Political Correctness

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When we were kids, we used to slyly look up the English-Telugu Dictionary for the meanings of forbidden words like harlot, whore and prostitute (among others).

And get our two-farthings of thrill.

Nowadays these words are considered offensive and the right word is supposed to be: 'Sex Worker' although I presume the job description largely remains the same.

That it is indeed a 'job' like any other was told to me by a project student who visited a West European Welfare State. She said this job is now legalized and so if an unemployed doctorate female of suitable age and requisite qualifications asks for 'unemployment allowance (dole)', she might well be told that a job vacancy of this description is available and she should take it or lump it...

'Job' itself is infra dig nowadays and you better call it a 'living'.

When I registered in a matrimonial website for suitable brides for my son at a popular portal a few years ago, I was astounded to receive offers from bridegrooms whose moms described themselves 'home-makers'. I thought they were maid servants, but I was told they were honorable middle class housewives.

I felt that the 'opposite' of 'home-maker' ought to be 'house-breaker', meaning an unemployed husband like Andy Capp or gps.

By the way, 'maid servant' is nowadays offensive and they call themselves 'helpmeets'.

When I was new to my job as a Faculty Member at IIT KGP during the 1960s, I used to submit manuscripts for publication in International Journals and get derisive comments from their 'referees'. Three decades later, I used to get even more offensive comments from them, but they came to call themselves 'peer reviewers' (hang them!).

And journalists used to happily call themselves 'reporters' or 'correspondents'. But nowadays they prefer to glorify themselves: 'scribes', a term we used for writers like Ganeshjee for Vyas Muni who could only speak but not write Sanskrit or Chitragupt employed by Lord Yama who was too busy elsewhere with his thankless job.

And MPs (Members of Parliament) insist on referring to themselves as 'lawmakers' as if all others like us are 'lawbreakers'.

There seems to be no end to politically correct euphemisms; so I thought why not try out some more for free:

1. mind workers: teachers

2. mind shirkers: students

3. mind benders: research guides

4. mind sellers: research scholars

5. pantry sharks: cooks

6. table wolves: waiters

7. sex byproducts: children

8. domestic opposition: mothers-in-law

9. midnight's children: Gen X, Y, Z Indians

10. anna dominees: Congress Spokesmen

11. fishplate minders: gangmen

12. head workers: coolies (porters)

13. leg workers: beat police

14. messengers: postmen

15. lathi wielders: Indian Police

16. lathi deprived: London Bobbies

17. disease spotters: physicians

18. scalpel experts: surgeons

19. mind cleaners: shrinks

20. sewage cleaners: municipal workers

21. dress cleaners: dhobis (washermen)

22. dress makers: tailors

23. footgear specialists: mochis (cobblers)

24. spanner throwers: bureaucrats

25. sex shirkers: wives

...I guess enough is enough..or never enough!

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