Keep PC BS Out of MMA

The story of Dana White's reacting badly to an article by Sherdog.com's Loretta Hunt about UFC restrictions on backstage access to the representatives and agents of fighters is not a story at all, and is simply another example of PC police intruding where they do not belong, in an attempt to infiltrate and change one more institution that brings pleasure to people.

Political correctness is an insidious threat to our way of life, affecting the realms of politics, business, the media, and education in ways that could spell the end of our constitutional republic.

At the heart of it all is the ability of its advocates to do three things: Make the members of the majority feel as if their viewpoints are in the minority, and unpopular, and best kept to themselves; force us into a kabuki dance of pretending certain things are true that we know aren't, and pretending certain things are not true when we know they are; and apply a PC straightjacket to some people and not others.

The parasitic invader that is political correctness has reared its ugly head in the world of MMA, and if we allow it to nest and infest the way it has done in other sports and other areas of life, we'll have only ourselves to blame for the loss of some of the joy and excitement MMA has given to us.

Dana White betrayed us, somewhat understandably, by apologizing for his tirade. He was no doubt under severe pressure to let the PC crowd have its victory so the story can die a natural death. By doing so, he provided cover for those trying to score political points at the expense of free expression. He has allowed the PC crowd, once again, to force us to pretend. He has allowed them to act as if the issue is whether or not Dana White crossed the line.

The better questions to ask are: Who hasn't, and Does anyone really believe Dana White carries real hate in his heart for women, gays, or anyone?

He is a tough businessman, and there are undoubtedly some people he hates or has real problems with, but those of us who refuse to abandon sanity for PC brownie points know that people hated by Dana White have one thing in common—they have said or done things to damage Dana White's interests.

They have every right to do so, but he has every right not to like it, and to express his feelings about it. Dana White is a very generous person who has done a great deal to help our troops, and to my knowledge he has never supported anti-women, anti-gay, or anti-anything groups.

I don't know what his politics are, but it is pretty clear he does not have an agenda of harming people because of looks, race, gender, religion, or orientation. In this way, he is different from many of the people leading the PC movement.

This shameful circus is not about real hate on the part of Dana White—THERE ISN'T ANY.

Instead, it is about pretending that a few excessive comments, spoken by an angry person, not all that dissimilar from the kind of venting ordinary Americans of all stripes do everyday, are hurtful because they were insulting to women, gays, or whoever.

Outbursts of this kind have no meaning outside the moment they occur in, and we all know it, because we all have seen it in ourselves or those around us. And an outburst is all we are talking about, not a lifelong pattern of hate or intolerance. To pretend otherwise could only be motivated by a desire to gain political benefit from it, or disassociate oneself from Dana White to escape the wrath or attention of the PC cops.

The fiction that words cause real damage is the excuse for speech codes, both official and unofficial. It gives the weak-minded and thin-skinned the belief that their feelings trump all, and they have the right to force the rest of us to walk on eggshells, lest our living our lives and speaking our minds forces them to hear a thought they do not like.

It is the reason why our society has a long and growing list of serious problems we cannot discuss openly and honestly without being accused of racism, sexism, or whatever 'ism' will shut us up.

The United States of America offers unparalleled freedom of thought, movement, association, and opportunity for all, regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. The American people patiently endure the slander that we are basically racist, sexist—you name it—and offer up all kinds of special consideration for and sensitivity to PC-certified victim groups, to the extent we tolerate threats to our national security and freedom to atone for crimes we are less guilty of than anyone else—in particular, our accusers.

This is deeply offensive, and it helps to create the environment in which Dana can be subjected to offensive comments (Tito Ortiz' 'Dana White is my bitch', anyone?), but is not allowed to offer up any of his own even when it is clearly a defensive reaction to a hostile article written about him and his organization.

Bullets and bombs and fists hurt and kill people, words don't. Words can be overcome by wiser, more sensible, and more well-chosen words. Words are how we exchange ideas, and how we communicate facts, and without the ability to speak freely, we lose the ability to understand what the truth is. Speech codes create the impression that some people have the right not to be offended, and that certain people's feelings are always the most important consideration.

People will claim Dana White's comments give the UFC a blackeye, or hurt the sport. Some of them will be well-meaning and some will be happy to have a chance to show their 'courage' by joining the PC-beatdown on Dana White, but they will will be helping in their own small way to advance the PC cause of pretending the merely tasteless is truly hurtful and dangerous while some problems that truly are hurtful and dangerous cannot be discussed or dealt with.

It may seem like a long and tortuous journey from Dana White being dumped on for spouting off to some of the other results of political correctness run amok. A woman equating her hurt feelings over 9-11 tributes by firefighters to lost 'brothers' to real loss of life. PC icon and affirmative action beneficiary Dr. Patrick Chavis whose incompetence led to death and suffering for his patients. The diversity fetish infecting corporate America and academia that values the kinds of diversity that ought to mean little, like pigmentation, and attacks diversity of skills and thought. Al Qaeda terrorist Abdullah Al Muhajir being referred to as 'Jose Padilla', a name he had long since abandoned, to obscure important facts of a truly significant news story. Al Sharpton's enjoying the esteem of so-called 'journalists' and a major political party after the Freddy's Fashion Mart and Tawana Brawley incidents and countless racist statements. All of these share one very important thing in common with the Dana White story: they all involve ridiculous things being stupidly elevated to undeserved importance and issues of real importance being downplayed or ignored all in the name of protecting certain people's feelings. Each makes the other more likely.

Why the proponents of political correctness are allowed to impose huge costs and burdens on the rest of us, while not paying any significant cost themselves for doing it, deserves real discussion. Dana White's having a bad day does not.

We can all regret the coarseness in our society, and excessive profanity is definitely an element of it. But we can all see, plain as day, the it is not profanity that generated all the attention, but comments that upset the PC enforcers, none of whom are perfect, and few, if any, of whom care for MMA like Dana White does.

Every MMA fan should understand that to defend Dana White in this case is to defend the sport itself from PC encroachment, not to agree with words we all know he did not meant and were spoken in anger.

We should all take note of those who play along with the charade and consider that when deciding how much weight to give their thoughts, given their willingness, even eagerness, to abandon common sense and the common good to throw in with the PC parasites and pile on a man who has done more for our sport than any other—bar none.