The 'Political Correctness Used As An Excuse' Thread
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This is the thread where we record incidents where measures to be 'inoffensive' are taken way too far. Also includes incidents where stupid rules are taken by people, institutions or groups to avoid lawsuits and absolve responsibility. Feel free to contribute.
A SCHOOL has banned hot cross buns — in case they offend pupils from religious minorities.
Head teacher Tina Jackson asked for the crosses to be removed from all buns supplied by caterers.
She is worried that the religious imagery might upset some of her pupils who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. Last night parents accused her of “political correctness gone mad”.
But Miss Jackson, of The Oaks primary school in Ipswich, Suffolk, said: “For our students who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, hot cross buns are not part of their beliefs.
“We decided to have the cross removed in respect of their beliefs.”
Vicar Father Haley Dossor said: “I’d be amazed if anyone was offended by the cross on a bun. The school is wrong to act like this.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006060065,00.html
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The worst manifestation of political correctness in the workplace? Without doubt, Affirmative Action, wherein totally unqualified people are hired on the basis of their skin colour rather than job qualifications.
(And yes, I do have first-hand experience working in project teams alongside these AA flunkies who lacked the necessary experience, motivation and job ethics to pull their own weight, leaving other team members to pick up their slack.) -
Try this one, a school in South Australia passes students who only achieve a 10% on their test scores because they do not want to cause the children to feel inferior, because the word fail is now supposedly taboo. The end result, many children reach their early teens and cannot read or write english.
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All I can say is W.T.F....I'm sorry, it's the truth.
Originally posted by breytonhartge:Try this one, a school in South Australia passes students who only achieve a 10% on their test scores because they do not want to cause the children to feel inferior, because the word fail is now supposedly taboo. The end result, many children reach their early teens and cannot read or write english. -
It's happened again!
A HOSPITAL manager banned Easter hot cross buns for patients for fear of offending ethnic minorities, staff said last night.
In a move branded “ludicrous” by critics and religious groups, hundreds of the popular currant cakes were held back from wards on Good Friday.
Last night, Muslims stressed that hot cross buns caused no offence to them whatsoever, with one senior community leader even admitting he ate them.
Jews and Buddhists also said they had no problem with eating them.
The ban at Poole Hospital Trust in Dorset left kitchen workers and patients furious. It also drew widespread criticism from religious groups of all faiths and those lobbying against political correctness.
Staff said they had been inundated with complaints from angry nurses on behalf of disappointed patients but one worker in the hospital kitchens said the decision “was due to the manager of the catering department saying he was worried about the ethnic minority that worked here.”
Last night a spokeswoman from Poole Hospital Trust apologised to patients who may have been expecting a bun but said they had merely not been ordered despite it being the main day to give them out.
John Midgley, co-founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, said: “I very much doubt if the hospital involved even consulted its ethnic minority staff to see if they were bothered before taking the decision.”
Muslim groups also rejected the reasoning behind the decision staff claim was made.
Abdul Hamid Qureshi, of the Council of Mosques, said: “We have absolutely no problem with hot cross buns. There is no offence whatsoever. Any Muslim could eat them and I actually eat them myself.”
Bournemouth Rabbi Neil Amswych said: “I don’t see why they shouldn’t be available. After all, we are in a Christian country and the state religion is Christianity.”
The spokeswoman for Poole Hospital Trust added: “We apologise to those who were expecting a bun but, as soon as we realised our mistake, we put it right and there were buns on the wards by Easter Sunday.
“It was nothing to do with religious beliefs, (the catering manager) just didn’t order them. It was an oversight not a ban.”
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/4103 -
wtf
is all i can say -
And again!
Middle-class pupils face losing out on university places under plans to take parents' occupations and educational background into account during the selection process.
The University and Colleges Admissions Service, or Ucas, has revealed it will for the first time question applicants about their family status in order to raise the number of students from poorer backgrounds.
The announcement comes two months after the Daily Mail reported that undergraduate hopefuls will be asked whether their parents went to university.
Ucas confirmed this yesterday and went one step further by confirming it will ask students about the occupations and ethnicity of their parents too. It will also ask whether the applicant has ever been in local authority care.
Yesterday, Ucas said the changes - which are supported by the Government - were specifically designed to 'support the continuing efforts of universities and colleges to widen participation'.
But critics claim the move smacks of social engineering and would be an unfair barrier to many of those from middle class backgrounds.
