adminAre you a “pet guardian”?
Have you been referred to as “vertically challenged”?
Are you a “sanitation engineer”?
Might you be “gerontologically advanced”?
Can you identify these labels above? If you’re up on your politically correct lingo, you may recognize these as a pet owner, being really short, a garbage man and being really old! Sometimes being politically correct can be viewed as humorous, convoluted or maybe even over the top; however, I think most would agree political correctness, over time, has helped improve our sensitivity and decency towards fellow-man. It has also cleansed and reshaped a lot of our daily vernacular.
Sometimes it feels like certain terms have become so “pc” that it is hard to tell what the term is referring to. The most amusing of the above examples is “pet guardian” because it’s becoming less acceptable to “own” your animal. Personally, I don’t think Sparky really cares if he has an owner or a guardian. But come to think of it, no dog has ever told me differently. Being “pc” at times can feel overdone. However, when it comes down to it, political correctness is a fundamental part of improving relations between opposing groups and ideals as well softening harsh and derogatory expressions from our past. The simple act of sanitizing and retooling words, spurs conversation to help repair previous injustices. There are many outdated and hurtful terms, many of which I’d rather not repeat, that have thankfully all but disappeared.
Over the next several weeks we’ll take a journey and examine political correctness as it applies to Messiah Lifeways and those that are age “55 and better.”
Our jumping off point begins with our mission statement. “We are a ministry that responsibly enhances the lives of older adults with Christ-like love.” The term older adult along with 55 and better, 55+, retiree, elder or baby boomer tend to be the most acceptable or the most politically correct terms in use at the moment. They’re not perfect, but certainly an improvement over old person, senior citizen, elderly, aged and much better than codger, old-timer, fogey, biddy or old fart! So please be mindful of these “dirty words” when you address your elders. You might be trying to be funny, but you may be offending them and not even realize it. Lastly and particularly for those of us who work in this industry, out of respect we should call elders by their names, not honey, sweetie or dearie- unless of course they tell you otherwise.
I hope by the end of our journey, you’ll drop these “dirty words” and will add these positive, more politically correct words to your vocabulary. So look for additional posts over the coming weeks and please join in on the conversation.
Stay tuned for the next post in the “Dirty Words” Series, Avoiding a Faux Pas.
