Politically correct

There is no good way of saying this, so I’m just going to say it.

The political correctness of these days has become ridiculous.

Take literature. People get personally offended by the smallest things. How come there are no LGBTQ+ characters? How come there are no black people? What about the disabled people? And have you seen the film? Everyone was white. So offensive! The least they could have done was to let a black actor play the lead male character.

Do you realize that Pride and Prejudice was written in early 19th century England and it’s very unlikely that Mr Darcy was black?

Don’t get me wrong. I love books that include all kinds of characters, but it should never be forced. For all I care you can make a Pride and Prejudice remake with black characters only. But don’t get bloody offended that Jane Austen didn’t include any minorities in the book.

Don’t get offended that people don’t include minorities in their books these days. I grew up in a country where like 99% of the people were white. When I read a book and it’s not specified, I imagine all the characters being white. That’s not racist. That’s my brain filling up the blanks with what it knows best.

The same goes for writing. I was taught to write about what I know. I’d never presume to know enough about other ethnic groups to do them justice. I could do my research, but I prefer not to write detailed descriptions of the characters’ appearances, because that way anyone can imagine them the way they want to. Not that it matters because I’ve only ever published a few short stories online. But you get the idea right?

Films ruin this for us. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a film based on a book and thought “OMG, they look exactly as I imagined them!” It’s because you’re watching someone else’s vision. And that’s when it all comes crashing down. Because someone will get offended. And someone else will get offended that someone got offended.

“Hermione should be black.”

“How dare you suggest that. She is as white as a freshly fallen snow.”

She is a fictional character and she might be blue for all we know.

I’m all for inclusion. The world is a large place full of people of all shapes and sizes. And colours. But can we not get offended by the stupidest little things?

Get offended by the right things. Be offended that a film about Genghis Khan does not feature a single Asian person. Be offended by all the white people that ever played Othello. Be offended by Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra, Johnny Depp’s Lone Ranger, Scarlett Johansson’s Major (Ghost in the Shell). Be offended by all the Biblical stories with white people.

Whitewashing exists and it should be a serious crime. But don’t look for it where doesn’t exist. Don’t get offended when other people’s imagination doesn’t work the same way as yours. Our imagination is shaped by our experiences and no two people have the same. And nobody’s imagination should ever be restricted.