[Jack_]

Populist correctness: the new PC culture of Trump's America and Brexit Britain

Rightwing snowflakes are offended by everything from Kermit to holiday greetings and Starbucks cups

An Englishman, a Frenchman and an American man walk into a bar and make whatever jokes they want because – have you heard? – political correctness is dead. Donald Trump and Brexit have sent it to its grave. You can say whatever you like now, offend whoever you like!

Well, not quite.

From the gender-neutral ashes of political correctness a new sort of PC culture has risen. You could call it populist correctness: a virulent policing of language and stifling of debate that is rapidly and perniciously insinuating itself into daily life in Trump’s America and Brexit Britain.

Populist correctness is the smearing and silencing of points of view by labelling them “elitist” – and therefore at odds with the will of the people and the good of the country. Take, for example, the rhetoric around “remoaners”, which can be summed up as “the people have spoken, so the rest of you should shut up”. Opposing Brexit, Britain’s tabloids tell us almost daily, is unpatriotic and undemocratic. See, for example, front-page headlines such as: “Damn the unpatriotic Bremoaners and their plot to subvert the will of the British people” and “Time to silence Brexit whingers. Silencing opposing views would normally be seen as incompatible with the freedom of speech conservatives are supposed to hold so dear.

But the cunning thing about populist correctness is the way it dresses dogma up as democracy, invoking a majority consensus of opinion it doesn’t actually command. Theresa May, for example, recently warned MPs not to stand in the way of Brexit, stating: “Now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people.” Strictly speaking, of course, Brexit wasn’t the will of the people. About 17.4 million people voted leave; 16.1 million voted remain; 12.9 million didn’t vote. The wishes of the British people are complicated. The same goes for the US, where almost 3 million more Americans voted for Clinton than for Trump. But populist correctness doesn’t bother itself with inconvenient details. Rather it carves the country up into a neat dichotomy of ordinary people versus the elite.

As well as silencing opposing opinions by branding them elitist, populist correctness works to rebrand ideas, creating a new vocabulary for a new world order. The right prides itself on being straight-talking, on calling a spade a spade, but when it comes to calling a Nazi a Nazi or a racist a racist – well then, things are more vague. They are the “alt-right”, please. Use unacceptable terminology and they will get very angry indeed.

But what’s this? I thought an easily triggered outrage button was the preserve of politically correct liberals? From the vitriol the right heaps on “sensitive snowflakes”, you’d think they have skins as thick as elephants. Far from it: nobody is offended by quite such a wide range of banal things as conservatives. Everything from insufficiently Christmassy Starbucks coffee cups to Budweiser ads to Kermit the Frog’s lack of trousers seems to cause an outpouring of outrage. And, while jokes about minorities or women may be considered just banter, don’t even try joking about white people – that’s reverse-racism! Indeed, many triggered rightwingers recently deleted their Netflix accounts in protest against a new comedy show called Dear White People.

Holiday greetings are another hot-button issue. A survey by Public Policy Polling found “very conservative” Americans were more than twice as likely to be personally offended by someone saying “Happy holidays” to them (21%) as “very liberal” respondents to be offended by someone saying “Merry Christmas” (10%) to them.

Kneeling down can also trigger conservatives. Last year, the American football player Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem to protest against racism. This caused distress to many “patriots”. A conservative post that went viral said: “My heart is exploding, my lungs are without air … my body is shaking, and tears are running down my face. Kaepernick … is refusing to stand for the national anthem.” But liberals are the sensitive snowflakes eh?

Trump is, of course, king of the snowflakes, flying into a rage at any hint of criticism. He has even, seemingly unironically, called for safe spaces. Last year, after cast members of Hamilton politely criticised Mike Pence, he tweeted: “The theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”

Conservatives are impressively adept at belittling politically correct snowflakes one minute and flying into fits of ideological outrage the next. Snowflakes are to be mocked because they take things personally; their feelings are hurt. The outrage of populist correctness, however, is framed more as righteous indignation. It is not you who is offended. You are offended on behalf of the people. On behalf of your country. Your outrage is morally superior.

The most dangerous thing about populist correctness is the way liberals have been swept into it. Always keen for a little self-flagellation, the triumph of Trump and Brexit triggered a crisis of liberal confidence. Perhaps we have been out-of-touch and elitist, wrote columnist after columnist. Perhaps political correctness did go too far. Perhaps we shouldn’t say “racist”, perhaps we should say “alt-right”. Populist correctness isn’t just making us question our right to dissent, it’s quite literally putting words in our mouths.

The Guardian

****ING NAILED IT

[user104658]

Conservatives are impressively adept at belittling politically correct snowflakes one minute and flying into fits of ideological outrage the next. Snowflakes are to be mocked because they take things personally; their feelings are hurt. The outrage of populist correctness, however, is framed more as righteous indignation. It is not you who is offended. You are offended on behalf of the people. On behalf of your country. Your outrage is morally superior.

This is oddly relevant to another current thread

[arista]

Yes Jack
its all Change

8 Years of Full Steam Ahead

[Niamh.]

That was a good read Jack. I think people in general need to start walking a little bit more towards the middle though

[user104658]

Know what the funniest and most ironic part of it is?

There's a HUGE number of right-wing snowflakes in the comments bawling and whining about the article .

[RichardG]

i agree with what the article is trying to say but then i'd also mostly agree with a right wing article saying the same about people on the left. those on either extreme can be very hypocritical, it's human nature.

