I just came across yet another buffoon railing against the apparent evil of political correctness, saying how it stifles free speech and so on. Such people annoy me, for they use a principal we all hold dear – freedom of speech – to defend their right to be a bigot. They say we should all have the right to offend and be offended, but it occurs to me that that is to misunderstand and misrepresent the idea behind political correctness. Of course we should have the right to insult one another, but those insults should be due to what one has said or done, not because one belongs to a particular group of people. Point out my failings by all means, but to say those failings are due to me being a man, a cripple, a trekkie or member of whatever other minority is not acceptable as it tars an entire group of people with the same brush. That is lazy thinking; it is not logical. I am a man, I am lazy, but not all men are lazy. Rather than stifling free speech or coddling people, then, political correctness safeguards against such broad-stroke thinking; it stops us relying on stereotypes when making judgements of others. I fear that those who oppose political correctness would prefer to have those stereotypes unquestioned: they want the right to use racial slurs because it’s easier than having to assess everyone on their own merrits.