How did not offending people get such a bad rep?

If you google political correctness, the above definition is what Google supplies you with. What is so wrong with this? Why are people so angry/perturbed/annoyed by the idea of “political correctness”? I think the term itself leads to a certain distaste, as if some people’s politics are incorrect, which is unfortunate because ALL WE’RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS AVOID “EXCLUDING, MARGINALIZING OR INSULTING PEOPLE WHO ARE SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED OR DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.”

I understand that people think that “being PC” means limiting what they can say. And that’s true, it does. But why do you think it’s a good thing that you should be able to freely use language that makes groups of people feel bad and not face any criticism? The right to free speech is certainly important and should be preserved but just because you can say something, does it mean you should?

Another frequent criticism of political correctness is that people just shouldn’t be so “sensitive.” Why is it a bad thing to care about how words and actions affect people? Why is it that certain groups of people are expected to just put aside their hurt feelings if they hear a slur used in casual conversation? “Come on, I didn’t mean it” is often the response they get. Perhaps you didn’t mean it, but the legions of people who previously used that word against that group of people sure did mean it and they weren’t joking. So let’s take those words out of circulation, they carry too much negative weight and they hurt people. Just because you don’t think they should hurt people doesn’t mean they don’t.

If you can’t tell already, I am a huge fan of political correctness. I don’t ever want to knowingly use language that hurts people, even if no one who you would think fits those descriptors is within earshot. I urge you to lovingly take action if you hear someone say, do or wear something offensive. No one wants to feel shamed for using words that they think are harmless. But when you say something is gay, or retarded, or ghetto, or use expressions that mock these groups or any others, the definition of the message you’re trying to convey is that you think whatever you are talking about is stupid. Are people who are gay, stupid? Are people stupid because they may have a developmental disability? Is something that is “ghetto” automatically characteristic of black people? Of course not. So if you hear anyone saying things like that, ask them if there’s a better word that they can use because those words break your heart for that group of people.

Let’s protect each other’s feelings and think before we speak.

T – is it true?

H – is it helpful?

I – is it inspiring?

N – is it necessary?

K – is it kind?

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