1 00:00:06,382 --> 00:00:08,801 [narrator] If you go to the Netherlands in late November, 2 00:00:08,885 --> 00:00:11,095 there’s a good chance you’ll see this: 3 00:00:12,055 --> 00:00:16,184 white people dressed up as St. Nicholas' helper Black Pete. 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,314 The character first showed up in a Dutch children’s book in 1850, 5 00:00:21,397 --> 00:00:25,234 while slavery was still alive and well in the Dutch colonies. 6 00:00:25,777 --> 00:00:29,781 By the 1960s, Black Pete was a Dutch holiday staple, 7 00:00:29,864 --> 00:00:34,660 and people of European descent made up 99% of the Dutch population. 8 00:00:34,744 --> 00:00:36,871 That changed in the '70s and '80s 9 00:00:36,954 --> 00:00:39,749 when tens of thousands migrated to the Netherlands, 10 00:00:39,832 --> 00:00:43,836 along with guest workers from southern Europe, Turkey and Morocco 11 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,506 invited by factory and shipyard owners. 12 00:00:46,589 --> 00:00:49,467 Today, people of color make up an increasing share 13 00:00:49,550 --> 00:00:50,927 of the Dutch population, 14 00:00:51,010 --> 00:00:54,764 and some of them don't see Black Pete as a cherished tradition. 15 00:00:54,847 --> 00:01:00,770 [speaking Dutch] It's unacceptable that such traditions continue to exist. 16 00:01:00,853 --> 00:01:05,274 If one child goes to school and is called "Black Pete" and goes home crying, 17 00:01:05,358 --> 00:01:07,276 that's enough to change the tradition. 18 00:01:07,610 --> 00:01:12,657 [speaking Dutch] There is the history behind this tradition of repression, 19 00:01:12,740 --> 00:01:17,620 murders that were committed by white people against black people. 20 00:01:18,746 --> 00:01:19,956 [narrator] In response, 21 00:01:20,039 --> 00:01:23,960 Black Pete’s defenders often accuse their critics of being politically correct. 22 00:01:26,170 --> 00:01:29,465 It's a phrase you now hear from politicians all over the world. 23 00:01:29,549 --> 00:01:32,135 We can’t worry about being politically correct. 24 00:01:32,218 --> 00:01:35,012 We have to throw away political correctness. 25 00:01:35,096 --> 00:01:38,349 ...and it is my duty, to talk about the problems, 26 00:01:38,432 --> 00:01:42,353 even when the politically correct elite prefers not to mention them. 27 00:01:42,436 --> 00:01:47,275 [narrator] In the US, a 2015 survey found that four out of five Republicans 28 00:01:47,358 --> 00:01:50,695 and three out of five Democrats agreed with the statement: 29 00:01:50,778 --> 00:01:54,574 "A big problem this country has is being politically correct." 30 00:01:54,657 --> 00:01:58,119 The phrase pops up in debates about movies and mascots, 31 00:01:58,202 --> 00:02:00,746 symbols and Super Bowl ads. 32 00:02:01,539 --> 00:02:05,459 On college campuses, comedy stages and cable news. 33 00:02:05,543 --> 00:02:07,003 [all] Political correctness. [narrator] But what does it mean? 34 00:02:09,046 --> 00:02:11,966 What exactly is it that we’re fighting over? 35 00:02:12,049 --> 00:02:15,678 Political correctness has ignited controversy 36 00:02:15,761 --> 00:02:16,637 across the land. 37 00:02:16,721 --> 00:02:19,140 We're just doing this in the defiance of political correctness. 38 00:02:19,223 --> 00:02:21,934 Here in the South, it means so much to so many people. 39 00:02:22,018 --> 00:02:26,063 [man] ...and I think these people are a fit subject for a mental health program! 40 00:02:26,147 --> 00:02:29,358 Offend? There's a funny thing. There are words that offend me. 41 00:02:29,442 --> 00:02:30,568 [Megyn Kelly] Just because 42 00:02:30,651 --> 00:02:33,779 it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn't mean it has to change. 