Pat Langham, president of the Girls' Schools Association, said: "Why collect this information at all? If they are going to use it to discriminate against those who they feel are privileged, those whose parents went to university, then what would be the point in anyone ever trying to improve themselves?
"I was the first person in my family to go to university - my father was a policeman and my mother a dinner lady. But I'm a headmistress with a degree.
"Were I to have children applying for university, would they be discriminated against because I have worked hard?"
Bill Rammell, the Higher Education Minister, has confirmed that the Government backs the questions, which will be on Ucas forms from next year. Although the questions are optional, it is feared that those who do not fill them in will be discriminated against.
It is also thought that parents could 'cheat' - by claiming, for example, that they are builders instead of property developers - which could render the system unworkable.
Oxford University said that it had no intention of using the information until after offers had been made to students.
Mike Nicholson, director of admissions at Oxford, said: "We haven't any evidence to suggest this type of information has any valid relevance to the decisions we have to make.
"It would be far more useful to know whether a candidate predicted to get good grades goes to a school where few pupils expect to do well."
But some university leaders said the information would be useful. Drummond Bone, president of the vice chancellors' group Universities UK said it would help institutions understand more about applicants.
In recent years, the Government has set high targets for universities designed to increase the number of students admitted from workingclass backgrounds.
But there has been a lack in progress. Between 2002-03 and 2004-05, the proportion of entrants from state schools fell from 87.2 per cent to 86.7 per cent.
Over the same period, the proportion of students from lower social classes fell from 28.4 per cent to 28.2 per cent.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=442672&in_page_id=1770 -
It's getting damn ridiculous.
Schools are teaching children as young as four about same-sex relationships to comply with new gay rights laws, it emerged yesterday.
They are introducing youngsters to homosexuality using a series of story books in preparation for controversial regulations coming into force next month.
Fourteen primary schools are already taking part in a £600,000 Government-funded study aimed at familiarising children with gay and lesbian relationships.
The research team behind the project intends to post the findings on national websites to help all schools use the books in their literacy lessons.
It also revealed it is leading workshops for local councils across the country which are asking how to implement new laws banning discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
The academics working on the study say showing children that homosexuality is part of everyday life helps reduce homophobic bullying in the playground.
They claim schools need to ensure they are serving the needs of gay pupils and parents to comply with the Equality Act.
However the scheme sparked alarm among Christian groups who fear the legislation could leave schools open to lawsuits if they refuse to use books with gay characters.
One story being used in the research project, headed by academics at Sunderland University, is a fairytale about a prince who turns down three princesses before falling in love with one of their brothers. They marry in a book titled 'King & King'.
In another book, 'Spacegirl Pukes', the main character has two mothers, mummy Loula and mummy Neenee. She is about to set off on a space mission when she falls ill, requiring her mothers to nurse her back to health.
Another called 'And Tango Makes Three' features two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who fall in love at a New York zoo.
The latter has sparked fierce debate in the U.S. where some schools already use it.
The use of the books in England prompted claims that repealing Section 28 - the law banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools - has increased the use of inappropriate teaching materials.
There are also claims that new gay rights laws, coming into force on April 6, will allow schools to be sued if they do not use homosexual texts.
The Government insists that schools will still be able to decide what they teach.
A spokesman said existing guidance already made clear schools must "meet the needs of all young people whatever their family circumstances or developing sexuality", and in a way that is "age appropriate".
However Dr Elizabeth Atkinson, reader in social and educational inquiry at Sunderland University, said: "The purpose of the project is to support schools in meeting their requirements under the Equality Act, which will require all public institutions to meet the needs of gay and lesbian users.
"There's very little out there at the moment to enable them to meet the needs of all pupils."
The No Outsiders project, which has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, is run by Sunderland jointly with Exeter University and London's Institute of Education.
It has been launched in 14 schools across the North East, the South West, London and the Midlands.
Dr Atkinson added: "We are already finding that books like these are changing attitudes around homosexuality. Pupils are more willing to understand issues of discrimination."
However Simon Calvert, spokesman for the Christian Institute, said: "The predictions of those who said the repeal of Section 28 would result in the active promotion of homosexuality in schools are coming true."
His insitute is also warning that the new equality laws would lead to schools being "compelled" to provide books with gay themes and risk litigation if they do not.
Meanwhile the Christian Voice group has vowed to track down the books and organise a protest to ban them.
