Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. [Vol. 5.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 25)

Studies - Pál Csontos: Is Political Correctness Politically Correct? A Tour along the Alleyways of the Shambles Called Political Correctness

manipulated you. You can realise it weeks or even years later (11).™ The above examples might shed some light upon how, in the awareness about PC, there has recently occurred an increase of such proportion that could perhaps be illustrated by far-fetched hypothetical comparison. Let us suppose such an extreme case of hypersensitivity as a Hungarian person being sued for having offered what used to be known by the commercial slogan 'the chimney-sweeper of the throat

1 (a piece of candy called 'Negró cukorka') to an African(-American) student studying in Hungary

—taken for an act of unintentional discrimination... It seems to me that one of the apparently salubrious approaches to the overall issue of exaggerated concerns about political correctness could be the one championed by Paul Fussell, whose rightful heirs Beard and Cerf in all good faith might regard themselves. In the last chapter of BAD or, the Dumbing of America professor Fussell propagates that the only recourse is to laugh at BAD and warns that if we do not laugh at it, we are going to have to cry (Fussell 201). Henry Beard and Christopher Cerf have proved to be good disciples and scored in this respect. What waits to be seen is if we are still not going to have to cry later anyway.

1

9 1

8 For additional insights into the debate about "sexual correctness," see Sarah Crichton's "Back of the Book" review-report together with Michele Ingrassia's article, bearing the same denomination for the phenomenon in their respective titles, or Adele M. Stan's compilation called Debating Sexual Correctness: Pornography, Sexual Harassment, Date Rape, and the Politics of Sexual Equality. In the meantime Beard and Cerf have brought out their new The Official Sexually Correct Dictionary and Dating Guide (New York: Willard, 1995), observations on which will make up a seperate paper planned to be delivered at HUSSE 3 in January 1997. 36