[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Could you define 'political correctness' for me, and highlight at what point it becomes regressive?

Quite simple really

political correctness
noun
the avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.

Notice the word 'perceived'.This means that what is 'PC' is up for interpretation from anyone.
It becomes regressive when it is used as a tool to try and shut down debate or conversation which could improve a situation and is used very often by the regressive left.
Political correctness can very quickly turn into shouts of racism or any other 'ism/phobic' you can think of.Many people especially in the political arena will avoid issues like the plague for fear of being labelled.An example would be the immigration issue being swept under the carpet for years.This was regressive as it stoked up alot of people feeling ignored and some turning to the BNP and far right.Remember Nick Griffin getting his spot on Question Time?That would not have happened without political correctness squashing any sensible conversation.