43 00:02:33,863 --> 00:02:38,201 We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore! 44 00:02:38,784 --> 00:02:40,786 [clamoring] 45 00:02:44,165 --> 00:02:46,792 [narrator] In the United States, the term "political correctness" 46 00:02:46,876 --> 00:02:49,837 often comes up in connection with college students. 47 00:02:49,921 --> 00:02:51,797 Some fear that so-called political correctness 48 00:02:51,881 --> 00:02:54,550 is overtaking free speech on college campuses. 49 00:02:54,634 --> 00:02:56,719 The environment that’s been created on campus now, 50 00:02:56,844 --> 00:02:58,221 such having political correctness. 51 00:02:58,304 --> 00:03:00,806 If you needed more proof that political correctness 52 00:03:00,890 --> 00:03:03,351 has run amok on college campuses, we have it. 53 00:03:03,434 --> 00:03:07,438 People seem endlessly fascinated with "what is up with these kids these days?" 54 00:03:07,521 --> 00:03:10,316 They were 20, 25 years ago and they are today. 55 00:03:10,399 --> 00:03:12,318 In the late '80s, early '90s, 56 00:03:12,401 --> 00:03:15,196 we had the first episode of the so-called PC wars. 57 00:03:15,696 --> 00:03:18,908 [narrator] The 1960s and '70s helped remake the demographics 58 00:03:18,991 --> 00:03:20,785 of college campuses. 59 00:03:20,868 --> 00:03:22,036 And by the 90s, 60 00:03:22,119 --> 00:03:26,207 they were less white and less male than they’d been in the past. 61 00:03:26,791 --> 00:03:29,877 All of a sudden you didn't just have homogeneity on campus. 62 00:03:29,961 --> 00:03:32,338 You had women talking about rape on campus 63 00:03:32,421 --> 00:03:34,173 and talking about discrimination on campus. 64 00:03:34,257 --> 00:03:37,885 It’s almost like I dare anyone to blame me, I really do. 65 00:03:37,969 --> 00:03:40,388 Because I will not take blame for this. 66 00:03:40,471 --> 00:03:44,100 [man] One guy was kicking me in the head. They were yelling racial slurs, 67 00:03:44,183 --> 00:03:45,268 “Effing nigger.” 68 00:03:45,351 --> 00:03:48,104 [woman] Black students denounced the beatings and took over 69 00:03:48,187 --> 00:03:50,439 a campus building for six days. 70 00:03:50,731 --> 00:03:53,567 [narrator] Some student saw responses like "this is an overreaction." 71 00:03:53,651 --> 00:03:55,444 Every time some minor incident, 72 00:03:55,528 --> 00:03:57,863 such as a couple guys drinking beer and get into a fight, 73 00:03:57,947 --> 00:03:59,949 one happens to be black, one happens to be white, it’s instantly a rally against racism 74 00:04:02,118 --> 00:04:04,954 and they’re taking over buildings, and they’re demanding the world. 75 00:04:05,037 --> 00:04:09,125 [narrator] These tactics weren’t new, but the phrase used to describe them was. 76 00:04:09,208 --> 00:04:11,252 You could describe it as PC. -Politically correct. -Political correctness. 77 00:04:13,462 --> 00:04:17,925 [narrator] One of the early mentions was in a New York Times cartoon in 1990: 78 00:04:18,009 --> 00:04:20,177 politically correct person promises 79 00:04:20,261 --> 00:04:23,764 to guide those baffled by a changing world. 80 00:04:23,848 --> 00:04:28,394 It even showed up on the big screen in the 1994 movie PCU. 81 00:04:28,686 --> 00:04:31,856 [man] Politically correct. And it's not just politics, it's everything. 82 00:04:31,939 --> 00:04:34,567 It's what you eat, it's what you wear, and it's what you say. 83 00:04:34,650 --> 00:04:37,236 If you don't watch yourself, you can get in a buttload of trouble. 