Two stories -
First, I used to do standup comedy for a hobby. In one of my classes, the instructor was adamant "If somebody doesn't get pissed, you're probably not funny." I've taken that to heart over the years, sometimes to my detriment.
Second story. Sorry for the length and the apparent insanity of it but it's completely true.
I worked for a large organization that had outreach programs for any self-identified group. The were groups for Hispanics, Christians, Blacks, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, etc. These groups were no big deal. A few members would get a couple of paid days off, nationwide, to organize some activities but that was about all.
One time, our big boss in Houston decided to create a greater sense of "we're all in this together" and he called an all-employee meeting. That meant almost 3000 people in one room for three days. We rented the George R. Brown. All the employee groups got a 10 to 20 minute slot to give a little presentation. Each was to cover the history of their group in Houston.
At one of the early planning meetings, the time slots were handed out to the Hispanics, Christians, etc., when one of the oldest (and sometimes most obtuse) employees on the planning committee just boomed out "When do we schedule something for the white people?" Keep in mind, this is one of the most officially PC places in existence.
Everyone froze.
Here's the deal. No one would speak against him because no one wanted to give offense. None of the heads of the other groups (there was no official "white employees" group) would say anything. To his credit, the guy running the meeting asked for some clarification and the old guy narrowed his definition to European-immigrant descendants. "Does anyone have any objection to the inclusion of a presentation on the history of Europeans in Houston?" was the question put to the committee and no one objected. They couldn't unless they were willing to be openly hypocritical (even though some folks were well and truly pissed).
OK, the presentation was on. The guy who brought it up volunteered to run it. He said he could do a great impression of a drunk to illustrate the influx of the Irish into the U.S. OK, that went too far. The chairman declined that particular volunteer and then said to the group "Perhaps the best way to avoid undue emphasis on any particular country of origin would be to have this presentation overseen by someone from one of the other, already-established groups."
I felt really sorry for him, trying to find someone to author and organize the "contribution of white folks" presentation. Then I realized he was staring right at me. Then everybody was staring at me. I spoke up. "Gary, I was hired on as a Native American but subsequent to that the definition in federal law of Native American has changed. I was born Native American but now I'm a white guy. I'm a member of the Native American group basically because if the membership falls below three, the chapter gets disbanded."
"Then I think that makes you perfect for this."
And that was how I got the job of doing a 15 minute presentation on the history and contributions of white people in Houston...<sigh>...wait for it...as told through the medium of interpretive dance.
I.
Shit.
You.
Not.
Long story short, I went straight for comedy. I turned the idiocy of having to sit through these exercises in political correctness on its head and I got, by far, the most positive feedback of any presenter. And I learned a lot of history in the process.
I said once, in another thread, that I spent my working life as a generalist. I said that my employers threw me into all sorts of situations for which I had no training or qualifications based on the assumption that I'd just figure it out and get the work done.
I think this was one of the single most difficult assignments I ever had.
Say what you want about being politically correct but I can tell you, from hard experience, that sometimes being PC is very, very difficult.
You're not originally from Denison/Sherman are you?
