Jump to content

political correctness


Recommended Posts

It's been creeping in for about 15-18 years. There's some published listing guidelines stating that one should describe features on the property - not describe what type of person or how a person would use those features.

The first to begin to disappear is "master" - now it's "owner's suite".

It's not a "walk-in closet" for someone who can't walk.

They're not "his and her closets" for a same-sex couple.

It's not a "great view" to a buyer that can't see.

Even more strict are lists of words that are prohibited in real estate listing ads by newspaper publishers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been creeping in for about 15-18 years. There's some published listing guidelines stating that one should describe features on the property - not describe what type of person or how a person would use those features.

The first to begin to disappear is "master" - now it's "owner's suite".

It's not a "walk-in closet" for someone who can't walk.

They're not "his and her closets" for a same-sex couple.

It's not a "great view" to a buyer that can't see.

Even more strict are lists of words that are prohibited in real estate listing ads by newspaper publishers.

Longer than that; we were pandering to such back pre-1980 when I was an active RE broker. You listed, almost word for word, the other no-nos.

On a side note, my grandpa was a realtor/builder. He had a book in his office titled "Yes, Women Can Sell Real Estate" (circa 1950). Wish I woulda kept it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For awhile, when I was in the Air Force, there was talk about not calling it a "cockpit" anymore, because the female pilots do not have cocks. I always argued that while they may not have cocks the do have there own cock pits (hahaha I keep myself entertained). I think they're called Flight Decks now. If someone wants to be offended they can always find reason to be offended, I typically roll my eyes at political correctness.

On another note toward the end of my Military carrier I was corrected almost daily when referring to the dining facility as the chow hall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On another note toward the end of my Military carrier I was corrected almost daily when referring to the dining facility as the chow hall.

Yeah,

It had gotten to be too much. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was when one of my guys finished up a shift at Kimpo and decided on his way back to the barracks that he'd stop in the redlight district overnight. As it happened, the Provost Marshal and Brigade Commander were both walking through the redlight district to check on patrols and get an overall feel for troop activity during A**hole Hour - the four hour period between midnight when the bars closed in Itaiwan and they reopened at 4:00 a.m. - and they saw the car.

I went up one side of that troop and down the other behind a triple-thick steel vault door inside of a concrete block room for about fifteen minutes, during which the Colonel walked out of his office 50 yards away and asked his secretary, "Do you hear yelling somewhere?" That night the C.O., who was about half my age, called me in and told me that I'd "invaded that soldier's personal space" and that, "You're a dinosaur, Sergeant O, we don't do that anymore. You're lucky I don't have you up on charges."

I told him to put in my retirement papers and went in to sign them the next morning. Retired 365 days later - three days later I opened my company in Seattle.

Pretty soon, when officers and NCOs in the new military are reduced to asking soldiers for permission to be able to shout to them with a sense of urgency, we're gonna be getting our a**es handed to us by folks who couldn't care less about political correctness.

I call it a master bedroom and a walk-in closet. If the agents don't like it, they can lump it; they're not the one writing the report anyway.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're not "his and hers" closets in my bedroom and I even Massachusetts-married a woman! They're "hers and hers" and it has nothing to do with political correctness.

Of course, like everything else, language pushed to any extreme under the banner of "political correctness" becomes nonsensical, but we should still pay attention to the words we use. What was OK to say when you were twenty isn't necessarily OK now.

It's really not about language police, it's about being mindful of your audience. Never forget that you're a sales guy and you can't afford to alienate anyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...