Toni MorrisonWhat I think the political correctness debate is really about is the power to be able to define. The definers want the power to name. And the defined are now taking that power away from them.
About This Quote
The political correctness debate is actually about the power to define. Today, the definers want to be able to name. And the defined are now taking that power away from them. The way it used to be was that the definers had the power to define without any definition.
So, they could say something like “unattractive women” and all unattractive women were automatically defined by that statement. But now, suddenly, everyone has a right to say what they mean and mean what they say. But what happens when a definer does not have a clear definition? When someone tries to be too clever for his or her own good and suddenly finds the definitions have been taken away from him or her? Language loses its ability to stand alone as a unit of communication because it no longer stands for anything in particular.
Some Similar Quotes
- When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.
- What's meant to be will always find a way
- It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.
- The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. Maybe they always have been and will be. Maybe we've lived a thousand lives before this one and in each of them we've found each other. And maybe each time, we've...
- More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.
More Quotes By Toni Morrison
- You think because he doesn't love you that you are worthless. You think that because he doesn't want you anymore that he is right -- that his judgement and opinion of you are correct. If he throws you out, then you are garbage. You think...
- She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.
- Don't ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn't fall in love, I rose in it.
- You can't own a human being. You can't lose what you don't own. Suppose you did own him. Could you really love somebody who was absolutely nobody without you? You really want somebody like that? Somebody who falls apart when you walk out the door?...
- Let me tell you about love, that silly word you believe is about whether you like somebody or whether somebody likes you or whether you can put up with somebody in order to get something or someplace you want or you believe it has to...