I'm not the most PC writer in the world, obviously.
I have this penchant for using the word "retard" to describe my enemies, random stupid people and even myself whenever I make some bone-headed move. I have nothing against people who are "mentally-challenged" (the PC alternative, if I remember correctly); I just use the term "retard" at its barest: underdeveloped mental capacity. It's a fancy way of saying stupid or dumb or some other synonym. It's not an attempt to disparage or offend anyone; It's just a linguistic choice that somehow became a habit.
I do not understand why people suddenly became so obsessed with terms. Somehow, people bristled at the use of words or terms that somehow hurt their sensitive feelings. Boohoo, darlings!
Whatever happened to "sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me"?
I'm the last person to ever underestimate the power of words. It's just that I can not quite figure out why people are so obsessed with the privilege of terms rather than facing the issues head on.
Feminists bristle at the use of terms like "chairman". Last I heard, they've settled on the gender-neutral "chair", a term which, if I remember correctly, also explains to a lifeless piece of furniture that cushions my ass. Some feminists have gone as far as to refer to themselves as "womyn" rather than "women", "herstory" rather than "history".
What exactly are these terms provided to do? Men will not suddenly "see the light" when these terms hit them on the head. The number of female CEOs in the world will not somehow miraculously destroy the corporate glass ceiling.
I have a feeling that these politically correct terms are somehow used to mask the greater issues within. Rather than deal with the actual problems, people pick up these terms and pretent to be concerned. They busy themselves with not offending other people through their writing and speech, yet do not actually have to take the cudgels for the oppressed.
Political correctness is a mask. It allows hypocritical writers to become "acceptable" to society by conforming to this senseless demand for dishonest "politeness". They become respectable members of the world at large, just because they abide by the supposedly correct use of words. Easily off the hook, they no longer need to actually care or consider the issues that surround gender, race, poverty, etc.
The fat hate to be called fat. They're horizontally-challenged. The cripples refuse to be called cripples. They're different-abled. There's a word to describe each and every "unfavorable" term, slowly easing out the things that we deem not pretty or acceptable or normal. Somehow, by acknowledging them through words, society need no longer concern itself with serious issues that require action.
As a writer, I promised never succumb to this political correctness. It's stupid, it's unnecessary and unbelievably unwieldy. Only one principle governs my writing: as long as I do not write with malicious or destructive intent, I am not hurting anyone. Anyone who finds it offensive is free to walk away.
I'd rather be off than a hypocritical liar.
Beside, it seriously cramps my writing style.