Leftist tyranny? Eggless salad emojis and other ‘PC gone mad’ debates that drove the internet wild

The phrase ‘PC gone mad,’ an age-old trope, is a favourite of reactionaries fearful that a societal shift will yield a feeble snowflake civilisation. Below are four moments that have recently stirred wild PC debates.

With US President Donald Trump in power and those Bond villains in Russia set to host the World Cup, it’s been a year to let your pure, unbridled outrage run wild. Julian Assange is still sans internet connection, gun control is again up for debate and women can now get a driving license in Saudi Arabia. But are you exasperated enough? Not nearly, you say.

Perhaps a sprinkling of some so-called political correctness will sate your growing need to express your anger.

‘Offensive’ salad emoji

The Simpsons once posited that you don’t make friends with salad. It’s something Google recently discovered while trying to make their leafy meal emoji more vegan-friendly. The change - removing one egg from a bowl filled with leaves and tomatoes - was hailed by Google’s Jennifer Daniel as part of an inclusion and diversity drive in the company.

British TV presenter and former News of the World editor Piers Morgan was one of many to get their knickers in a twist about the miniscule change.

Others didn’t give a monkeys…

Bye-bye bikinis

The competition that judges women on physical attributes is removing the physical attributes part - well kind of. Yes, Miss America has scrapped the swimsuit challenge. From now on, Miss America is no longer a pageant, according to Gretchen Carlson, the chairwoman of the competition, and the event will instead “represent a new generation of female leaders.” Fully dressed women leaders?

InfoWars editor and online contrarian Paul Joseph Watson couldn’t believe the change of tact to put more focus on a contestant’s character.

Other internet denizens, including former Miss Ohio USA, were equally upset.

Formula One grid girls

The model grid girls of Formula One also bit the dust earlier this year. The racing franchise made the announcement in January, informing fans that the tradition was at “odds with modern day societal norms.”

READ MORE: 'Not just about looking pretty': Grid girls slam F1 decision to ditch female roles at races

“We don’t believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula 1 and its fans, old and new, across the world,” Grid girl Danielle Ferin slammed the move, telling RT that the decision to end the employment of the women was a backward step for female empowerment.

Formula One’s banishment of the female models has since stirred debate over whether their presence was linked to the remnants of a dying sexist patriarchy or an expression of female empowerment.

Scouts honor

Maybe it was about inclusion, or maybe it was done to intentionally emasculate millions of insecure men? Whatever the reason, the Boy Scouts of America certainly caused a stir when they announced the decision to rebrand.

In 2019, the organisation, one of the world’s largest youth movement, will be known as the Scouts BSA. And what’s more, girls will also be welcome to join. The horror.

READ MORE: Twitter meltdown after Boy Scouts announces ‘gender neutral’ name change

“R.I.P. Boy Scouts, 1910-2018. Yet another institution has come under siege by Political Correctness. Liberalism is slowly decaying everything that was once good in our society,” said Lucian Wintrich of the right-wing website Gateway Pundit.

Former Congressman Allen West also chimed in with his own outrage, saying: “This is the culture war we face. The goal of the left is to convert men into weak, feckless, cupcakes.”