84 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,156 [narrator] Within a few years, the term had graduated college 85 00:04:40,239 --> 00:04:42,533 and entered the nightly news cycle. 86 00:04:42,616 --> 00:04:48,456 Like when the state of Colorado overturned Aspen’s LGBT protection laws in 1992. 87 00:04:48,956 --> 00:04:52,918 [woman] These Aspen ski slopes are this holiday season a battleground 88 00:04:53,002 --> 00:04:54,879 over political correctness. 89 00:04:54,962 --> 00:04:58,257 [narrator] Or when the term "African American" entered the lexicon. 90 00:04:58,341 --> 00:05:01,886 [man] Back in the 1960s, "Negro" was replaced by "Black," 91 00:05:01,969 --> 00:05:04,597 which is now being supplanted by "African American." 92 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,557 In the late '80s, early '90s, 93 00:05:06,682 --> 00:05:08,309 people started talking about political correctness. 94 00:05:08,392 --> 00:05:13,564 It felt like this thing was a way for white people who hadn’t thought about 95 00:05:13,647 --> 00:05:16,317 how to be inclusive, as a way to sort of frame it. Like, why are we using these new words? 96 00:05:19,153 --> 00:05:22,156 Why are we, why are we-- Black people used to be "colored," now they're "black,"  "African American." How come we keep changing the words? 97 00:05:25,326 --> 00:05:27,495 [narrator] Why did people want to change these words? 98 00:05:27,870 --> 00:05:30,122 I feel more comfortable with the term African American 99 00:05:30,247 --> 00:05:34,919 because that gives more focus on who I am and not what I am. 100 00:05:35,002 --> 00:05:37,129 If you call me by the label that I choose 101 00:05:37,213 --> 00:05:39,590 instead of calling me by the label that your group has chosen, 102 00:05:39,673 --> 00:05:41,258 it's just a cooler way to be. 103 00:05:41,342 --> 00:05:46,472 If people are saying, "Oh, we should now use this terminology," 104 00:05:46,555 --> 00:05:48,599 it might sound silly at first, 105 00:05:48,682 --> 00:05:52,728 but it's useful to listen to people's reasoning 106 00:05:52,812 --> 00:05:54,939 for why it might help 107 00:05:55,022 --> 00:05:58,317 make the world a little bit easier or more inclusive. 108 00:05:58,442 --> 00:06:02,738 [narrator] Even the smallest words can hold a lot of power. Like "Miss." 109 00:06:02,822 --> 00:06:06,450 In the English-speaking world, most people had never thought twice about it. 110 00:06:06,534 --> 00:06:07,993 Men were always Mr. 111 00:06:08,077 --> 00:06:11,372 But women... they were Miss until they became a Mrs. 112 00:06:11,455 --> 00:06:13,124 and took their husband’s name. 113 00:06:13,207 --> 00:06:16,919 Unlike men, they were identified by their marital status. 114 00:06:17,378 --> 00:06:22,675 Same for French, Spanish and Mandarin, just to name a few. 115 00:06:22,758 --> 00:06:24,135 Which is why, in the US, 116 00:06:24,218 --> 00:06:29,432 Geraldine Ferraro’s 1984 vice presidential campaign presented a dilemma. 117 00:06:29,515 --> 00:06:32,309 She was married, but had kept her maiden name. 118 00:06:32,393 --> 00:06:35,563 So she asked reporters to call her Ms. Ferraro, 119 00:06:35,646 --> 00:06:39,525 a title popularized by the Women's movement in the 1970s. 120 00:06:39,608 --> 00:06:43,571 But most publications resisted “Ms.” As one columnist wrote: 121 00:06:43,654 --> 00:06:46,365 “It seems like propaganda for the women's movement.” 122 00:06:46,449 --> 00:06:48,534 The New York Times called her Miss Ferraro 123 00:06:48,617 --> 00:06:50,369 in a 1982 profile, 124 00:06:50,453 --> 00:06:52,329 "Mrs." in 1983, 125 00:06:52,413 --> 00:06:55,416 then "Miss" again in 1985. 