Journalists allegedly prevent news from happening

[ewx]

Two demonstrators who turned up at Shell's refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, were frightened off by the size of the media pack, according to a police source.

Comments

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

I especially like the fuel protestor who wants to sue police because their removing him gave him a bad back. It's political correctness gone mad!

[gareth-rees.livejournal.com]

I'm intrigued by this comment. What do you understand the term "political correctness" to mean?

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

It means everything about modern society that the person saying it disapproves of. In this particular instance it means criminals suing the police for injuries sustained by them in the course of being prevented from breaking the law. I use it ironically in this sense, since I know all the fuel protesters would be 110% on my side in saying other lawbreakers shouldn't have those rights, and probably read the Daily Mail which is especially vociferous in defending the fine old English legal principle of turpi causa.

[gareth-rees.livejournal.com]

So would you use the phrase with that meaning? Or would you only use it (as in this instance) to satirize other people's use of that meaning?

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't use it seriously with that meaning, but mostly because it's a cliche. I wouldn't necessarily disagree that it was a valid meaning if someone else wanted to use it that way, however. I don't think the meaning of the term when applied to social policy has a settled meaning yet (yes, strange, an obscure cliche...), but it clearly has valid application somewhere, and is no longer restricted to language-modification as it was when it arose. If it's just a term of abuse for self-defeating liberalism, irrational risk-aversion, and an absolute doctrine of the rights of the individual over the rights of the many, I'm happy for it to be used as such.