political correctness
a blanket term (thus inexact and uninformative) used as a bludgeon meaning little more than "I don't like what you're saying/doing." It is too often incorrectly defined as "an attempt to change the way people think by forcibly changing the way they speak" (Urban Dictionary) or as "language, behaviors or practices that are intended to avoid offense toward particular groups, especially marginalized communities" (Political Correctness: Too Far or Not Far Enough? by The New York Times). No one can "forcibly" make you think or say anything you don't want to. And it is never about "offending" someone. Using correct language and affording people their rights is about accuracy and respect. And no one can oblige you to be accurate and respectful. Robin Morgan says P.C. simply means Plain Courtesy. "Since the early 1990s, politically correct has been the go-to phrase to whip up support from people who think social tolerance has become threatening, excessive or frivolous" (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Time, September 12, 1916). "There are few things more wearisome in a fairly fatiguing life than the monotonous repetition of a phrase which catches and holds the public fancy by virtue of its total lack of significance" (Agnes Repplier). "People who pin their faith to a catchword never feel the necessity of understanding anything" (also Agnes Repplier). The same people who have no trouble remembering the former names, homes, and new players of every sports team are annoyed by the relatively benign use of old-fashioned good manners when people ask to be described in accurate terms. Other people, who believe "mailcarrier" and "firefighter" are more descriptive and accurate terms than "mailman" and "fireman," are merely suggesting better ways of using the language. And refusing to use a derogatory term like "redskin" seems like the right thing to do. Andy Borowitz says, "I'm actually okay with political correctness if the alternative is, say, Nazism." Since dehumanizing and disrespecting others can indeed lead to Nazism, replace the phrase "political correctness" with the precise issue, behavior, or language you are referring to. See also ridiculisms.
