I taught a new class today that almost had me fall out of my chair with both laughter as well as anger. The title of the class was the same as this point, "Political Correctness". The class had 6 Ukrainian girls in it. The youngest Ukrainian girl was 17, 3 Ukrainian girls in the 23-25 year old range, one about 40, and another in her late 40s. Needless to say, this was a very interesting class.
I started the class by saying that I have recently become aware that it is probably going to be very difficult for me to ever live full-time in the United States again. Why, you ask? Well, I wrote my answer on the white board. I said, "I don't think that I'd be able to hold a job for very long in the United States without getting fired for political incorrectness. I am the opposite of politically correct!"
I said, "Let me give you a perfect example." I gave one example after the other of how my country's values and beliefs on this topic have just gone too far. Originally, the intention was completely positive. I have a friend that works for one of the largest shipping companies in the world, and less than a year ago, he complimented his boss (a 40ish female who had lost about 35 pounds since he had seen her last. 35 pounds is about 16 kilograms). He said to her, "Congrats Sally on losing that weight! You look great!!!"
He was immediately pulled into the nearest office by the human resources rep for his company and reprimanded. He was told if he ever did that again, he would be written up for sexual harassment.
I asked the 6 Ukrainian girls if they liked it when a guy told them that they were good looking, attractive, or complimented them on their looks or clothing, etc. One girl gave a very poignant response, saying, "I think it depends on the guy offering the compliment." However, of the 6 Ukrainian girls in my class, 4 and a half answered "yes! I enjoy being complimented by a man"
We talked about sometimes, how a girl just wants to work, or exercise, or do whatever she is doing without having to deal with the hassle of being complimented, or having to fend off men who might be hitting on her. However, I commented that I felt the percentage might actually be exactly the opposite in my home culture. I think that 4.5 out of 6 prefer to not have you compliment them.
Now, to the funny stuff. There was one exercise in which the students needed to match the common, or more well known politically INcorrect term with the new politically correct term. This is where things started to just get stupid and make me realize that I live in the perfect place for my present mentality. I like being able to give a couple of second gaze at a pretty Ukrainian girl, her body, or even look her in the eye without having to feel ashamed or guilty about it like I felt in America.
Of course, the original intentions of feminists, politicians, and the media was and is positive. I get that. I even referenced a late 70s or early 80s movie with Farah Faucet called The Burning Bed. Good for her!!! If you aren't familiar with it, I suggest you look it up on IMDB.
Now, let's enjoy some of the goofiness of being American.
A fireman must now be called a firefighter? - no big deal
A businessman now must be called a business person? - ok.
A cameraman must be called a camera operator? - really?
An autistic child must be referred to as a child with autism? - Does that autistic child really understand the difference between those two terms?
A Third World Country is no longer a Third World Country, it must be referred to as the Global South? - GTF outta here!!! Really??? Who gives a sh@#???
An Eskimo must now be called a person from the Global North? C'mon!!! You've gotta be sh*#@ing me!!!
A fat person (present company included) must now be referred to as Big Boned or Differently Sized???
Ha! Ha! I am just fat! There is no doubt about it! I have an eating disorder! And, 85% of the girls in this culture do not even see me as fat even though I am 6'0" (181cm) tall and 240 pounds (about 111 kg)
If you are fat, then you are fat!!! If you have an eating disorder, then you overeat! So be it!!! Why do I have to refer to myself as big boned???? Comical!!!
A blind person is a person with a visual impairment. That person cannot even see you call him/her blind anyway!! What does it matter?
A deaf person is a person must be referred to as a person with an aural impairment? Whatever! He/she can't hear me say that he/she is deaf anyway!!!
How about this one? An unemployed person wants to be referred to as unwaged??? Are you freakin' serious? You're out of work!!! Period!!! We've all been there and experienced that.
Why does my culture have to make things so freakin' difficult????
This is the best one though. There is a social condition that we previously called poor, and in my country, I am not supposed to say someone is poor, I am supposed to say that they are economically disadvantaged!!!!
Bit@**!!! If you are too lazy to work, and to stupid to pick up a book and learn something, THEN YOU ARE POOR!!!! BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF!!! YOU ARE OUT OF WORK, POOR, AND HOPELESS BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO F'N LAZY TO PICK UP A BOOK AND CHANGE SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF!!!
I live in the perfect country. As I get older, I think that I get less tolerant in having people around me that don't want to improve themselves in some way. That is why I think that I found the perfect job and the perfect school. Our school is one of the more expensive schools in Odessa, so, people who are intermediate level of English or higher, and coming to our school to improve are exactly that!!! They are serious about improving themselves and their lives. That is why I love them!!!