126 00:06:55,499 --> 00:07:00,546 I think I just heard Mrs. Ferraro say that she would do away with all covert action. 127 00:07:00,629 --> 00:07:02,548 Let me help you with the difference, Miss Ferraro, 128 00:07:02,631 --> 00:07:06,385 between Iran and the embassy in Lebanon. 129 00:07:06,469 --> 00:07:07,803 [narrator] Today, Ms. has become 130 00:07:07,887 --> 00:07:10,556 the default prefix for women, married or not. 131 00:07:10,639 --> 00:07:13,434 In France, the government removed "Mademoiselle" 132 00:07:13,517 --> 00:07:15,936 on all its official forms in 2012. 133 00:07:16,020 --> 00:07:19,482 All men are “Monsieur,” and all women are “Madame.” 134 00:07:19,565 --> 00:07:22,151 Basically, people very slowly came around to "Ms.," 135 00:07:22,234 --> 00:07:25,613 will use it and not even think twice about it. We've become used to it. 136 00:07:25,696 --> 00:07:28,324 [narrator] The debate over "Ms." wasn't just about language. 137 00:07:28,866 --> 00:07:30,367 It was about power, 138 00:07:30,451 --> 00:07:34,205 and refusing to adopt new language can send its own message about power. 139 00:07:34,288 --> 00:07:37,333 Like when a reporter asked then-candidate Donald Trump 140 00:07:37,416 --> 00:07:39,251 about the term "anchor babies." 141 00:07:39,335 --> 00:07:41,420 [man] That’s an offensive term. People find that-- 142 00:07:41,504 --> 00:07:44,673 You mean it’s not politically correct and yet everybody uses it? All right. 143 00:07:44,757 --> 00:07:47,885 So you know what? Give me a different term. What else would you like to say? 144 00:07:47,968 --> 00:07:50,596 [man] The American-born child of an undocumented immigrant. 145 00:07:50,679 --> 00:07:52,014 Oh, you want me to say that. Okay. 146 00:07:52,097 --> 00:07:54,225 I’ll use the word "anchor baby." Excuse me. 147 00:07:54,308 --> 00:07:55,768 I'll use the word "anchor baby." 148 00:07:55,851 --> 00:07:58,479 [narrator] Or when Russian president Vladimir Putin 149 00:07:58,562 --> 00:08:00,523 uses the term political correctness 150 00:08:00,606 --> 00:08:03,526 to equate homosexuality with pedophilia. 151 00:08:03,609 --> 00:08:05,861 [speaking Russian] The excesses and exaggerations of political correctness 152 00:08:05,945 --> 00:08:08,656 are such that there is serious talk of registering a political party 153 00:08:08,739 --> 00:08:10,824 that aims to promote pedophilia. 154 00:08:10,908 --> 00:08:13,869 [narrator] Or when French politician Marion Maréchal-Le Pen 155 00:08:13,953 --> 00:08:16,163 criticizes Islam and immigration. 156 00:08:16,247 --> 00:08:20,626 Massive immigration, Islamic lobbies and political correctness. 157 00:08:20,709 --> 00:08:24,421 [narrator] But others criticize new language because it can be confusing. 158 00:08:24,505 --> 00:08:30,261 [Glenn Beck] Where is the line of what you can say and what you can't say? 159 00:08:30,344 --> 00:08:33,138 And all I keep coming back to is... 160 00:08:33,222 --> 00:08:35,641 there shouldn't be a line. 161 00:08:35,724 --> 00:08:39,395 Because it is the spirit of the Enlightenment 162 00:08:39,478 --> 00:08:42,064 that brought us out of the Dark Ages, 163 00:08:42,147 --> 00:08:46,360 was a risky conversation saying risky things. 164 00:08:46,443 --> 00:08:49,655 [narrator] Of course, what’s considered "risky" changes over time. 165 00:08:49,738 --> 00:08:54,493 It was risky for CBS to even talk about gay people in 1967. 166 00:08:54,577 --> 00:08:57,788 Most Americans are repelled by the mere notion of homosexuality. 