(Modesty disclaimer – photos of shirtless young men are used to illustrate this story, below)

Political Correctness is so ridiculous, I continue to be amazed.

I do “mystery shopping” from time to time. It earns me a few dollars, or free stuff, and it’s flexible…

But filling out the survey forms is getting harder and harder.

Naturally, you are expected to identify the employee with whom you interact during your visit. Sometimes the name is enough, but if you can’t get the name (and sometimes even if you do) they want a description.

Except, as it turns out, you are strictly prohibited from discussing certain attributes that could be politically incorrect or sensitive.

I cannot mention a person’s race or skin color.

While I understand that this can be used in an offensive way, it is also true that it is a very useful means of identifying someone out of a small pool of choices (such as the employees who were working at a given time).

I cannot mention a person’s weight or size.

Again, I know that you can insult someone by labeling them as “fat”… But, again, differentiating between a stocky individual and a very thin individual can be very useful.

It got me to thinking…

If I were primarily concerned with political correctness, I would describe Nick as:

Young man, about 6′ tall, dark curly hair.

Hmmm. Not much more I can say, right?

But, based on that, my son could be this guy:

Or, just as easily, this guy:

Wouldn’t it make more sense to be accurate?

My son is a stocky, very fair skinned person.

The other young man pictured is very thin, and darker skinned.

Is that cruel, insulting, or unfair?

No. It’s simply the truth.

As Christians, we need to be committed to speaking the truth in love. All the time.

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