That is also why the best place to meet Ukrainian girls is not on a marriage or dating website, I believe it is in speaking clubs, speaking groups, or at English schools. I stopped dating Ukrainian girls from my school about 7 months ago, but if there was one Ukrainian girl that jumped out at me, I wouldn't hesitate to try to ask her on a date. Please don't tell my boss though. )))
I started the class by saying that I have recently become aware that it is probably going to be very difficult for me to ever live full-time in the United States again. Why, you ask? Well, I wrote my answer on the white board. I said, "I don't think that I'd be able to hold a job for very long in the United States without getting fired for political incorrectness. I am the opposite of politically correct!"
I said, "Let me give you a perfect example." I gave one example after the other of how my country's values and beliefs on this topic have just gone too far. Originally, the intention was completely positive. I have a friend that works for one of the largest shipping companies in the world, and less than a year ago, he complimented his boss (a 40ish female who had lost about 35 pounds since he had seen her last. 35 pounds is about 16 kilograms). He said to her, "Congrats Sally on losing that weight! You look great!!!"
He was immediately pulled into the nearest office by the human resources rep for his company and reprimanded. He was told if he ever did that again, he would be written up for sexual harassment.
I asked the 6 Ukrainian girls if they liked it when a guy told them that they were good looking, attractive, or complimented them on their looks or clothing, etc. One girl gave a very poignant response, saying, "I think it depends on the guy offering the compliment." However, of the 6 Ukrainian girls in my class, 4 and a half answered "yes! I enjoy being complimented by a man"
We talked about sometimes, how a girl just wants to work, or exercise, or do whatever she is doing without having to deal with the hassle of being complimented, or having to fend off men who might be hitting on her. However, I commented that I felt the percentage might actually be exactly the opposite in my home culture. I think that 4.5 out of 6 prefer to not have you compliment them.
Now, to the funny stuff. There was one exercise in which the students needed to match the common, or more well known politically INcorrect term with the new politically correct term. This is where things started to just get stupid and make me realize that I live in the perfect place for my present mentality. I like being able to give a couple of second gaze at a pretty Ukrainian girl, her body, or even look her in the eye without having to feel ashamed or guilty about it like I felt in America.
Of course, the original intentions of feminists, politicians, and the media was and is positive. I get that. I even referenced a late 70s or early 80s movie with Farah Faucet called The Burning Bed. Good for her!!! If you aren't familiar with it, I suggest you look it up on IMDB.
Now, let's enjoy some of the goofiness of being American.
A fireman must now be called a firefighter? - no big deal
A businessman now must be called a business person? - ok.
A cameraman must be called a camera operator? - really?
An autistic child must be referred to as a child with autism? - Does that autistic child really understand the difference between those two terms?
A Third World Country is no longer a Third World Country, it must be referred to as the Global South? - GTF outta here!!! Really??? Who gives a sh@#???
An Eskimo must now be called a person from the Global North? C'mon!!! You've gotta be sh*#@ing me!!!
A fat person (present company included) must now be referred to as Big Boned or Differently Sized???
Ha! Ha! I am just fat! There is no doubt about it! I have an eating disorder! And, 85% of the girls in this culture do not even see me as fat even though I am 6'0" (181cm) tall and 240 pounds (about 111 kg)
If you are fat, then you are fat!!! If you have an eating disorder, then you overeat! So be it!!! Why do I have to refer to myself as big boned???? Comical!!!
A blind person is a person with a visual impairment. That person cannot even see you call him/her blind anyway!! What does it matter?
A deaf person is a person must be referred to as a person with an aural impairment? Whatever! He/she can't hear me say that he/she is deaf anyway!!!
How about this one? An unemployed person wants to be referred to as unwaged??? Are you freakin' serious? You're out of work!!! Period!!! We've all been there and experienced that.
Why does my culture have to make things so freakin' difficult????
This is the best one though. There is a social condition that we previously called poor, and in my country, I am not supposed to say someone is poor, I am supposed to say that they are economically disadvantaged!!!!
Bit@**!!! If you are too lazy to work, and to stupid to pick up a book and learn something, THEN YOU ARE POOR!!!! BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF!!! YOU ARE OUT OF WORK, POOR, AND HOPELESS BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO F'N LAZY TO PICK UP A BOOK AND CHANGE SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF!!!
I live in the perfect country. As I get older, I think that I get less tolerant in having people around me that don't want to improve themselves in some way. That is why I think that I found the perfect job and the perfect school. Our school is one of the more expensive schools in Odessa, so, people who are intermediate level of English or higher, and coming to our school to improve are exactly that!!! They are serious about improving themselves and their lives. That is why I love them!!!
That is also why the best place to meet Ukrainian girls is not on a marriage or dating website, I believe it is in speaking clubs, speaking groups, or at English schools. I stopped dating Ukrainian girls from my school about 7 months ago, but if there was one Ukrainian girl that jumped out at me, I wouldn't hesitate to try to ask her on a date. Please don't tell my boss though. )))
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