Political Correctness

[Pyrrho]

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defini...ctCode=all

It is politically correct to not call black people "niggers" and all women "bitches."  Do any of you really object to that, or are you unclear on the meaning?

It's deemed politically incorrect to call Catholics child fuckers or Russian Orthodox Commies or Drunkards, but in the US and Europe they're generally not socially disadvantaged or marginalized.

It's also not politically incorrect in several parts of the US to call gays agents of satan, and they do suffer social stigma in many places. I don't think this definition really suits the PC problem most face.

First of all, it is politically incorrect to call gay people "agents of satan," no matter where you are.  You are confusing political correctness with something being socially accepted.  The two are not the same thing.  The fact that you can get away with calling gay people "agents of satan" among some religious bigots does not make it politically correct, even though it is something that that social group may find acceptable.  If you call black people "niggers" at a KKK meeting, the KKK members are not likely to have a problem with it.  But it is still politically incorrect.

Also, the problem with calling Catholics "child fuckers" is partially explained by Dystopia earlier; it is factually incorrect.  One ought not judge a group based on the actions or attributes of a subset of the group (or perceived actions or perceived attributes).  This is bigotry, and is a bad thing.  People should be judged on their individual merits, not on the merits of other members of their racial, ethnic, etc., group.

Also, there is a difference between criticizing someone and insulting them.  And there is a difference between insulting an individual and a group.  So if I were to say, "if the allegations are true, Bill Cosby is an evil scumbag rapist who deserves to die," then I would not be insulting black people, I would be insulting one man.  And frankly, if the allegations are true, then Bill Cosby is an evil scumbag rapist who deserves to die.  Even so, I would not call him a "nigger" because that would be taken to be an insult to black people generally, as well as the fact that his race has nothing to do with it.  Notice, in my condemnation of Cosby, I made no mention of his race, as his race is completely irrelevant to the issue.  Bringing up race in the insult would automatically be, at the very least, suspicious, because of its complete irrelevance to the issue.  He is certainly not an evil scumbag because he is black.