Political Correctness — a Talking Points lesson plan for English reading and speaking

Read Nigel’s account below.

I have had enough of all this PC nonsense. I don’t understand where it is going anymore.

The other day I found out that a cafe in town was in trouble for selling Chinese spring rolls.

A group of people gathered outside the cafe and said it was ‘cultural appropriation’. They said that because the cafe owner is not Chinese, he has no right to sell Chinese spring rolls.

Apparently, according to the group, only Chinese people can do that.

And none of the people in the group were Chinese! They were mostly white people!

I mean, if I heard Chinese people were angry about it, I might understand it, but not one Chinese person complained.

My friend told me a story too…

He said his daughter is expecting a baby with her new husband. They are delighted.

But when my friend went to the hospital, he was told that young pregnant women are now to be called ‘Birthing Persons’.

This is to show that we are inclusive of all people.

How is this possible? I thought the only person that can get pregnant is a woman — so why not just call them ‘mothers’ or ‘pregnant women’?

My mate says he has learned to just accept it…

And then last week, I found out that there will be no Christmas celebrations this year. Not in the local churches, not in schools, nowhere.

I thought Christmas was part of our culture and our history. So why can’t we have it?

Because it causes offence to non-Christians!

I mean, I’m not a Christian. I rarely go to church, but it won’t be the same this year without seeing all the Christmas decorations and hearing Christmas carols.

I don’t understand why we have to keep changing the English language and why we have to stop certain activities because a small group of people might be offended.

In the last ten years or so, it seems like Political Correctness has pervaded every part of our lives. It’s in our celebrations, the food we eat, the entertainment we watch on the telly — even in football.

I’m a big football fan, and I was dismayed to see one top football player practically crying in an interview about racism in football.

He was demanding that other football players protest at the beginning of football matches.

I can’t see that going down well with the average football fan. All they want to see is the beautiful game.

They don’t want football players telling them what to think.

In the end, it just makes me want to shut myself off from the world.

Turn off the telly, don’t read the news — and don’t go to any football matches!

People have lost their minds over this.

I really hope that there is a change in the next generation and we can just get on with life without people being offended every five minutes.