What’s so wrong with being P.C.?

Last night I was reading some of Courtney’s posts in the WaPo pundit competition, and came across a comment here, and here  insulting her writing as “politically correct.”  In fact, this was about the tenth time in the last week I read or heard “P.C.” used as a pejorative.

I believe an open and honest dialogue is integral to any productive movement, feminist or otherwise. But on the other hand, behavior influences the way we think. Consider how depression patients are treated. Some are treated with medication, and others are treated with behavioral therapy. While brain chemistry affects behavior, behavior also affects brain chemistry. When we allow derogatory language into our vernacular, what implicit biases are we unconsciously reinforcing? What are we doing to the way we think?

Besides protecting our own minds from the unintended effects of potentially harmful habits, there’s a more basic reason why I don’t understand the use of “politically correct” as an insult. When I think of someone who’s “P.C.” I think of someone who avoids using language, no matter how seemingly innocuous, because it may potentially denigrate someone’s human dignity.  That kind of integrity, and that kind of compassion, is not something to mock- that’s something I want to be.