Thread: the political correctness and do gooders have gone too far

Another example of the name thing is that Burmese don't have a surname as such, just several names, often given by the grandparents or Buddhist priest. This causes all sorts of problems when they come to Australia because the forms require both surname and other names. Officials often mess this up. For example, according to her residency permit, one of my students has FOUR surnames and NO first name! Another student has the identical surname and first name - the official just repeated it. That becomes a problem when they apply for citizenship, passport, driver's licence, bank accounts etc. So, I can understand why this Norrie thing is a bureaucratic nightmare that needed clearing up.
As for Norrie, if Norrie doesn't want to be identified as either male or female, then good luck to s/him - what business is it of anyone else? None, I say.

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Yep. High court agrees. Everyone wins!

Originally Posted by Ferret

Simon the mathematician from Newcastle University? If so, he was my maths tutor.

He said he was a maths teacher when I met him. Really nice bloke, if it be the same Simon. Said Simon was his given name and he dropped the family name as Simon was who he was and he didn't see his ancestry as relevant.

Originally Posted by garrycol

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

• (The artist formerly known as Prince)

Isn't he back as the artist currently known as Prince

Ah Ha!

But which one is the "family name" and which the "given name/s"?
The?
artist?
currently?
known?
as?
Prince?

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Another example of the name thing is that Burmese don't have a surname as such, just several names, often given by the grandparents or Buddhist priest. This causes all sorts of problems when they come to Australia because the forms require both surname and other names. Officials often mess this up. For example, according to her residency permit, one of my students has FOUR surnames and NO first name! Another student has the identical surname and first name - the official just repeated it. That becomes a problem when they apply for citizenship, passport, driver's licence, bank accounts etc.
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Perhaps government bureaucracy hasn't heard of multiculturalism yet. It takes a while for them to catch up, they're still in culture shock after realising its not the 19th century anymore. Better not let on its the 21st.

Australia/Australians like to think of themselves as being progressive and laid back but this comments made regarding this case (not just on this site) has adequately demonstrated just how far off the mark this perception can be.

Will this High Court ruling improve *your* life? Probably not but it will improve the lives of some others.

Will this High Court ruling be detrimental to you? Of course not. Get over it.

On a lighter note , in a political correctness male , female thing . As a plumber we used to refer to openings as manholes , ie drain covers , roof hatches . A lady doctor once asked me if I would be going into her manhole ? My answer was I'm glad It's not female , or the question would quite different , to that she burst out laughing , so did I . I told her there called inspection hatches now !!..Jim

Originally Posted by sam_d

Australia/Australians like to think of themselves as being progressive and laid back but this comments made regarding this case (not just on this site) has adequately demonstrated just how far off the mark this perception can be.

Will this High Court ruling improve *your* life? Probably not but it will improve the lives of some others.

Will this High Court ruling be detrimental to you? Of course not. Get over it.

We're not currently in a progressive phase in this country, we're currently stalled in a backward-looking phase, but that's part of a normal process. Progress is when progressives overcome the inertia of those conservatives who resist change. It will probably take a couple of years for the momentum of progress to resume. Just think how long it took for Bush's conservatism to be overcome by Obama's progressiveness.

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