IT appears that East Riding Council has the unique ability to speak without actually saying anything.
A technique considered a prerequisite for any aspiring MP, it’s the skill of giving an answer to a question nobody asked or beating around the bush until the original line of query is forgotten.
When asked about the apparently hyper-inflated elect
ion costs it has issued to parish councils, I read East Riding’s response a number of times before I could actually work out what they had said. (page 5, 25 October edition).
I think it translates to “Because we’re not prepared to pay for it.” Fair enough.
There, that didn’t hurt too much. It’s blunt and to the point (as sharp as that is) but at least it would be honest.
Why do we feel the need for euphemistic expressions or politically correct words, or using 50 words when 10 will do?
Let’s not kid ourselves that East Riding is the only guilty party. Without giving it a second thought we get through the day on a diet of dressed-up and tongue-twisting terminology.
Petty and pointless terms have crept into society to minimalise the risk of giving offence and some have gone beyond common sense.
Diving into the dictionary, there are some gems to behold.
The gingerbread man has since lost his gender to become the gingerbread person, although I’m not sure sexual discrimination of a biscuit would not stand up in court.
The blackboard has taken a battering, thankfully schools have redressed the balance with whiteboards, sparing their blushes with any racist issues.
The good old ‘brainstorm’ is no more. Once the cornerstone of any business meeting, a bit of PC brain surgery has now seen it replaced with the ‘thought shower’ to reduce the risk of offending epileptics. It’s a shower all right.
-Holidays from work is now known as ‘annual leave’, making it sound like we’re all captains of industry, rather than mere slaves to the wage.
The good news is that the backlash has already begun, action groups and websites have begun popping up to persuade people to sign up in protest to the PC takeover.
The way it’s going, the term ‘honesty’ will soon be under threat, just in case we offend liars.
Fair Trade? Fair enough.
Perhaps we all need to pay closer attention to the world around us, and start by signing up for this latest crusade.
Potentially, Pocklington could lead the way if enough people can be brought on board to support this campaign.
If we can all do our bit to help then I think we should, even if it’s just buying a few items from our shopping list with the Fair Trade stamp on it.
The full article contains 473 words and appears in Pocklington Post newspaper.
