completely blind?

"Ruth Kelly"????

This is no ordinary punter with a bad attack of the grolies: it's the education secretary (lower caps intentional) for Heaven's sake.

;-)