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Is the Pope Italian?

May 4, 2005

No, this is not another Pope post. Actually it is a post about political correctness. Last week Pope Benedict XVI said, "I'm already very Italian." This was in response to his being late for an audience with a group of fellow Germans.
In America some would take the Pope's comment as an ethnic insult. At the same time, I find I'm becoming overly politically correct to avoid the chance of insult.
Yesterday I found myself trying to describe a police arrest I witnessed without mentioning that it was a black man. Why? Then at sign language class I was describing an Asian friend without saying she was Asian (black hair, dark skinned, dark eyes etc.) Why? And of course, I never chronicle my husband's love of wine as a part of his being Italian!
It's tough to keep my politically correct speech relevant. I'm relearning the word Indian for Native American (formerly Indian) and Deaf for Hearing Impaired (formerly Deaf). Too many changes to keep up with. I need to learn to stop worrying about my word choice and just concentrate on what I'm saying.