politically incorrect

ok, boys and girls. it's time for a rant about language use.

can we talk about the term "politically incorrect"?

no, wait. i'm not asking your permission, really. i'm just charging right ahead.

the term "politically in/correct" should properly be used, either ironically or unironically to denote language use and concepts that either promotes or obstructs a political agenda.

if you want a nice summary of it, you can find one on the wiki.

politically correct speech can be really useful if you're promoting an agenda like gender equality or disability rights.

if you're for those things, it's politically incorrect to call things you don't like "girly" or "retarded".

if you are, say, opposed to the idea of racial equality or to civil rights for gay people, it is completely politically correct for you to call black men "boy" and to call everything you don't like "gay".

because all those language uses represent ideas that are in line with your political aims.

more recently however, people have come to use the term "politically incorrect" as a badge of pride that roughly translates into "i am going to say a really asshole thing right now, and i wish to deny you the opportunity to be offended by it"

and then lately the term has even devolved into something that means the rough equivalent of  'i'm going to say something that is not stylish" or just simply "i'm not making apologies for liking what i like".

you all need to stop it.

now.