Being Politically Correct

[Frank Burroughs]

Today’s climate is to be politically correct when writing might be a must. Reading books written in the late 1920s and up to the war lead me to believe seamen rarely held back. What I know from my travels, working factories and carnivals is that a pecking order always exist. Groups form and sort that order out.
The question is how do I reflect 1930s culture and shipboard life without stereotyping? Me thinks that is almost impossible. How do you guys feel about being politically correct?

[Ivan Cloherty]

Frank, in today's woke world, it is better to write in today's politically correct climate if you are using an outside publisher, as you can be sure someone will claim that you have offended a person(s), creed or colour, although the person(s) creed or colour in question will not have been offended at all. If you are self publishing perhaps you could use the language of the era with a disclaimer.

It seems that you can produce TV programmes and films with explicit sex scenes, foul language, racial overtones but you cannot put them into print.

The entrance to the minefield now begins, choose your steps wisely.

[Frank Burroughs]

I'm leaning towards the middle. Enough singling out by trait to show how that happens, but not enough to be offensive. However, there are characters that are meant to be offensive. Trying to color in the lines with these keeps me rewriting the next days review. It is turning my novel into one of good and evil within class. A hell of an adventure at sea and on land, driven by the nature of man! I was born disabled. Fought through my youth for respect. Around forty realized respect meant less than I thought. So, if going along to get along with modern culture means toning down the stereotyping, I will.

[vic mcclymont]

#2, Not strictly correct Ivan. You can swear as much as you want, make obscene jokes, have explicit sex scenes and no prior warning is given.
Show an old B& W on Talking Pictures TV. programs start with a warning that viewers maybe upset at the language etc. Old shows are banned in case they upset the woke double standards.
Good job the didn't sail in he MN. Lol.
Vic

[happy daze john in oz]

Oh I WOKE and what I heard was beyond belief .
But here in Oz we often get a warning before a program saying tis mat contain pictures or voices of dead people, this is put out for the benefit of the Abbos.

But when you get a music program late at night with a warning that this may contain, coarse language, violence, drugs, alcoholism and a few other nasties makes you wonder just what the hell is going on.

But get out of the cities into the bush and small towns where real people live and you get none of that crap.