Director Stephen Green said: "The arrogance of people like Elizabeth Atkinson, using children as guinea pigs is outrageous and thoroughly wicked.
"I am astonished at this project and we are trying to find out where these schools are to empower parents to put pressure on them to remove the books."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=441542&in_page_id=1770
Letting them be familiar with the existence of homosexual relationships is alright with me...but if they activists decide to sue and all that that's taking things too far. -
Whisky. Tango. Foxtrot.
DAFT jobsworths have ordered baker Val Temple to rename her novelty Pig Tarts — because they do not contain pork.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007190777,00.html
She has also been told her popular Paradise Slice has to be reclassified as it does not come from paradise.
And her comical Robin Tarts have been given the thumbs down by over-zealous Trading Standards snoopers — as they do not contain the red-breasted birds.
So what's going to happen to Black Forest cake, Toad In The Hole and Red Bull? -
The gay mafia at work.Originally posted by Kuali Baba:Letting them be familiar with the existence of homosexual relationships is alright with me...but if they activists decide to sue and all that that's taking things too far. -
Mars Bars get veggie status back
Mars has abandoned plans to use animal products in its chocolate, and has apologised to "upset" vegetarians.
The firm had said it would change the whey used in some of its products from a vegetarian source to one with traces of the animal enzyme, rennet.
The Vegetarian Society organised a campaign against the move, asking members to voice their concerns to parent company Masterfoods.
Mars said it became "very clear, very quickly" that it had made a mistake.
In just one week, more than 6,000 people bombarded the company, which produces the Mars, Snickers, Maltesers and Galaxy brands, with phone and e-mail complaints.
Forty MPs also signed a petition to voice their opposition.
Fiona Dawson, managing director of Mars UK, said the company had listened to customers and decided to reverse its decision.
"The consumer is our boss and we had lots of feedback from consumers who were unhappy about the change," Ms Dawson said.
"It became very clear, very quickly that we had made a mistake, for which I am sorry.
"There are three million vegetarians in the UK and not only did we disappoint them, but we upset a lot of the consumers."
'Principled decision'
The Vegetarian Society had called the move by Mars "incomprehensible" and "a backward step" at a time when consumers were increasingly concerned about "the provenance of their food".
Mars replied that, by admitting its products were no longer suitable for "extremely strict vegetarians", it was making a "principled decision".
Now it insists it will begin changing its recipes back immediately.
Dr Annette Pinner, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society, said she was pleased Mars had been "honest enough" to admit it had "made a mistake".
"A Masterfoods representative has made contact with us and we are very pleased that they now recognise the importance of integrity to all their customers, especially vegetarians," she added.
Rennet is extracted from calves' stomachs and was to have been used in the ice cream versions of all Masterfoods' bars too.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6653175.stm
Whey can be vegetarian or otherwise, but it wasn't specified on Mars products that they used vegetarian whey in the first place, right? -
whoa. i like the gay one though.
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An old commercial that was banned in Japan 5 years ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VIEht1Lk1g&NR=1 -
to go along with the theme of the topic...I received this as an email today.
Political correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end. -
Spot on.Originally posted by skid:to go along with the theme of the topic...I received this as an email today. -
They've struck again! Santas across Sydney are rebelling against attempts to ban their traditional greeting of "ho, ho, ho" in favour of "ha, ha, ha".
Recruitment firm Westaff - which supplies hundreds of Santas across the country - has told its trainees that the "ho ho ho" phrase could frighten children and could even be derogatory to women.
Two Santa hopefuls reportedly quit the course because of the hullabaloo of the ho, ho, ho.
One would-be Santa has told The Daily Telegraph he was taught not to use "ho, ho, ho" because it was too close to the American slang for prostitute. He also quit.
"Gimme a break," Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids, said.
"We are talking about little kids who do not understand that "ho, ho, ho" has any other connotation and nor should they.
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A story based on the Three Little Pigs fairy tale has been turned down by a government agency's awards panel as the subject matter could offend Muslims.
The digital book, re-telling the classic story, was rejected by judges who warned that "the use of pigs raises cultural issues".
Becta, the government's educational technology agency, is a leading partner in the annual Bett Award for schools.
The judges also attacked Three Little Cowboy Builders for offending builders.
The book's creative director, Anne Curtis, said the idea that including pigs in a story could be interpreted as racism was "like a slap in the face".
More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7204635.stm