[King Gizzard]

[James]

I think it is the Internet that has created, or given prominence to, 'snowflake-ism'.

It doesn't matter which side of politics it is - just look at so many Youtube comment sections and you'll see people getting offended or complaining at the slightest thing.

Like much on-line though, it doesn't necessarily reflect the real-world views of most people.

[arista]

Originally Posted by James

I think it is the Internet that has created, or given prominence to, 'snowflake-ism'.

It doesn't matter which side of politics it is - just look at so many Youtube comment sections and you'll see people getting offended or complaining at the slightest thing.

Like much on-line though, it doesn't necessarily reflect the real-world views of most people.

Yes James
none of this is in
Morrisons or AsdaWalmart

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by James

I think it is the Internet that has created, or given prominence to, 'snowflake-ism'.

It doesn't matter which side of politics it is - just look at so many Youtube comment sections and you'll see people getting offended or complaining at the slightest thing.

Like much on-line though, it doesn't necessarily reflect the real-world views of most people.

Hopefully not although my daughter told me something triggered her the other day She was joking but it was the first time I'd ever heard a real life person say it

[ebandit]

.......be proud of your differences.........why? is it suddenly no-no to poke fun at others
differences........................

.......don't let others gag ya................express yersel...................

Mark L

[arista]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Hopefully not although my daughter told me something triggered her the other day She was joking but it was the first time I'd ever heard a real life person say it

How Nice

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by arista

How Nice

She's lucky she was

[Withano]

Saying populist correctness gone mad to snowflakes is going to be my new thing.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by James

Like much on-line though, it doesn't necessarily reflect the real-world views of most people.

What worries me though is that I think it usually DOES reflect the real world views of people... it's just that in the real world people are more inclined to mask or tone down their opinions if they're too "out there". People are more inclined to toe the middle ground for the sake of appearances but online will just let it all fly. It's still "in there" at all times.

Plus we're now starting to get to the point where young adults have grown up "with internet" and social media. It's a completely intertwined part of normal social interaction for people under the age of 20.

[Kizzy]

Wonderful article thanks Jack, I disagree that it isn't ever present in society as a double standard is becoming more and more evident everywhere.
Buzzwords, soundbites and media spin are losing their pull ( finally) Thanks for the most part to Trump, he has allowed the scales to fall for many and see how easy it is to influence the masses into believing what is and isn't real... This realisation although terrifying has had a positive outcome in that we are again learning to think for ourselves.
Which is why this article will resonate as the public wake up to the fact WE decide what it is we are enraged about and it ISN'T kermit, it's the NHS, jobs, living standards, homes and our families futures.

[Niamh.]

What exactly is the kermit thing about, i never heard anything about that

[Kizzy]

I don't know ... I just picked that from the text, but in my view it's something that is given an appearance of being a huge affront to values, culture or moral standards that in in reality are totally meaningless... Say for instance the latest UKIP headline relating to fish and chips! Who cares about fish and chips?
How are fish and chips going to impact on my life in any significant way?... They aren't, ergo the whole issue surrounding them is pointless, what are UKIP going to do about what really matters to people and their daily struggle?... feck knows, they're too busy babbling on about fish and chips!

Arrrggghhhh!!!

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

What exactly is the kermit thing about, i never heard anything about that

Some people were upset because he doesn't wear pants and so by implication his little Kermit is out.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

I don't know ... I just picked that from the text, but in my view it's something that is given an appearance of being a huge affront to values, culture or moral standards that in in reality are totally meaningless... Say for instance the latest UKIP headline relating to fish and chips! Who cares about fish and chips?
How are fish and chips going to impact on my life in any significant way?... They aren't, ergo the whole issue surrounding them is pointless, what are UKIP going to do about what really matters to people and their daily struggle?... feck knows, they're too busy babbling on about fish and chips!

Arrrggghhhh!!!

Don't Mention The Fish And Chips Thing!

It triggers LT.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Some people were upset because he doesn't wear pants and so by implication his little Kermit is out.

ah stop Do frogs even have willies?

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by James

I think it is the Internet that has created, or given prominence to, 'snowflake-ism'.

It doesn't matter which side of politics it is - just look at so many Youtube comment sections and you'll see people getting offended or complaining at the slightest thing.

Like much on-line though, it doesn't necessarily reflect the real-world views of most people.

Indeed. Luckily (unlike Niamh) I have yet to hear 'triggered' in real life. I do tend to find though, the it is the more...right wing...people I know that get offended by everything and get oh so wound up about trivial topics. On the other hand, the most ridiculous person I know is far left...so swings and roundabouts I guess.

A lot of topic that get people very wound up online are just not an issue in real life. Or not round here anyway

[Crimson Dynamo]

"Trump is, of course, king of the snowflakes, flying into a rage at any hint of criticism"

Good to see the failing Guardian using its top trained journalists to report fact and not resort to clickbait gutter journalism to please generation lose....

[arista]

"A lot of topic that get people very wound up online are just not an issue in real life. Or not round here anyway "

How Nice Vicky

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

"Trump is, of course, king of the snowflakes, flying into a rage at any hint of criticism"

Good to see the failing Guardian using its top trained journalists to report fact and not resort to clickbait gutter journalism to please generation lose....

Are you denying trump is the snowflakiest snowflake of all?

The president of the united states going on twitter rants as someone called him orange is not normal tbh