Penn Proposes a Different Type of Diversity; a Question to Ask After Communicating and Opportunities to 'Do'
Three-pieces of Extra for you
What does political correctness mean to you and is it beneficial or a negative in society?
Oscar-winning actor and director Sean Penn shared his thoughts about it at the Marrakech Film Festival and regardless of whether he’s Hollywood or not it could be worthy of examining what he said.
Penn made a reference to a 2028 Monk debate in Toronto which UK actor Stephen Fry argued against political correctness, saying it was fueling a culture war and extremes of thought on all sides, reports Melanie Goodfellow at Deadline.
Some people may agree. Not all do, of course.
Penn’s take is that evolving as society can happen without what is widely labeled as being politically correct communication. "I think it’s our job to exploit our diversity in positive ways, and to stand up for it, to embody it,” he said.
"While Stephen is a very progressive minded person, what he criticized in the liberals on the other side for was that liberalism has become not only in the United States but around the world, this demand for diversity, but not diversity of behavior and not diversity of opinion or language,” Penn added.
What do you think about his conclusion? Is Penn dancing around with his words not making much sense or is he posing something worth thinking about and debating?
“I would just encourage everybody to be as politically incorrect as their heart desires and to engage diversity… " he added.
Penn thinks this is the way. Many people will agree. Others will think that “political correctness” is a false concept and that expectations of better behavior and more respectful communication greatly benefits people and society. What about you?
Piece 2: What I Said Didn’t Go as Planned
There is a video clip where a comedian talks humorously about saying something in the company of a friend that, in retrospect, seemed dumb. He didn’t initially realize it as the communication was formulating in his head and he verbally expressed it.
When it landed flat, not as he intended, he came to a disappointing conclusion.
"I don't know what I wanted out of that.”
What a fantastic saying, I propose to you, to remind ourselves when we fall short with our communication, whether we are harmlessly joking or saying something sharp.
Have you been there yourself, in a similar situation? I have and it’s uncomfortable.
When we are trying to be funny, smart, expressing anger or whatever, we may communicate in a manner, whether professionally, socially or personally, where when we see the immediate reaction, we come to a quick, sobering conclusion that we missed the mark with what we said — and then feel the sting of embarrassment or regret.
Some of us can shake it off quickly. That’s a skill. Not all of us, however, are able to let it go. We replay it once, twice or many more times in our minds and suffer once, twice or many more times because of it.
What could prove helpful to moving on without feeling the embarrassment or regret too strongly or too long is learning what works quickly emotionally and psychologically without harming us or others. Tending to our emotions to regain emotional balance so we can walk away feeling less disappointed or discouraged and feel better is a worthwhile endeavor and skill development.
That could be telling ourselves that everyone says something clumsy or inappropriate and then humbly communicate our regret or embarrassment to people within the interaction. If done well, we might be surprised at the positive support we receive.
Piece 3: Ideas (quotes from what I’ve come across reading)
“Opportunities to help somebody are in front of us all the time. Sometimes, if you see something, do something.”
"... don't get bored with success, because it can go wrong, really quick."
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