Campaign Against Political Correctness
Encyclopedia
The Campaign Against Political Correctness is a non-partisan organisation in the United Kingdom
created to oppose what its founders describe as political correctness
. The name is sometimes shortened to the acronym 'CAPC'.
's This Morning
. Since its creation, it has had the political support of MPs such as Philip Davies
. In 2005 John Midgley claimed that the Campaign had 5,000 supporters, including both those who had joined and those who had donated money or signed its petition.
and Andrew Hough in The Daily Telegraph
criticized the campaign when it was revealed that Philip Davies had sent 19 letters to Trevor Phillips
, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in which he asked some "extraordinary" questions relating to race and sex discrimination. Reportedly, the most recent letter asks: "Is it offensive to black up or not, particularly if you are impersonating a black person?" Davies enquires: "why it is so offensive to black up your face, as I have never understood this", this lead some commentators to suggest that he was "lobbying for 'blacking up'" He also asked whether it was racist for a policeman to refer to a BMW as "black man's wheels" and whether the Metropolitan Black Police Association breaches discrimination law by restricting its membership to black people, an argument recently used by the British National Party
in its unsuccessful attempt to maintain its white-only membership policy.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
created to oppose what its founders describe as political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
. The name is sometimes shortened to the acronym 'CAPC'.
Aims
The campaign was set up by John and Laura Midgley in 2004. It increased its appeal by appearing in high-profile media programmes such as ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
. Since its creation, it has had the political support of MPs such as Philip Davies
Philip Davies
Philip Andrew Davies is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Shipley in West Yorkshire.-Early life:...
. In 2005 John Midgley claimed that the Campaign had 5,000 supporters, including both those who had joined and those who had donated money or signed its petition.
Criticism
Paul Owen and Matthew Holehouse in The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and Andrew Hough in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
criticized the campaign when it was revealed that Philip Davies had sent 19 letters to Trevor Phillips
Trevor Phillips
Trevor Phillips OBE chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a former television executive and presenter...
, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in which he asked some "extraordinary" questions relating to race and sex discrimination. Reportedly, the most recent letter asks: "Is it offensive to black up or not, particularly if you are impersonating a black person?" Davies enquires: "why it is so offensive to black up your face, as I have never understood this", this lead some commentators to suggest that he was "lobbying for 'blacking up'" He also asked whether it was racist for a policeman to refer to a BMW as "black man's wheels" and whether the Metropolitan Black Police Association breaches discrimination law by restricting its membership to black people, an argument recently used by the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
in its unsuccessful attempt to maintain its white-only membership policy.
External links
- The Campaign Against Political Correctness Official Website
- The Politically Correct Scrapbook The Politically Correct Scrapbook ISBN 0-9552078-0-0
- Database of Archives of Non-Governmental Organisations - Campaign Against Political Correctness