Guest speaker at RIT and corporate defense attorney Hank Jones conducted a college lecture on the current atmosphere of debate in America culture. His message was simple: America is facing a systematic epidemic of “political correctness." According to Jones, the magnitude of this social corruption is unknown but is ruining academic discussions.
“If we want to get anything done in this country we can’t be afraid of hurting feelings. The fear to offend is turning into a fear of speaking your mind,” Jones said.
The fear to offend is turning into a fear of speaking your mind.
During his forum, Jones provided a five-step plan to being “politically incorrect." His goal is to desensitize students to insulting language so they can be more effective in debates. Jones explains that in any discussion, your goal is to “win."
“I have been an attorney for 20 years. Have I made people cry on the witness stand? Absolutely! But I’ve also won every case I had,” Jones said.
The Five-Step Plan to Political Incorrectness, as outlined by Hank Jones:
1. Always be the first to speak
Abruptly interject yourself into a conversation about a sensitive subject matter. It doesn’t really matter if you are an expert, or have any credible knowledge. Just as long as you speak first and speak loud, you should be all set!
2. Be broad
Provide a quick generalization of the subject. If you need to exaggerate to make your point sound more potent, do it! Don’t worry about offering any evidence to back up your claims. The use of logical fallacies are optional but highly recommended.
3. You are always right
State your opinions as unadulterated facts. When someone provides a counterargument to your claims, figuratively (or literally) put your fingers in your ears and yell, “La, la, la, I can’t hear you!” Remember, if someone disagrees, they are wrong.
4. Exercise your freedom of speech
When someone accuses your claims of being offensive (aka politically incorrect) retort that it is your First Amendment right to free speech and “anti-free-speech is anti-democracy." Remember to say what you want, damned the consequences.
5. Never back down
Never relent, concede or backpedal on your argument. Once you have confirmed that you have won the argument, there is a possibility the other party will be thoroughly upset. Just pat yourself on the back and NEVER apologize even if evidence is provided that refutes your claim. You can only be wrong if you accept you are.
Jones’ book was released early last year. Some students were able to go home with a signed copy. Jim Brown, third year of Bakery Engineering Technologies major, explained that he had purchased Jones’ book last semester and began putting his teachings to practice.
“I really did love reading the book, but it does have its consequences. I used the steps on my girlfriend and she slapped me,” Brown said.
Brown obviously had not read the disclaimer, hidden in the middle of a word scramble on page 666 of the book which states that "using the five-step plan to political incorrectness is liable to get you slapped."
