Last week, ABC’s Last Man Standing hilariously lampooned the stifling culture of political correctness on college campuses. Mike Baxter, played by Tim Allen (Toy Story 1995, Home Improvement), struggles to navigate the enemy of free speech — the PC police and their “micro-aggressions.”
The episode, fittingly entitled “Precious Snowflake,” centered on Baxter’s plan to give a speech at his daughter’s business school’s graduation. When his daughter Mandy (Molly Ephraim) alerts him that politically incorrect speeches are off-limits on college campuses, he responds with understandable indignation.
Mandy lets her father know he must send in his speech for approval to the faculty committee, so they can edit out micro-aggressions.
“Micro-aggressions?” he asks. “You mean, like, midget warriors?”
“No,” his daughter explains. “They’re objectionable words or phrases. For instance, ‘Midget warriors.'” Baxter then explains that he knew what they were, but he was mocking them because “it’s the latest liberal attack at free speech — and a lot of fun if you do them right.”
Baxter tries to run through a speech, and his daughter stops him. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he starts. “Okay, stop,” she interrupts. “You can’t say ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ because it excludes those who don’t identify as either.”
Then he continues, “America is the land of opportunity,” and she cuts him off again. “Okay, by saying that America’s the land of opportunity, you are implying that everyone has the same opportunities,” the daughter explains. “I’m not implying it,” he retorts. “I’m saying it. If you live here and you work hard, you can succeed. That’s how this works.”
“Yeah, that one’s on here, too,” his hapless daughter says. “It hurts the feeling of those who work hard and don’t succeed.”
The father, learning that a list of micro-aggressions exists, asks to see it. “This list is insane, if I go by these rules, I’ll be going against everything I believe in,” he says.
Later on, Baxter approaches his wife, wanting to run his speech by her. She responds, “I can’t wait to hear what the new PC Mike Baxter has to say.” He retorts, “Mandy’s list was a good blueprint.”
“You mean of what not to say,” his wife says. “Oh, no, I got them all in there.”
Read his wonderful “offensive” speech on the next page.
Here’s his wonderfully “offensive” speech:
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen — and all of you on the fence. To quote future Nobel Prize winner Lee Greenwood, “I’m proud to be an American.” Not just because I have the right to speak my mind or carry an awesome gun, but because it’s the land of opportunity. Some whiny babies might not think so, but in America, if you work hard, anyone can be successful. Anyone. Any. One. Any one.
Later on, he adds “the thought police, who have their panties in a bunch — got that in.”
When his wife responds that the thought police wouldn’t let him give that speech, and that it would cause problems for his daughter, he responds, “You know who else wouldn’t approve the speech they want me to give? Me. And God, who I’m also not allowed to mention, but I do.”
In the end, he doesn’t give the speech, but his struggle against the PC thought police is real. A state university had a “stop white people” event for RA training. Students at Virginia Tech listed 42 “micro-aggressions” you’re not allowed to say on their campus. Students at the University of California-Berkeley actually physically blocked a bridge to prevent white people from crossing.
Fifty years ago, students were protesting for free speech. Now, they’re protesting against it. As Tim Allen shows, this cause is ridiculous, and it would be funny were it not so real. Indeed, this culture is one of the main reasons why Trump won the presidential election. Liberals shouldn’t be protesting his victory, but their censorship which produced it.
Watch excerpts from the episode on the next page.
Here’s the video, courtesy of the Media Research Center:
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