Political Correctness

[Sal]

I'm ambivalent. It seems there are more than one definition for political correctness floating around.

Check out the origin for the word on https://www.dictionary.com/browse/politi...orrect?s=t

Word story

Since entering English in the late 1700s, the term politically correct has undergone several shifts in meaning. Originally, the term was used to describe something that was in accordance with establishedpolitical, legal, or social norms or conventions. The 1870s saw the introduction of the opposite term,politically incorrect , a useful addition to the language, considering how commonly politically correctwas and still is used in negative constructions. 
Somewhat grimly, in the 1920s the Soviet Communist Party began using the concept of political correctness to enforce strict adherence to the party line in all aspects of life. It you were unfortunate enough to be deemedpolitically incorrect , you were likely to be exiled to a gulag, or worse. 
Today the term politically correct (and its abbreviation PC ), more often than not, refers specifically to thelanguage that surrounds controversial or hot-button issues. Liberals have used the negative construction notpolitically correct to draw attention to words, phrases, or statements that they felt were socially unacceptableor insensitive. The conservative response to this has been to question and generally reject the notion of political correctness , arguing that it too often entails “the policing of language.” As a result, critics of the termpolitically correct often use it to modify nouns such as “euphemism,” “nonsense,” “hogwash,” and“propaganda.”

If someone means political correctness as a form of self-censorship, then I think it has negative consequences.

If, however, someone means political correct in simply being cordial and respective of people, then I don't see a problem with it.

Overall, since it's such a muddled term, I'd rather not use it, at least without giving a better explanation on what I mean.