167 00:08:57,871 --> 00:09:00,666 [narrator] It was even riskier to be openly gay at work. 168 00:09:00,749 --> 00:09:03,502 We do not employ homosexuals knowingly, 169 00:09:03,586 --> 00:09:06,839 and if we discover homosexuals in our department, we discharge them. 170 00:09:06,922 --> 00:09:09,049 [narrator] Or to be open about their sexuality in public. 171 00:09:09,133 --> 00:09:12,761 ...and I think these people are a fit subject for a mental health program! 172 00:09:12,845 --> 00:09:15,180 [narrator] American attitudes are changing, 173 00:09:15,264 --> 00:09:17,683 but societies don’t change all at once. 174 00:09:17,766 --> 00:09:20,019 The first stage of acceptance is toleration. 175 00:09:20,102 --> 00:09:23,272 You know, "I'm a little bit... I feel uncomfortable around them, 176 00:09:23,355 --> 00:09:25,941 but they're human beings, we shouldn't treat them like trash." 177 00:09:26,025 --> 00:09:27,818 The second stage would be legitimization. 178 00:09:27,901 --> 00:09:32,573 We start talking about their rights and opening up possibilities... 179 00:09:32,656 --> 00:09:35,242 that may not have been opened to them before. 180 00:09:35,326 --> 00:09:37,119 The third stage of acceptance is... 181 00:09:37,578 --> 00:09:42,625 when people recognize that the prejudice is often unconscious. 182 00:09:42,708 --> 00:09:45,878 One of the main issues that comes up over and over again 183 00:09:45,961 --> 00:09:48,297 in conversations about political correctness... 184 00:09:48,380 --> 00:09:52,426 is that now that we live in a world where social media connects all of us, 185 00:09:52,509 --> 00:09:57,014 you have people at these various different stages interacting with one another, 186 00:09:57,097 --> 00:10:00,517 and people might resent someone saying, 187 00:10:00,601 --> 00:10:03,479 “Oh, you can't use that word. That's offensive to people.” 188 00:10:03,562 --> 00:10:06,690 Political correctness is this interesting phrase 189 00:10:06,774 --> 00:10:10,611 for all the ways we're self-conscious in our conversations across difference. 190 00:10:10,694 --> 00:10:13,822 Especially when you know the moment you say one thing 191 00:10:13,906 --> 00:10:16,492 that someone doesn't like or that someone finds offensive, 192 00:10:16,575 --> 00:10:18,243 they can often jump on you, 193 00:10:18,327 --> 00:10:21,330 which makes you even more likely to just bottle things up. 194 00:10:21,413 --> 00:10:26,669 The problem comes where... I don't even know the rules. 195 00:10:26,752 --> 00:10:32,091 Who's making up the laws of all of this? Who's giving us these rules? 196 00:10:32,675 --> 00:10:37,805 I play DnD and when I have to introduce a minority character, 197 00:10:38,263 --> 00:10:43,936 I'll often find myself asking, "Can I describe this character as black? 198 00:10:44,353 --> 00:10:47,731 Is that too blunt? Would that seem racist to just say that? 199 00:10:47,815 --> 00:10:51,527 Why would I need to describe that? Is that an integral part of their character? 200 00:10:51,610 --> 00:10:54,154 Is it racist to not say they're black?" 201 00:10:54,321 --> 00:10:58,033 One example from the French language is this new idea of inclusive writing, 202 00:10:58,534 --> 00:11:02,371 which is a set of rules that aims to write French in a gender-balanced way. 203 00:11:02,454 --> 00:11:05,874 In practice this means using the form of words you see in the dictionary 204 00:11:05,958 --> 00:11:10,671 with both of the gender endings spelled explicitly, separated by a point. 205 00:11:15,008 --> 00:11:16,927 And of course, 206 00:11:17,010 --> 00:11:21,098 it does nothing to address the exclusion of women from a lot of space in society. 