Politically Correct Civil War Enthusiast

[Ozark Iron John]

I thought I'd start this thread in an attempt to solicit input from you all with regards to what it takes / means to be a Politically Correct Civil War Enthusiast.

I am proud of my heritage. I can trace my roots back to Virginia Militia and Yorktown. I was weened on the likes of Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee. My paternal ancestor came to Kentucky with his brother on pensions they earned for service to the Republic and they crossed the Mississippi River before Missouri was a state. I had ancestors who fought on both sides of the American Civil War and they helped defeat the Kaiser, Hitler and the Japanese Empire too. I myself served our country proudly in Operations Just Cause and Desert Storm. I reckon I've earned my right to Freedom of Speech, Religon and Privacy and they can have my gun when they pry it from my cold dead hands.

I'm not sure I know what it takes to be a Politically Correct Civil War Enthusiast.

I know we're not supposed to discuss "politics" on this fourm, but this ain't exactly politics. I ain't espousin' a particular partisan political view or advocating a specific party platform or candidate. I ain't promotin' hate or intolerance either. On the contrary, I reckon I'm pointin' my finger at them that do.

The PC Police implement policy and dictate who may and may not say what and what not whenever and whereever they choose without regard to any set of recognizable standards as far as I can tell. It seems to me they do it in order to push their own particular political agenda beit liberal or conservative. It seems to me that it is passive-aggressive in its own not so subtle way and I'm pretty much fed up with it.

What does it takes to be a Politically Correct Civil War Enthusiast?

[larry_cockerham]

You can't use the word yankee in a derogatory manner.

[gary]

Some of you are Sons of Union Veterans (SUV). Some of you are Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). Some of you have ancestry in both camps (Sons of Both or SoB - joking. A real Son of Both told us that at our Civil War Round Table). Me, I've no ancestry who served on either side so I'm a Son of Nobody (SON).

Maybe I'm ignorant, but I don't think Yankee is derogatory. Yankee was coined long before the war and in a shortened form "Yank" was used as late as WW II by our British cousins. I also don't think "blue bellies" is either though I realize that it was a contemputous Confederate reference towards Union soldiers. Now, "**** Rebel" or "**** Yankee" should not be used in everyday conversation as it is evocative of an emotional response not given to reasoning in polite circles.

The only real word I don't want to hear unless it is a direct quote is the "N" word. Apart from that, it's not so much about political correctness (suppression of free speech) but of not unnecessarily offending another (polite society like the Victorian Era that we all enjoy studying so much about).

Enough from this SON. It's late.

[larry_cockerham]

My use of the term yankee only becomes derogatory when the situation or act makes it so. I too have yankee blood from Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and I guess one could count Pennsylvania. Good yankee ingenuity and cooking are positive attributes. Even the yankee workshop is a useful place, or so Norm Abrams said. As for the civil war, I try to look on it with civility.

[Ozark Iron John]

I reckon I'm on a short leash here. I find myself in that position often times cause of my outspoken character.

I ain't too fond of Politically Correct and I've gone out of my way to resist it.

I ain't a bad guy. I don't hate people. Something Mark Twain said; "Irreverance is the champion of Liberty and its only sure Defence" struck a note with me a long time ago. I'd say the PC agenda flies right in the face of Lady Liberty, but so does a lot of things these days.

What does it takes to be a Politically Correct Civil War Enthusiast? What does it takes to be a Politically In-Correct Civil War Enthusiast?

[ole]

Originally Posted by Ozark Iron John

I reckon I'm on a short leash here. I find myself in that position often times cause of my outspoken character. Being outspoken is one thing, playing well with others is something you probably llearned early in your life. The only thing that will get you banned is to be insulting. Freaky doesn't count.

I ain't too fond of Politically Correct and I've gone out of my way to resist it. I usually find it tedious myself. but an understanding of civil discourse puts a voluntary damper on emotions that can only put a sharp edge to it.

I ain't a bad guy. I don't hate people. Something Mark Twain said; "Irreverance is the champion of Liberty and its only sure Defence" struck a note with me a long time ago. There is a considerable difference between irreverence and insult. I'd say the PC agenda flies right in the face of Lady Liberty, but so does a lot of things these days. I know of no law that makes insulting behavior illegal. You are at perfect liberty to say whatever you please, but you mustn't be surprised if you get an adverse reaction, or no reaction at all.

What does it takes to be a Politically Correct Civil War Enthusiast? What does it takes to be a Politically In-Correct Civil War Enthusiast? Play nice.

Only you can answer that last question. Your somewhat extreme views are certainly shared by a few, but you might have realized by now that, on this board, it is an off-topic diversion and only labels you as a kook (which is a politically incorrect statement, but does fit). Now see what you've made me do!

Play nice. You'll find you have more friends than you thought.

[elektratig]

OIJ,

I'm not sure that this answers your question, but my general take, both here and elsewhere, is that I don't care what people say, so long as they back up their views with facts and arguments that support their positions in a logical and reasoned fashion. There have been a number of posters with whom I've disagreed, but we've made our arguments on the merits and hopefully both sides have learned something.

The posts that I tune out are those of the, "Well, I think . . ." variety, with no support. They just bore me, and I move on.

So say it, but support it!

[whitworth]

And I suspect it's the diversity of study by the participants of the forums, from a wide range of "students" of the Civil War.

Everyone has a right to an opinion, but there are opinions of the two-book Civil War reader; the ten book reader; the 100 book reader; and those who spent years studying the subject.

A highly opinionated two-book reader is probably in serious trouble on these Civil War forums, in my opinion. He has too little research to back up opinion.

Over the last four years, off and on, I've particularly studied logistics of the Civil War. I doubt one in 100 Civil War students ever studied logistics, as Civil War books for years were tales of battle and heroism.

Confederates were long on heroism, but exceedingly short on logistics. They had the great ability to win single battles, but not campaigns.
Their founding fathers got them into a war, where all its territory was not defendable. They didn't refer to the Kentucky "orphans" in the Confederate army for nothing.

A noted historian, late in his career, noted that the North had one arm tied behind its back. That it never brought all its assets into the war; that it only need some of them for victory.

Recently I read that there was a connection between a nations ability to wage an air war, and the amount of gasoline available for training.
In the 20th Century, it was not the heroism of the pilots; it was the fuel for the aircraft that determined eventual victory. Run short on fuel, and a nation ran short of space and trained pilots.

The poor Confederacy, just about ran out of everything it needed to wage a successful war. And for some, that is too painful a fact, to contemplate.

[J_Man0507]

I do not like Political Correctness. It gets on my nerves. However, as has been said before, one is not PC if one is respectful of others opinions and viewpoints. Not everyone has the same view of things, but one much keep it civil, because if one goes and insults, or uses hostile language, they discredit themselves and their arguments. Back up what one has to say, and be kind, play nice, and one doesn't have to worry about being PC. PC does not really apply to history, because you can't make history all nice and act as if bad things didn't happen, and that evil is out there. It exists. Some just have to get over it. Don't try to lighten it up and make it acceptable and uninsulting. One may get insulted by something that happened, but they need to look at it objectively, not as an insult.

[gary]

In polite discourse, its not about personalities, but perspectives.