[A.C.C.]

It may be different depending on the part of the country, but PC people are rare in the South. PC is very overrated as a "menace." There have probably been more articles written denouncing it than there are people who have ever taken the label. Much of the denunciations seem aimed at discrediting their noble goals of ending racism, sexism and hatred of gays. PC is an insignificant molehill compared to the Mt. Everest of various hatreds still in the United States.

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Name : A.C.C., Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : W Lafayette, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : Grad student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Rienk K.]

I'm studying in the United States now and have some classes that discuss political correctness in the United States. I was amazed that people feel/think this way. I think it's a little extreme. Why is making a joke too much? Does every American agree with "PC"?

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Name : Rienk K., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 19, City : Apeldoorn, State : NA Country : The Netherlands, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rhiannon]

The term "political correctness" is a slur. The term is a backlash to the multiculturalism movement. Multiculturalism, a movement that received a lot of media coverage around the early 1990s, is a movement that seeks to make power relationships more equitable by disrupting the male, white, Christian, Western, heterosexual, dominant cultural assumptions. In particular, multiculturalists on university campuses have sought to break the traditional academic emphasis on dominant culture and bring in readings and ideas from people who are marginal.

In addition, multiculturalists have challenged dominant cultural practices such as sexist, racist and homophobic language and media representations. Multiculturalists try to make people realize that there are lots of things we do in our everyday lives that promote the dominant culture and exclude others.

In the early 1990s, the press bashed multiculturalism and reported as many isolated instances as it could find of extremism within this movment, such as some isolated cases of college students being reprimanded for "hate speech." As a result, the term "political correctness" caught on to describe multiculturalists. This term is used as a convenient slur to silence anyone who tries to promote a multicultural agenda, as in, "Oh, you're just being PC." This makes me furious. It's a way of shutting people up who question dominant ideology.

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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 28, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Media studies graduate student, 

[Tim]

If you read any of the writings by the Founding Fathers, you will see that they were well aware of the need for a dominant culture. I think you will agree we have more racial tension since the advent of Multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is dividing people, not uniting them. No one is an "American" anymore; they qualify this label with something else. Why are you so ashamed of being a Caucasian in America? I think the guilt is being filtered down from higher academia.

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Name : Tim, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 29, City : Denver, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : Computer analyst, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Junkyard Dog]

It is not rare and I am fed up with the whole PC movement. I work for one of the Big Three auto makers, and it is way out of control. The diversity training we are subjected to is pathetic. We will probably stop making black cars one day because it may be offensive to somebody in Peru or something. Enough already.

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Name : Junkyard Dog, City : Saint Clair Shores, State : MI Country : United States, 

[John K.]

Sorry, but "political correctness" does exist, though it is often misapplied by the media. Let me give you an example. "Black History Month" is very politically correct. It gives a great appearance of cultural diversity. It also happens to be a farce. Any multiculturalist worth his/her salt would recognize that the best way to make people aware of black history is to teach it all year, as part of a unified history. Instead, we make the shortest month of the year "Black History Month," and we all can say we are really being diverse. I'm all for tearing down the walls of racism, sexism, etc., but there is a difference between tearing down the walls and doing things for the sake of appearance. Go to Brown University and take a look at the student guidelines for just about everything, and you will see what "political correctness" means. Ask to see their policies on student dating/sexual activity, and that should be a good start.

One more example: Gun control. It is PC to support gun control laws right now, even though none of the new laws would actually prevent any incidents like the recent school schootings. Speak out against the new laws and you are branded an extremist or a nutcase. Can you see the difference? Most things that are PC are a matter of appearance, rather than examples of multiculturalism. Even the examples of college students being expelled for "hate speech" were mostly actions taken by the colleges so they could appear to be taking the concerns of ethnic students into account. The same thing happened to students when I was at college ... but the school never did a thing about much more difficult and pervasive racial problems. They just wanted to look like they were on the right side. Hence, it was political correctness. Final example: It is very PC to bash Republicans.

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[Zac24350]

Political Correctness in America is just another example of too much of a good thing. Sure, it started out as a great idea for not stepping on people's toes, but it's escalated into a radical notion that far too many people cling to simply to have something to cling to. I can't stand it in its current form. I'm all in favor of everyday common courtesy, but what we have today is just a little much. I do not hate gays, or Jews, or African or Asian Americans. I really don't hate anyboby, and if I did, it would be because the individual was deserving of the negativity, and not because of his/her race or sexual orientation, etc. Sadly enough, I have female friends who consider me sexist simply because I open doors and pull out chairs for them.

I won't say bigotry doesn't exist. I think that as long as differences exist, problems like bigotry will exist, to a greater or lesser degree. Until we as a species learn how to attain perfection, that's the way it's going to be. But as far as Political Correctness goes, this country has, for the most part, gone off the deep end.

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[Normand19949]

You are an astute student. Yes, political correctness is the word of the day. It is enforced by speech codes on many campuses here in the States and is selective in what is deemed appropriate and inappropriate for comment. One topic in particular that is rarely talked about is the imbalance in interracial crimes committed. There are far more violent crimes committed by blacks on whites than vice versa, but if you were to take your information from the major news media, you'd think that the opposite is true. PC provides cover for other groups as well: Gays and radical feminists, for example. Questions forthrightly answered and source material upon request.

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[ANON23671]

I can point out that YOU are the one from Europe which has a long history of religious persecutions, persecutions for ethnic/nationalist purposes, etc. You have a lot to learn!

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Name : ANON23671, City : ANON, State : NA Country : United States, 

[ShirleyAvery]

Chill out and get some perspective. The author of the question is from the Netherlands, which does not have a "long history of religious persecutions, etc." Not all Europeans are perpetrators of persecution and religious intolerance. My Jewish ancestors were the victims of millenia of antisemitism in the form of torture, death, holocaust, etc. Jews were vicims, not perpetrators of The Crusades & Spanish inquisition. Despite all this, as a Jew, I am sick and tired of political correctness. People have lost their sense of humor and perspective. There's a difference between hateful, mean-spirited speech and teasing about stereotypical behaviors. As a Jew, I can attest that stereotypes have some validity. I have the stereotypical Jewish mother, the kind you see portrayed on TV and

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