Telenko1

Abby Telenko
Ms. Konings Speech I Honors
12/31/14
Pd 1
Welcome ladies, gentlemen, and people who do not conform to those gender binaries.
Now it would have been easier to just say hey guys. But college students and many others are
offended that hey guys is in the modern language. In order for no one to get offended I would
have to say ladies, gentlemen, ad people who do not conform to those gender binaries. Now
saying that is way too long and hey guys isnt offensive. It doesnt mean I am saying all of you
are guys. But it isnt politically correct.
Political correctness is conforming to a belief that language and practices which could
offend political sensibilities should be eliminated. But the average Joe definition of political
correctness is preventing people from getting their feelings hurt. We do need political correctness
in the world because then we would be insulting each other left and right. But 6 out of 10
respondents (57%) believe that political correctness has made people way to sensitive. Also 79%
of people think political correctness is a big problem in the US. More people are saying Im sorry
then voicing their opinion. At Valdosta state university a student was expelled because he
criticized an environmental plan the president made. No one should be punished for voicing their
opinion and letting people know how they feel.
Political correctness isnt only affecting what people say in todays society, it is also
affecting famous American literature. Two of Mark Twains books are getting republished
because they are going to change the n word to slave. If you think about it, changing those books
are changing the narrative of how people lived in the past. Those books showed how people
communicated to one another back in the day. It also changes the everyday narrative because
people will find more ways to be offended. For example, the word dinosaur was banned from

Telenko2
Abby Telenko
Ms. Konings Speech I Honors
12/31/14
Pd 1
New York standardized test because they didnt want offend people who didnt believe in
evolution.
An example of people finding more ways to be offended is in Seattle, officials are banned
from saying brown bag and citizen. Brown bag means you are judging someones skin color and
the people living in Seattle are not citizens, but they are residents. People look deeper into every
situation to find some way to be offensive. 5 students in California got sent home because they
wore an American Flag T-shirt on Cinco da Mayo. Apparently you can wear your countrys flag
unless you are offending another student celebrating another countrys holiday. A lawyer in New
York sued every bar that had ladies night because it was gender discrimination. I would like to
show you a short video about how political correctness is affecting the US.
(Show video)
As the man said in the video, people hold their emotions on their shoulders and when
someone says something that shouldnt be offensive, they get offended and their whole day is
ruined. Yes we do need political correctness because we should be aware of how what we say
affects a person. But the first amendment is freedom of speech, but at the rate political
correctness is going. That amendment will be better known as freedom of Im sorry.