207 00:11:21,181 --> 00:11:22,808 Recently I was in a meeting, 208 00:11:23,225 --> 00:11:26,270 and I was addressing to people as "guys" as I normally do like, 209 00:11:26,353 --> 00:11:30,065 "Okay, guys, let's do this. Okay, guys, let's wrap the meeting up." 210 00:11:30,482 --> 00:11:34,236 And after the meeting one of my friends, who was a male friend, 211 00:11:34,611 --> 00:11:36,697 walks up to me and says that, 212 00:11:36,780 --> 00:11:39,992 "You know, I don't know, but maybe we shouldn't call everybody 'guys.' 213 00:11:40,075 --> 00:11:42,494 Maybe we should call them 'folk' or 'people.'" 214 00:11:42,578 --> 00:11:45,539 This is pushing political correctness too far. 215 00:11:45,622 --> 00:11:48,917 One thing that I encounter a lot with my students is they're really unwilling 216 00:11:49,001 --> 00:11:51,879 to talk about issues of race and gender 217 00:11:51,962 --> 00:11:54,631 because they're afraid of offending people, 218 00:11:54,715 --> 00:11:57,968 but instead of watching what they say, they just don't talk at all. 219 00:11:58,051 --> 00:12:01,680 People might be afraid to do certain studies on immigrants, 220 00:12:01,764 --> 00:12:04,475 because we're afraid of what the data might show. 221 00:12:04,558 --> 00:12:08,395 Even though it seems so simple as using one word over another, 222 00:12:08,479 --> 00:12:13,150 it kind of becomes this whole thing about "the left will not take us over." 223 00:12:13,233 --> 00:12:15,736 One complaint you'll hear sometimes is, 224 00:12:15,819 --> 00:12:19,865 "You know, I have to watch every word I say, 225 00:12:19,948 --> 00:12:23,452 because I will get criticized, I will get called racist, 226 00:12:23,535 --> 00:12:26,955 I will get called sexist if I say the wrong thing." 227 00:12:27,039 --> 00:12:29,166 It's a complaint in which someone's saying, 228 00:12:29,249 --> 00:12:33,837 “I don't like that I can't say this thing without being criticized." 229 00:12:33,921 --> 00:12:37,257 A lot of times comics, when they're told they can't say the n-word, 230 00:12:37,341 --> 00:12:39,176 or they can't make jokes about rape, 231 00:12:39,259 --> 00:12:41,553 they suddenly go, "Oh, come on. That's... but it's funny!" 232 00:12:41,637 --> 00:12:45,641 But really, you're being challenged to do something different. 233 00:12:45,724 --> 00:12:49,186 I had a solo show, and in the show I would tell a story 234 00:12:49,269 --> 00:12:51,897 about the first time I ever felt black. 235 00:12:51,980 --> 00:12:54,149 I think I was six years old, in first grade. 236 00:12:54,233 --> 00:12:56,610 And me and a bunch of other white kids were playing, 237 00:12:56,693 --> 00:12:58,529 like, "Doctor" or "The Kissing Game," 238 00:12:58,612 --> 00:13:02,699 and it was this white girl’s turn to kiss me, and she didn’t want to kiss me. 239 00:13:02,783 --> 00:13:06,161 Maybe I wasn't a cute kid and she didn't want to kiss because I wasn't a cute kid. 240 00:13:06,245 --> 00:13:10,123 I show a picture of myself at six, looking adorable, 241 00:13:10,207 --> 00:13:11,625 empirically so adorable. 242 00:13:12,125 --> 00:13:16,171 And in the joke, I would go, “Yeah, look at me. I was cute.” 243 00:13:16,255 --> 00:13:19,716 And the joke at the time was, "That little bitch was racist!" 244 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,510 [audience laughing] 245 00:13:21,593 --> 00:13:24,054 A friend of mine came and saw the show, 246 00:13:24,137 --> 00:13:27,766 and she was like, "Huh. Why do you say 'bitch' there?" 247 00:13:27,850 --> 00:13:29,226 Like, "It's funny!" 248 00:13:29,309 --> 00:13:30,978 Maybe I called her politically correct. 