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Recently the NBA has been receiving increased scrutiny for an apparent appeasement of China’s Communist Regime. When Houston Rockets General Manager Darl Morey posted "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong," on twitter, he was met with forceful pushback. He received so much opposition in fact, that he removed his comment altogether.This is partially due to the fact that China houses a significant percentage of the NBA’s fan base and commercial success.
Despite this being a major concern, however, this issue does not just lend itself to the NBA, but to other outlets.This is interesting in the light of corporations and industry groups having made modifications to the products and content that is to be released overseas.
Hollywood and other similar film industries have even admitted to making alterations to box office films in order to boost revenue sales abroad. This was also due in part to the increasing assertiveness of the Chinese government to censor media and other influences that do not play to the ideals of the Communist party. This idea, of how major companies and corporations have been satisfying China's government, was humorously portrayed in a South Park episode, ironically resulting in the sudden ban of it in China.
At this current climate it seems as though many individuals are offended by comments or statements that do not align with their world-views.
--- Which begs the question; why should we change our opinions to appease those around us and conform to a popular ideology, if dissent and discourse is an essential part of the democratic process? ---
~I am interested in your thoughts on this…
1.) How is “call-out culture” and “social justice”, affecting the standing of society as a whole? And what may be some unintended consequences of these movements?
2.) How could the major industries and corporations better negate the situation abroad?
3.) Is being politically correct significant if the underlying meaning or idea that is being conveyed is somehow opaque or avoided?
I think the difference between a so-called "social justice warrior" (SJW) and a rational person is that a SJW focuses on surface-level technicalities in one's speech, whereas a rational person digs deeper into one's intention of saying something. This "call-out culture" is disastrous because it fuels incomplete truths, biases, premature judgement, echo chambers, etc. For an extreme example, we can look at Stalin's Great Purge. I think political correctness is about being cognizant of others’ backgrounds and struggles, but shall someone say something disrespectful, we should focus more on “why did he/she said that?” instead of “what did he/she say?”.
ReplyDeleteThe advent of "social justice" and "call-out-culture" has made modern society a minefield, where every word you say must be watched so as not to "offend" anyone. This makes speaking one's mind an especially difficult trial. Corporations are especially susceptible to the "call-out-culture" as their words are often heavily scrutinized by the public. Due to the current climate, anything that can be potentially construed as possible intent to offend often will be taken in the worst way possible. However, this kind of response quickly gets predictable, allowing corporations to use it to their advantage. They can hire consultants to gauge the public reaction to statements they make, and as a result, can use SJWs to make targeted statements to gain publicity for their company.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, believe that the "call-out culture" is negatively affecting our society because it takes freedom of speech from individuals. In today's era, any claim that doesn't match the popular opinion of the SJWs is seen as wrong or hateful. While I do believe that we should progress forward as a more accepting society, I do not believe that the way to accomplish this is by calling everyone out if they don't agree with an opinion or action brought by the SJWs or other similar groups. I find funny how the "call-out culture" involves so much aggression and problematic attitudes that it becomes difficult to see the culture as a "great solution to society". I believe that extremist attitudes are very negative on both political sides and must be avoided, including, the "call-out culture".
ReplyDeleteI believe "call-out culture" is needlessly punitive and not very productive in changing prejudice, rather just making people feel guilty for saying things. We should try to become a more accepting society, but calling people out and publicly shaming them doesn't seem like the best way to go for me. I wish corporations would respect the freedom of speech more, and the NBA would allow their players and constituents to voice their opinions about the Chinese Government freely, but the reality is they value money more than democracy and freedom.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the NBA is bowing down to China is flat out obnoxious. NBA coaches like Steve Kerr and Gregg Pop are very quick to call out and bash the presdient but when it came to this issue they take the side of the Chinese. Call out Culture is another terrible part of our society with even Obama recently calling that out and telling the audience of young adults to stop acting in that way. Being politically correct is what is killing America right now. It limits transparency and it limits the truth.
ReplyDeleteI think this situation really shows how powerful money really is. I am very surprised to read that the Vice President spoke out against the NBA and Nike, because he is in turn speaking against China, and the United States has many economic ties with China that he wouldn't want to jeopardize. I think its funny how America is all about Freedom, until money comes into play, and they'd rather have money instead of fighting for freedom. I never understood how the US was so against communism but supports countries like China, until I found out that it was for money.
ReplyDeleteI think “call-out culture” is definitely affected by the views of the public. In response to these recent comments from Daryl Morey, NBA superstar Lebron James was asked to comment on Morey’s comments. Lebron simply stated that Morey spoke without “being educated on the situation.” As one of the biggest celebrities in the sports world, Lebron is an icon for so many people. As a result, his words and beliefs carry a lot of weight. If he was to make the wrong comment or say something wrong, he would be put under a lot of fire. From a publicity standpoint, this would be extremely difficult to recover from. As a result, I think Lebron made the comments he did out of public appeal. I think this situation is just one example of how public views change what people say.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree with the others on how the “call-out culture” definitely has negative impacts on people’s speech, I do also believe that there should be a level of “political correctness” in certain cases. Letting people say what they want to say is important, but moderation should always be exercised. Also, it is necessary for people to recognize that there are opinions and viewpoints that may not align with their own. With a more open-minded train of thought, maybe it wouldn’t be necessary to appease those around us.
ReplyDeleteI think that "call-out culture" brings negative impact on society because it limits people's freedom of speech. Nowadays, people only look at what they think aligns with their point of view and is ignorant about everything else. Some may feel uncomfortable about something others said but it shouldn't lead to attacks. But I also think that as a public figure, his words meant alot. Political correctness should apply to everyone in different ways based on their culture, background, education, etc. People don't have the same opinions, so people should be open-minded to others' ideas instead of accusing each other for having another point of view.
ReplyDeleteThe increasing popularity of “call out culture” and “social justice” in the modern political atmosphere has been extremely destructive to the health of national and global politics. Today, it is nearly impossible to express one’s views without experiencing backlash over what others perceive as “political correctness”. With people fearing how others may react and how their words may hurt them, Americans’ first amendment right to freedom of speech is under threat. While it would be ideal for companies to not alter their message for different target audiences, it is unlikely that they would be willing to sacrifice their profits and potential loss of consumers to do so.
ReplyDeleteI believe that “call-out culture” has made society a difficult place to speak your thoughts because you are pretty much walking on eggshells trying to avoid offending someone. This “call-out culture” is also heavily affected by the views of the public. Additionally, this situation really shows how powerful money is and how controlling it can be for certain individuals. The Vice President spoke out against the NBA solely because the US has economic ties with China that they don’t want to jeopardize. The Vice President would easily set aside freedom for money.
ReplyDelete