Political correctness gone wild or a secret agenda discovered?

[Sarkus]

So this high school (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008932448_jackson27m.html)student govt in the Seattle area decided to buy T-shirts for the whole school. Each class got a specific phrase/name printed on the back, the phrases all taken from popular kids cartoons like Spongebob and Kim Possible.

Freshman were "Krabby Patty." Sophomores were "Stain." Juniors were "Mole Rat." Seniors were "Burnt Toast."

The idea was to promote school spirit and class unity.

Instead, the terms have been attached by some to various negative connotations based on definitions provided by www.urbandictionary.com (http://www.urbandictionary.com). As a result some parents are mad and the school wants the shirts back.

As is pointed out by some in the article, pretty much any word or phrase combination can be attached to some negative connotation.

So is this an overreaction or not?

[Robert Sharp]

Gross overreaction (which probably means something sexual to someone).

[Anaxagoras]

Of course it's an overreaction. On the plus side, it's a hilarious overreaction.

[robsam]

It's not like they called anyone tartar sauce.

[Ed Solomon]

When will people learn that any dictionary that includes KONY (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=KONY) is a complete and total fucking scam?

[Midnight Son]

What happened to our favorite viral?

[Aleck]

What happened to our favorite viral?

I would assume he's locked up in an institution somewhere, screaming about how the PS3 is the real man's console while they spoon feed him apple sauce.

Those were good times though, eh?

Oh, and to keep this relevant: totally political correctness gone wild, and very amusing. Hardly surprising, but very amusing.

[Aeon221]

I think the best school shirt I ever saw said Swallows with a picture of a bird and then the student's name with Swallows after it on the back. Apparently no administrator realized what it really meant until after they were distributed.

[Jason McCullough]

While it's amusing and all, what does it have to do with political correctness (http://searchvote.com/Default.aspx?q=political+correctness)? Complaining about kids putting sex-related slang on shirts doesn't seem to hit the definition.

[Duality]

Sex-related slang? Its only defined as such because some kid thought it sounded dirty and put it up on the UrbanDictionary.

[bago]

How will Sanchez ever be able to show his face again?

[Adam B]

The ladies in my high school choir thought that it would be awesome to print shirts for themselves that said "There's nothing sexier than an alto going down" after our director made a little Freudian slip one day.

So they did. And wore them regularly for the rest of my years in the secondary education system. And never got in trouble for it, as far as I know.

[arctangent]

Apparently pretty much anything is sex-related slang to a high school student somewhere.

[Hugin]

I don't see how this has to do with "political correctness". Parents and schools have been overreacting to students and anything sex related since the beginning of time.

[Anti-Bunny]

Sort of related, I guess:

Connecticut School Bans Physical Contact
East Shore M.S. Outlaws "High-Fives," "Hugging" And Horseplay Of Any Kind; Violators May Face Expulsion (http://wcbstv.com/local/school.bans.hugs.2.969949.html)

Also includes: tapping someone on the shoulder, hand shakes and terrorist-fist-bumps.

[RSofaer]

Sort of related, I guess:

Connecticut School Bans Physical Contact
East Shore M.S. Outlaws "High-Fives," "Hugging" And Horseplay Of Any Kind; Violators May Face Expulsion (http://wcbstv.com/local/school.bans.hugs.2.969949.html)

Also includes: tapping someone on the shoulder, hand shakes and terrorist-fist-bumps.

Now those students have the opportunity to rebel by holding hands and singing songs.

[Kael]

To test how obscure phrases on Urban Dictionary are I did a search for "Fall from Heaven". There actually was an entry for it!!!

So yes, its official, there is no phrase that isn't on Urban Dictionary.

[MikeSofaer]

Sort of related, I guess:

Connecticut School Bans Physical Contact
East Shore M.S. Outlaws "High-Fives," "Hugging" And Horseplay Of Any Kind; Violators May Face Expulsion (http://wcbstv.com/local/school.bans.hugs.2.969949.html)

Also includes: tapping someone on the shoulder, hand shakes and terrorist-fist-bumps.

I think you mean terrorist fist jabs.

[Anti-Bunny]

I think you mean terrorist fist jabs.

Whatever. What is certain is that it's what terrorists do.

[Morberis]

Whatever. What is certain is that it's what terrorists do.


I suspect he had similar reasoning for outlawing hugs, except you know with communists.