I get so frustrated with “political correctness.”

Not only do I typically disagree with it in general, but so often people who are striving to be politically correct seem to totally miss the point.

Here’s a great example:

Zip a Dee Doo Dah

It won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Song, can be heard in almost every Disney montage made, and the animated clips from the song are included in many compliations. The movie which featured it – Song of the South - also inspired the Disneyland ride Splash Mountain.

But you can’t buy a copy of it in the U.S. Never could.

Why?

The movie, they say, features content which Disney executives fear would be construed as insensitive toward African Americans.

Yeah, racist.

Again, I have to ask: WHY?

Because of the historical setting, the black (or, you know, African American) characters are slaves. This is history, not something derogatory.

The black characters are portrayed as warm, caring, wise, musical, and fun. Uncle Remus is the hero of the film.

So what’s racist about that?

Nevertheless, it has never been released in the U.S.

Luckily, it has been released overseas in several versions (there’s a very comprehensive list over at Wikipedia).

I wanted to get a copy of Song of the South for Nick (who didn’t yet have any siblings) after he enjoyed Splash Mountain at Disneyland. My resolve was doubled when I learned of Disney’s nonsensical ban.

I was forced to find a Song of the South eBay auction.

I wouldn’t want to pirate anything, even in this weird situation, so I made sure I purchased a legitimate, original UK movie, which just happened to also include a backup copy which was converted into the U.S. viewing format when it was made.

The original, obviously, is being lovingly preserved in storage, while the copy is in our regular viewing library.

Zip a Dee Doo Dah is fun…

Politics needs to mind its own business.

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