We live in a world of extremes. It saturates our culture, plagues our politics. But substantive discourse often requires gray area and nuance. Yet as a society, we perpetually leave little room for it. The conversation about political correctness is no exception. This became obvious to me a few days ago.
Last Saturday began like any other. After an early morning workout, I sat in my kitchen eating breakfast, scrolling through the morning news on my phone. Because objectivity is rare, and there is unabashed media bias from outlets favoring both sides of the political spectrum, I try to get my news from a diverse group of sources. One of these is the New York Post.
As I was reading, a headline caught my attention: “Crybaby college kids offered counseling for ‘offensive’ Halloween costumes.” I smirked, thinking it was likely a story about an ultra-progressive Ivy League school experimenting with some new, ridiculous program. And then I opened it. My amusement faded.
The Post article was referencing a recent UF newsletter from Oct. 10 titled “Halloween Costume Choices,” which informed students of a 24/7 hotline available for calls and reports of any costumes they deemed offensive or insensitive.
The memo stated, “Some Halloween costumes reinforce stereotypes of particular races, genders, cultures, or religions.” It added, “Regardless of intent, these costumes can perpetuate negative stereotypes, causing harm and offense to groups of people.” I thought these statements about a usually fun holiday were overly dramatic and nonsensical.
But this Halloween hotline isn’t just a waste of the school’s mental health resources and an easy target for prank callers. It’s indicative of a greater, more widespread movement involving young Americans and the bastardization of political correctness.
Now, I can’t express this vehemently enough: I am not inherently against being politically correct. In our society, and especially in higher education, we need to strive to create a culture that values all voices, regardless of race, religion or gender. Everyone brings something to the table, and we should treat people with respect and listen to what they have to say, even if they’re different from us.
I don’t think that’s an unreasonable position. But for some schools, apparently it’s not enough. UF isn’t alone in taking PC culture too far.
In 2015, Brown University infamously created a “safe space” for its students before a debate at the school. According to The New York Times, the room was filled with “cookies, coloring books, bubbles, Play-Doh, calming music, pillows, blankets and a video of frolicking puppies.”
Seriously? It’s embarrassing. We’re educated adults in college, not pre-school. The debate was about a serious topic: rape culture and sexual assault on college campuses. It’s a tough conversation, certainly, but one that needs to take place in order to begin to address the problem. Playing with bubbles solves nothing.
Yet those who take this radical PC view are just as ridiculous as the people who wholeheartedly resist being PC altogether. The goal of political correctness is to promote discourse among people who otherwise wouldn’t have a voice. Being extreme, regardless of what side you’re on, only hinders it.
As millennials, we like to pride ourselves on being open-minded and accepting of other’s worldviews. It’s one of our most positive characteristics that distinguishes us from previous generations. We say we’re not afraid to challenge the past. We say we want to confront social and economic injustice. We say we want to create a better future.
But we can’t do that if we’re hiding in our safe spaces, offended by someone’s Halloween costume.
Brian Lee is a UF English senior. His column appears on Thursdays.
