Tuesday, May 25, 2010

So when exactly did stewardess go out of vogue?

In our world of perpetual political correctness we are quickly losing our native tongue and our character. Everytime you turn around another word has become an unmentionable and the mere uttering of it can brand you as a sexist, bigot, racist or general insensitive fool. Years ago it was decided that Oriental could only mean rugs, Indians could only be referred to as people from India and stewardess was transformed into the gender neutral and lame flight attendant. Of course there are decent reasons for much of it but when I hear somebody struggle to describe their friend as a tall, dark haired guy with dark eyes as opposed to "my black friend" it's comical.
One thing you notice in Holland is that political correctness has never taken hold and it's refreshing and you wonder why in a melting pot like the USA you can't call a spade a spade.
But what is most frustrating is that normal words to describe jobs like secretary, stewardess or maid can't be used anymore. I for one am not participating in this exercise because a woman who has served drinks and made sure my seat-belt was tightened was a stewardess ten years ago but all of a sudden that same woman is a flight-attendant, for what reason except to white-wash us of all personality. It's only a matter of time before waitress, masseuse and stripper get axed too?
So tomorrow when I step on that plane I will say hello to the pilot, thank the stewardess for my drink, kiss my wife, tip my cabby, pay the maid and call my secretary to make sure I didn't miss any calls instead of saying hello to the plane operating technician, thanking the flight attendant for my drink, kissing my spouse, yelling at the taxi driver, paying the house cleaning specialist and calling nobody since I don't have an administrative assistant.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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