A feminist and political correctness...

I find Heather Malleck to be tedious, at best...but I love her description of coming face to face with political correctness.

If Harper waited a week or so after his initial cuts to see what the reaction would be, feminists were wasting precious time that could have been spent alerting Canadian women. No wonder Harper managed to slip this through. Feminists have had far lesser things to worry about. For instance, I spent that week being attacked online by feminists for bad language.

The academics and activists on this particular bulletin board-debate website weren't discussing the Taliban or women on welfare. Someone posted a passionate essay on how women stomp on other women once they get into power. She paraphrased Erasmus: "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed woman is Queen."

Another woman responded that she was offended by the implication that the disabled should worship less disabled people. Using the word "blind" is wrong, she wrote. She herself was a person of "low vision" ("I have the distinction of being a womyn with a disAbility, low vision and albinism" was how she put it) and decried phrases like "turn a blind eye."

My first thought was that this was a hoax from a Don Cherry fan. But I sent a message in which I strongly objected to anyone telling me I couldn't refer to someone as "blind" or indeed imply that blindness was a bad thing. I know two people with macular degeneration, an irreversible slide into blindness. They're stoic, but I can't say they're happy about it.

For this, I was chastised by the board's moderator (a sensation I associate with Jimmy Swaggart for some reason). Another of my sister feminists gently warned me that others had gotten in similar trouble with "guy," "boycott," and "blacklist."

To my sorrow, she sent me a style guide on "preferred language." It said writers should avoid equating bad, depressing things with blackness. Don't say "black mood, blackball, blackmail, black magic, black sheep, black day or black market." Oh, and pots shouldn't call kettles black.