PC Language

"I can't support the troops cuz every last one of them's being duped. And I will not rest a wink until the woman have regrouped."

Ani Difranco's album Red Letter Year was released in 2008. I purchased the album then and continually come back to one song in particular. The song Alla This in my mind is a very powerful song. There is one line that makes me cringe a bit. The line "I won't pray to a male God" makes me wiggle a little bit as I do consider myself a Progressive Christian. Even so I will not detail my feelings about God and gender in this post.

I'm writing to speak of my immense admiration for Difranco's above lyric line which I consider to be quite bold and daring especially since we all swim in the fabric of a PC world. I believe that the concept of political correctness was originally intended for good, however, the results are often unfortunate. The result of PC language often end up covering the truth and often leads us to tip toe around topics rather than address them. Because of PC language, the moment we do address topics directly, we often gasp in shock and feel offended. My opinion is that we must not grasp on to PC language with a fist so tight. Let us be compassionate and open minded without fear. Easier said than done at times but I think it is an internal battle worth paying attention to. I am in no way saying that I have a better grasp on this than anyone else. I am simply inspired to do better.

In the song Alla This, Difranco says that she does not support the troops. Makes sense to me. Many of us anti-war folks will say that we support the troops even though we don't support the war. Well, yes we all want them to be safe and we want them to return to their families as soon as possible. We are concerned for their physical, emotional and spiritual well being. We are concerned for their loved ones in the same way. But are we in support of their actions? No. I am not. I am not in support of their efforts in war. There are many soldiers who are not in favor of the war and there are many who are proud to be a part of the armed forces. I believe the ones who are in favor of the war are being "duped" as Difranco says. Misguided, misinformed and influenced in a way that pushes violence.

Then of course there is the line which encourages feminism. Difranco "will not rest a wink until the women have regrouped." I love this line as it is encouraging, fierce, and proactive. Women must not only come together to combat patriarchy but to embrace the idea that it is not beneficial for women to act as competitors but rather to form a union.


Ani DiFranco performs "Alla This" at WNRN in Charlottesville, Virginia on March 4, 2009 before her show at Paramount Theater



Alla This - Live at Babeville 2007


For more information about Ani Difranco go to http://www.righteousbabe.com