A Response to: ‘Political Correctness has gone too far at LSE’

To make my bias clear, I share the Author’s conviction that a politically correct campus could certainly go too far in terms of stifling opinions that deserve a hearing, even if just to prove them incorrect. But, like other readers I know, I despair at how this conviction has been formulated in a recent article for this publication. The Author does not seem to argue for this point very adeptly in two ways. Firstly, they state that some people choose to “feel victimised or offended”. This is simply untrue – this is not the nature of emotion. More importantly, the author argues for an atmosphere of open discussion, but seems to contradict this throughout the article. They mention having been subject to a “slap-down” instead of “meaningful debate” yet assures us that white privilege is merely an “incompetent” term with no further explanation as to why. Later, they argue that the campus “should not be one [in which] a Conservative supporter is called ‘Tory Scum’”. The Author therefore seems to argue both for free speech and debate, but also for preventing calling people certain things (censorship). I would recommend the author read their work more carefully next time.