I agree in some circles there might be too much preciousness about how things are worded. But overall, wouldn't most of us agree that it's a good thing to call people by the identities that they prefer? Isn't it just good manners? I have been out of Australia for a few years and returned recently to find the media saying "Aborigines". This might sound petty to some of you but I've been told by some friends that they prefer to be known as "Aboriginal people" or "indigenous" or better still, called by their clan/tribal grouping, which is generally more accurate, educated and respectful. Maybe some Aboriginal people don't even care but this has been my experience of discussing it with quite a few people. Another example, I might call my husband a "wog" or my favourite cousin a "poof" because I know neither of them care, but I would never dream of randomly calling someone else these names (neither to their face or behind their back) because it could be hurtful, embarrassing, or downright inappropriate. Also I would look like a redneck with no idea, and I prefer not to present myself in that way! It is really a common sense approach to call people what they want to be called, and if you don't know, you can ask them. And if you ever call someone an offensive term accidentally, a quick apology and a mental note is all that's needed. If it's a genuine apology then the other person should be able to sense that and get over it. It's not such a big deal in my opinion :) In summary: "Political correctness" is sometimes a pain in the butt but is usually just good manners! There are lots of social taboos around manners and the "labels" we give each other are no exception. These labels tend to become less important as we get to know each other as human beings and take pride in being able to get along with each other no matter what the small differences.

Communicat,

What about the other kinds of political correctness? What about not mentioning climate change in polite company? Is it ok by you if someone mentions human rights violations or the suspension of habeus corpus on a whim?

How about the economy? Is it politically correct to point out that not everyone is doing just fine at the moment? Does freedom of speech and high quality public debate extend to discussion of things the Labor party has actually got right?

Is it politically correct to argue that media freedom has been curtailed or that the senate is supposed to be more than a rubber stamp? Are we allowed to mention our convict origins and the roles women have played in our history, or do we skip straight to Gallipoli these days?

You're wanting to promote public debate, but silence parts of the public you don't agree with. Perhaps you would be better off thinking about what you mean by the word 'public'. If 'public' means all of us then you're pulling the rug out from under your own argument if you want to silence your understanding of the politically correct in the interests of free speech.

chainsmoker, I think you are spot on with that last post, people often moan about political correctness but maybe what they really mean is they feel uncomfortable being forced to face other valid perspectives than the status quo or whatever they believe in. It is threatening for them if they can't just trivialise it or dismiss it as on the fringe.

Emmaa, you wrote '"Political correctness" is sometimes a pain in the butt but is usually just good manners'. So how did we survive thousands of years without PC? Good manners is different from PC and always existed, so why replace that with a standardised substitute that puts the minority before the majority? This fad of PC will eventually fade as its followers grow out of it.

What's wrong with the word "Aborigines"? It comes from the Latin 'Ab origine' and means 'from the beginning'. Do you think it's an insult to be acknowledged as the original inhabitants? Or did were you just blinded (oops, I meant visually impaired) by the PC Newspeak doctrine?

Actually, Aborigines are happy to be called "black fellas." That's how they describe themselves.

Most whites mistakenly regard the term "black fellas" as politically incorrect. Black fellas also call whites "white fellas."

Yes you could say that "political correctness" as we know it now was not historically a requirement for survival, but trust and mutual cooperation always is. And as various groups of people live among or near each other they increasingly need to find ways of interacting and co-existing peacefully. In a modern context this involves at least some political correctness because we don't want to hurt and offend each other, we want to be honest with each other and have fun together but get off to a good start by not insulting each other, what is the problem with that? Also, how is a minority group less important than a majority, group, just because they are less in numbers doesn't mean they are less of a people or have less of a right to decide what they should be "named". The majority group has had the best seat in the house for so long they sometimes forget that there opinion is not the only and exclusinve truth.

It's true of course, often people call themselves blackfellas, and sometimes "blacks", especially when I lived up north I noticed that, although some people where I live now don't use either term much, or only in certain contexts, eg. when in the company of other Aboriginal people. Also the question, "What's wrong with the word Aborigines?" I'm not saying there is anything wrong with any word of the English/Latin language, except that if you get an understanding that someone doesn't want to be called that word, why persist with calling them that? I understand that for some people it has a slightly distasteful "specimin under the microscope" vibe about it, which is a feeling not a fact, but feelings are important, why can't we honour them? Anyway, I think there are more important things to debate, but that is just some food for thought. My last post for tonight, see yas