249 00:13:31,061 --> 00:13:33,188 "You don't get it, you don't get how comedy clubs work." 250 00:13:33,272 --> 00:13:35,190 She's like, "Yeah, but that joke doesn't really reflect you, 251 00:13:35,274 --> 00:13:38,110 because you wouldn't call a woman in your life a bitch." 252 00:13:38,193 --> 00:13:40,195 And so because we were playing Doctor, 253 00:13:40,279 --> 00:13:42,322 at the end when I show the picture of how cute I was. "Look how adorable I am!" I go... 254 00:13:44,533 --> 00:13:46,827 "That little doctor was racist." 255 00:13:46,910 --> 00:13:48,579 -And it still got a big laugh! -[audience laughing] 256 00:13:48,662 --> 00:13:50,664 And so from that point forward, I was like, "Huh. 257 00:13:50,956 --> 00:13:52,374 There's actually ways to get around this." 258 00:13:52,457 --> 00:13:53,876 [narrator] Why do we laugh? 259 00:13:53,959 --> 00:13:57,963 Sometimes it’s because a joke takes something we’ve experienced privately 260 00:13:58,046 --> 00:13:59,548 and makes it public. 261 00:13:59,631 --> 00:14:02,509 Then that experience loses some of its power. 262 00:14:02,593 --> 00:14:05,012 Like when comedian Richard Pryor talked about 263 00:14:05,095 --> 00:14:09,349 how different it felt being black in Africa compared to America. 264 00:14:09,433 --> 00:14:12,644 I know how white people feel in America now. 265 00:14:13,395 --> 00:14:14,479 Relaxed. 266 00:14:14,563 --> 00:14:16,899 -[audience laughing] -That's right! 267 00:14:16,982 --> 00:14:19,943 'Cause you hear, like, a police car comin', 268 00:14:20,027 --> 00:14:22,070 you know it ain't comin' after your ass. 269 00:14:22,154 --> 00:14:24,239 [narrator] Then there are jokes where the punch line is a person 270 00:14:24,323 --> 00:14:25,449 who's outside a group, 271 00:14:25,532 --> 00:14:28,869 and people laugh to show that they’re definitely inside the group. 272 00:14:29,828 --> 00:14:30,954 Ethnic jokes. 273 00:14:31,038 --> 00:14:32,539 Do you think Mexicans are spicy? 274 00:14:32,623 --> 00:14:33,624 [audience laughing] 275 00:14:33,707 --> 00:14:34,541 [narrator] Gay jokes. 276 00:14:34,625 --> 00:14:36,919 ...them like a gay French king. 277 00:14:37,002 --> 00:14:39,630 [narrator] As the groups who use to be the punch line 278 00:14:39,713 --> 00:14:41,965 of these jokes gain power and visibility, 279 00:14:42,049 --> 00:14:45,260 they also gain more power to socially punish the people 280 00:14:45,344 --> 00:14:47,387 who say things that offend them. 281 00:14:47,471 --> 00:14:50,515 Electric cars... are gay. 282 00:14:50,599 --> 00:14:53,143 [man] Well, that preview has now been pulled. 283 00:14:53,226 --> 00:14:57,481 Was pulling the coming attraction pinheaded or patriotic? 284 00:14:57,731 --> 00:14:59,232 Bullying comes from somewhere. 285 00:14:59,316 --> 00:15:02,277 It comes from social attitudes that are often perpetuated 286 00:15:02,361 --> 00:15:04,321 by comedies that are telling jokes. 287 00:15:04,404 --> 00:15:07,491 We gotta do something to change, 288 00:15:07,574 --> 00:15:10,619 to make those words unacceptable 'cause those words are hurting kids. 289 00:15:10,702 --> 00:15:14,164 I'd never tell a comic not to do a joke. Say all the words you want to say, 290 00:15:14,247 --> 00:15:15,958 but you've to deal with the consequences. 291 00:15:16,041 --> 00:15:18,543 [narrator] But some people worry those consequences 292 00:15:18,627 --> 00:15:20,587 could end up shutting down debates. 293 00:15:21,129 --> 00:15:24,883 And on some college campuses, this is getting a lot of media attention. 