Does Flouting 'Political Correctness' Work Both Ways?

Conservative Rush Limbaugh stated that Trump, "comes across as somebody that says things (people) would like to say, things they have wanted to say, things they have hoped other people would say." In other words, he lets his inner racist shine through.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

The right wing web site mrconservative.com praised Donald Trump for flouting political correctness in discussing "the Muslim problem" with Bill O'Reilly. The right similarly applauds Trump as he scores against the plague of political correctness to label Mexicans as criminal rapists, immigrants' children as 'anchor babies,' and women as menstrual psychotics.

Like-minded conservative Pat Buchanan has warned that "Political correctness is killing this country." Conservative Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal said, "We need a President who will stop being politically correct." Conservative Rush Limbaugh stated that Trump, "comes across as somebody that says things (people) would like to say, things they have wanted to say, things they have hoped other people would say." In other words, he lets his inner racist shine through. Per Limbaugh, Republicans appreciate Trump because they, too, believe all Mexicans are rapists and all Muslims terrorists, but they're afraid to say so for fear of being betrayed as ignorant, hate-filled racists... And that's just not fair.

Ed Kilgore nailed it in The Washington Monthly:

"Opposing 'political correctness' has become a carte blanche excuse for being deliberately offensive, abusive, or even bigoted; it's precisely the kind of unreasoning categorical "framing" that critics of "political correctness" complain about. Any day now, I expect to hear a spouse-beater whine that he's being persecuted for not being politically correct."

It clearly infuriates white conservatives that fear of public condemnation forces them to swallow their hate-filled bile instead of spewing it freely. They believe it is their Constitutional right to heap public abuse on any other group without consequence.

However, one wonders if they assign that right equally and fairly. Is it OK for a Muslim seeking public office to accuse all conservative Christians of being religious bigots? Is it OK for African-American Georgia Congressional Representative John Lewis to call Tea Party Republicans ignorant, inbred hillbillies? Is Bernie Sanders allowed to say that all minorities and liberals should band together to use drones to bomb the lairs of white, right-wing racists?

When, a couple of Latinos, encouraged by gleeful politically incorrectness, spotted an old man leaving a Tea Party rally and beat him, as a couple of Trump supporters beat a homeless Mexican man, can Sanders dismiss the incident for a couple of days as a result of his supporters' "passion," as Trump did?

Or is ignoring political correctness, or to put it differently, "treating others with contempt" a right only for white men and women?

Next time you see some racists... er, I mean, Republicans, why don't you ask them.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot