On Political Correctness

Something about me: I hate the term "PC". When someone tells me that they are "not politically correct", I make a mental note to watch this person and expect the worst. Usually, this is a pretty good heuristic to determine how much bullshit is going to come out of someone's mouth. That's because for me, "non-PC" or "politically incorrect" is a disclaimer in the vein of "I'm not a racist, but..." Somehow, some people think that making these kinds of statements before saying something offensive or racist absolves them of any responsibility for their speech.

That said, I'm surprised I haven't come across this piece sooner. As I understand it, it's something of a classic in some circles, and for good reason. Kai (the author) makes some excellent points about "PC" as cultural propaganda, the origins of the term, and the power relations involved:

Underlying every complaint of "PC" is the absurd notion that members of dominant mainstream society have been victimized by an arbitrarily hypersensitive prohibition against linguistic and cultural constructions that are considered historical manifestations of bigotry. [...]

In this context, the conceit that "political correctness" constitutes a violation of free speech is particularly zany; as though society's marginalized groups wield oppressive power over the dominant mainstream. Actually, as far as I'm concerned you're free to call me "chink" and I'm free to call you "moronic racist loser" (and more if necessary, but I'll leave that aside for now in the interest of false civility). Free speech is the straw man of choice for intellectual bums of all stripes too fragile and vacuous for critical engagement. Calling someone who says or does bigoted things "a bigot" isn't censorious, it's descriptively accurate, like calling a bad movie "a bad movie", even if the bigot didn't intend to come off as bigoted and the movie didn't intend to come off as bad.

It's an extremely eloquent and persuasive piece, and I'm sure most people who've been involved in these issues longer than I have are familiar with it -- but if you aren't, then I highly recommend it.