I recently found myself in a somewhat formal meeting with men and women of differing racial groups. In conversation I made the off hand remark that a person I saw was dressed as if they planned to attend a Rap concert. One of the group members, who is black, informed me that my comment was offensive to those of African origin. I was stunned on so many levels by this reaction to what I considered to be a slightly humorous comment. Now, I will be the first to admit that I am no slave to fashion, myself. I should be the last person on Earth to hand out fashion police tickets to anyone.

Personally, I have nothing against Rappers or their mode of dress. The more I thought about this PC offense I committed the more perplexed I became. How was my innocent comment offensive to black people, only? I don't understand. Why would this person think that I meant to offend just Afro-ethnic people? I was not aware that all rappers are black. What about Emenem? I believe that he is a Caucasian. Would this comment not have offended him? Would it offend anyone if I had said that the person in question was dressed like a coal miner, or a Country and Western signer, or a Supreme Court Justice?

Are we, now, so sensitive and delicate that the least little comment can put us in a state of mental anguish? Does the old adage no longer hold true that “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me?” Evidently there are many of us who fear words much more than we fear suicide bombers or killer bees. These people must go through life dodging certain words and phrases like lizards dodging rain drops. What power others have over these poor fragile beings. Say the wrong thing and they wither like orchids in a drought.

It seems to me that political correctness has grown to the point that it threatens to devalue and decolorize our language. Any phrase or turn of a word, not can but will, be taken by someone to be a serious breach etiquette. People go out of their way to find fault in the speech of others. We must be careful to analyze our each and every utterance and to edit out any phrase or word that might offend some member of some group somewhere. This tends to put heavy restraints on our conversations. If we have to constantly be concerned about our comments being taken by others as offensive, then we eventually will just quit communicating. A world without lively and meaningful communication is a dead world.

Language is a living thing. Words and meanings constantly change through use. Who is to say, other than me, that in the instance mentioned above I was not congratulating the person in question on his fine sense of style? I meant no harm or disrespect in what I said. It just came out, like the occasional bit of profanity. Am I sorry I said it? No, not really.

This is truly a silly but interesting time in which we live.