As the late comedian George Carlin said: "There are a lot of stupid people in the world." The American comic - who passed away on Sunday - once remarked: "Think about how stupid the average person is and then realise, that half of them are even stupider than that."
Before he died, I hope he got a chance to read about the goings on in sleepy Tunbridge Wells, Kent. It would have provided him with one final belly laugh and perhaps a sense of vindication.
Nobody wants to appear to be stupid. We go to great lengt
hs to prove that we're not - even if it means continuing an argument even though we know we're in the wrong. Another tactic is to dream-up fancy terms to dazzle others with. For example, ever heard of a 'thought shower'?
Tunbridge Wells council has received a lot of flak for trying to inlict this new-fangled term on the rest of us.
Political infighting, sniping and name calling are commonplace among councillors here but, compared to some of their English counterparts, our guys look like ruthlessly efficient 'super-councillors'.
The primary role of councillors is to serve the people. It is not uncommon for them to come together and hold brainstorming sessions to find better ways of achieving this.Except, brainstorming sessions are now underthreat from PC-mad councillors in Kent.
Apparently, 'thought shower' is a new, politically correct term for what used to be and - let's be realistic - will continue to be known as 'brainstorming'.
Over the past week, it has seeped into the public consciousness that the Borough Council of Tunbridge Wells has attempted to introduce 'thought showers', so that they don't risk offending part of the electorate.
The council decided that the word 'brainstorm' was offensive to people who suffer from epilepsy.
I swear, I'm not making this up.In future, meetings to generate new ideas at the council will be referred to as 'thought showers'.
Brains****ing
The term 'brainstorming' was first coined in the 1890s and was used by psychiatrists to refer to severe nervous attacks. Since the 1940s it has meant a meeting to produce new ideas but councillors in Tunbridge Wells feared it offensive.
Not surprisingly, the National Society for Epilepsy said this was unlikely.
It surveyed members three years ago to ask whether they found the phrase offensive.
Spokesman Amanda Cleaver said: "The answer was a resounding No. It certainly wasn't deemed offensive at all. People thought it was a great word to describe the coming together and discussion of ideas."
What then followed is my favourite press release OF ALL TIME. Instead of fidgeting nervously, bowing their heads in an embarrassed manner and mumbling: "Sorry, we're eejits. We'll spend less time trying to think up radical new ways of being PC and, instead, try to, y'know, improve services and that"; the council have encouraged anyone who finds 'brainstorming' offensive to get in touch.
Now follows the statement, issued by a personnel chief, which even the mighty David Brent could only dream of espousing:
"We take equality and diversity issues very seriously.
The full article contains 521 words and appears in Journal Friday newspaper.
