I'm with Mikeyboy on this one.
I think political correctness has gotten a bad rap to some extent and that the term is misused, perhaps beyond repair. People latch on to stories of extreme versions of it that just about no one would agree with and it tarnishes the whole thing. Even the term itself is worded in such a way as to put people off it.
I'd compare it to how more and more often I see people shy away from calling themselves a feminist and consider that a negative term. In some circles the word feminism has come to mean purely militant, yelling, angry people that hate men. But if you define feminism as a desire and fight for equality, then it's a concept most people can get behind.
It's the same here. The Internet loves extreme stories, and so we hear so many of them that it warps the nature of a term and skews our view of people. If political correctness means I can't debate ideas, delve into tricky topics, and must censor reasonable speech from those who would twist the intent of my meaning to find glee in being offended, of course I'm going to be against it.
But one person's hate speech is another person's political correctness.
What if I came into these threads and made jokes about "spics" or derided any member who identified as bisexual or gay as "faggots"? What if every time a lady expressed a strong opinion I called her a cuunt? What if I insisted on calling a transgender member a shemale because I think "it's" just being sensitive and "I don't mean anything by it" or "I'm just joking around"? How about if I post Halloween pictures where I dress in black face, and then get angry at anyone insulted because I refuse to acknowledge the historical issues with that?
I suspect--I hope!--if I did any of those things I'd be called out on them. I hope people would explain to me in no uncertain terms that I was being at best naive and at worst, an ignorant jerk. And I hope I wouldn't get away with it by saying anyone offended is just being politically correct.
I'm all for discussion and debate. I believe it's healthy to share ideas outside your bubble. I roll my eyes at folks who go out of their way to be offended. But I am for tolerance and respect.