294 00:15:25,175 --> 00:15:28,595 Protests at Middlebury College in the great state of Vermont devolved 295 00:15:28,679 --> 00:15:33,100 into censorship and a violent mob over recent guest speaker Charles Murray. 296 00:15:33,183 --> 00:15:36,520 Because Murray wrote The Bell Curve about cognitive stratification, 297 00:15:36,603 --> 00:15:39,856 they would not let him speak. This is an outrage. 298 00:15:39,940 --> 00:15:42,651 The incident and others like it bring into sharp relief 299 00:15:42,734 --> 00:15:45,404 a growing tendency on American campuses: 300 00:15:45,487 --> 00:15:49,491 an intolerance for freedom of speech and a challenge to intellectual diversity. 301 00:15:49,574 --> 00:15:52,577 When I read The Bell Curve, I was very upset. 302 00:15:52,661 --> 00:15:56,373 [woman] The Bell Curve implies that blacks underachieve and are in poverty 303 00:15:56,456 --> 00:15:59,543 because genetics influences their lower IQ scores. 304 00:15:59,626 --> 00:16:02,462 Someone who reads this, what are they then gonna think 305 00:16:02,546 --> 00:16:05,507 about the next black person that they meet? 306 00:16:05,590 --> 00:16:07,843 So, that to me was very dangerous. 307 00:16:07,926 --> 00:16:11,388 [all] Go away! Racists, sexists, anti-gay... 308 00:16:11,471 --> 00:16:13,765 [narrator] But for a lot of students a person's ideas 309 00:16:13,849 --> 00:16:15,559 seeming offensive or dangerous 310 00:16:15,642 --> 00:16:17,936 is exactly why they want to hear them speak. 311 00:16:18,020 --> 00:16:19,771 When I brought Murray to campus, 312 00:16:19,855 --> 00:16:23,692 that was one of the first things that I wanted to ask him about. 313 00:16:23,775 --> 00:16:28,113 I now have a better understanding of how he truly does see it 314 00:16:28,196 --> 00:16:29,489 as an honest argument. 315 00:16:29,573 --> 00:16:32,617 That's something I could've only gained by talking to him. 316 00:16:32,701 --> 00:16:34,786 I don't think it's a good idea to shut down speakers 317 00:16:34,870 --> 00:16:37,080 or to make it so that speakers can't be heard. 318 00:16:37,164 --> 00:16:38,498 I think that's a bad idea. 319 00:16:38,582 --> 00:16:43,837 When speakers get shouted down or not allowed to speak or disinvited, 320 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:47,841 they become cause celeb, even if their message is nonsense. 321 00:16:47,924 --> 00:16:53,055 The desire to limit speech, while I deeply disagree with it on principle, 322 00:16:53,138 --> 00:16:55,307 stems from a good place. 323 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:57,768 The way that translates into action... 324 00:16:58,769 --> 00:17:00,937 that's where the problem really rests. 325 00:17:01,688 --> 00:17:05,025 [narrator] As cultures change and new groups gain power, 326 00:17:05,108 --> 00:17:09,696 they push societies to rethink language, symbols and traditions. 327 00:17:10,155 --> 00:17:12,824 What exactly are we referring to when we say political correctness? 328 00:17:12,908 --> 00:17:15,243 To me, in some sense, it's an umbrella term 329 00:17:15,327 --> 00:17:17,579 that encompasses a wide range of... 330 00:17:18,038 --> 00:17:20,040 interactions and incidents. 331 00:17:20,248 --> 00:17:23,460 Are you referring to student activists on campus 332 00:17:23,543 --> 00:17:25,045 who don't want to hear from speakers? 333 00:17:25,128 --> 00:17:28,632 Are you referring to a comment that someone feels is degrading? 334 00:17:28,924 --> 00:17:31,134 [narrator] One person's political correctness... 335 00:17:31,218 --> 00:17:34,221 It's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds. 336 00:17:34,304 --> 00:17:36,932 ...is another person's sign of progress.