Here’s the thing about being politically correct: It’s good, even if one’s heart is not completely in the PC term being said.

Why? Because it’s not about the individual.

It’s about community and relationships and how we affect one another.

“Politically correct” has received negative connotations in the past and in our modern discourses. This should not be the case although there are valid complaints about those who are very stringent in their PC language. For example, referring to a black person from Africa as African-American is incorrect. However, this might come from having a view of America as the center of the world and a lack of ethnic studies, but I digress. Side note: Native American also isn’t applicable in places that aren’t America.

Some people roll their eyes at Hispanic and would rather be called Latino, Latina, Latinx, Latin@, Latina/o, Xicana, Chicana, Mexican-American, Cubano, Cubana, Cubanx, Indio, etc.

There are so many words to describe various things. People are afraid of saying the wrong thing. That’s actually great, and I applaud those who consider the power of their words before uttering them. If you’re wary on your word choice, ask the person you’re referring to what actually fits them.

There are two problems with political correctness: 1. When people decide it’s unnecessary, 2. When it hinders conversation about various topics.

It is necessary. It is really not a great deal of effort to extend empathy to another human being and use language that treats them with respect. Referring to a transgender human being as a transvestite, unless this is the term by which they self-identify, or as a male in a dress or a female in a…ummm pants? (patriarchy problems) is incorrect because that is not who they are. It’s bully tactics to refer to them as such. Grow up.

Being politically correct when it is censorship of important information is also a hindrance. Important information does not include current hate-filled messages or cultural insensitivity. Shying away from discussing certain topics at the dinner table or in other spaces is what fits this category. A lack of questioning various constructs for fear of speaking out of turn also belong here.

It is a bad thing when political correctness causes someone to put up a façade of their thoughts. Frankly, if something offensive is said and the subsequent apology is insincere, then I personally don’t care for the apology, and the person might as well have stayed offensive.

However, it is a bigger game than my personal thoughts.

We don’t exist in a vacuum, and words irrevocably have an affect on people’s perceptions of situations and others. So, for the sake of humanity, although I might not give two whoops about a grand apology, if it benefits the perception of those who were hurt by the lack of political correctness, then I am all for an “I’m sorry for…”.

While some of the fear of being too PC might be valid, most of it is not. It seems to be that most of the detractors of politically correct language feel inconvenienced by being asked to be considerate of those around them.

Those people need to ask themselves why it is an issue for them.

Why is there a personal reluctance to extending respect and empathy to someone in their quest for humanity? Lift us up, and we all win, right?

Apparently not. According to an article by Karen Swallow Prior, empathy is not enough. Empathy can inform an audience of what is a supposedly correct moral decision, yet it is not enough to spur that audience to the correct action.

However, it is a start.

Being politically correct might seemingly inconvenience some, but again, it’s not about the individual. It’s about the neighbor. Are we going to welcome them to the neighborhood with actual sugar or just salt in a sugar tin?

Helen Andrews denounces political correctness and cultural sensitivity as a joke, likening it to religious revivals of various time periods. She says that those concerned with it are “in default of more serious grievances.”

This is a false premise. It is a various serious grievance to reclaim language and use it to one’s advantage when it has been used historically and currently to oppress certain groups.

Somehow, we’ve decided that words are not important and that millennials need to toughen up. Pshh. That’s incorrect.

“Words can never hurt me” is not true, and we all know that from remembering negative comments lobbed our way or at others. Psychological repercussions are real.

Millennials are very tough. We’re questioning everything that we have ever been told and staking out our place. It’s difficult to just let the world that you’ve been taught to know get flipped on its head and to have all supposed logic fall out of its noggin. We’ve decided to rebuild it and to reach out to our neighbor in better ways than the generation before us have. We’ve also decided that our stories have weight and don’t need to be validated by a powerful other to be considered legitimate.

If you want to keep up with us, start running.