Q&A for How to Be Politically Correct

Stay away from this person. Grabbing your private parts without permission is sexual assault, and people of any gender have the right to have their boundaries respected. Set clear boundaries (such as "I am not okay with you touching my pants") and reiterate them if needed. If you're getting accusations, say "I'm not okay with people of any gender touching my private parts without permission." Having boundaries is reasonable, and if this person continues violating them, talk to an authority figure about how to deal with this.

Then you do not want to be politically correct.

I've never met anyone with 80 genders. If I did, I'd shrug and ask "okay, so what would you like me to call you?" It's okay if you don't want to know the details of someone's gender, or particularly care. They may not feel that it's your business anyway. Just keep being respectful and practicing basic human decency.

Not necessarily. As long as you are respectful of others and do not bully or use slurs, you are not a racist/homophobe. However, you may want to think about what you consider to be a "minimum level of human decency". If you aren't treating everyone the way you would want to be treated, you need to reevaluate.

If you voice an opinion, especially a hurtful one, don't be surprised if other people voice their opinions, too. When you tell people that they're going against God, you're imposing your beliefs onto their personal lives. It's disrespectful to tell other people that their personal lives need to conform to your religious beliefs. Muslims can't stop non-Muslims from eating pork, Buddhists can't shave the heads of non-Buddhists, etc. If you try to change others to conform to your personal beliefs, be prepared for them to push back.

What they ask you to call them. Call them by their chosen name and pronouns, unless there's a situation where they aren't out yet (e.g. "Sue is a girl, but her family still thinks she is a boy, so I will call her a boy in front of her family until she is ready to tell them who she really is"). Their real name and pronouns are the ones that fit who they are inside, regardless of their genitals. For example, if someone was born with the name Ann, but then realizes he is actually Adrien, his real name is Adrien and you'd call him a "trans guy." Check out Understand the Basics of Transgender Terminology . And when in doubt, just take the person aside, explain that you don't know the right language, and politely ask them what they'd like to be called. If you mean well, that makes a difference, and it's okay if it takes you a little practice to get it down.

Many Romani people are still discriminated against, and European businesses will have signs saying "no travelers" (i.e., no Romani people), similar to how the US used to have signs saying "whites only." Romani people don't migrate because they like it; they struggle to find people who will employ them and face routine discrimination. Is that the life you're living? If so, feel free to call yourself a "gypsy." If not, then it's insensitive to call yourself that. Many non-Romani people call themselves "gypsies" because they romanticize the terrible situation that many Romani people are living with. Be compassionate to them, and maybe do a little reading to understand better.

If they say something you find offensive, speak up and say so (respectfully). However, sometimes people are set in their ways and it's impossible to convince them to change, so if you find this to be the case with your family, it's best to just ignore their comments.

Politely let them know that what they're saying is wrong and inappropriate. If they are genuinely ignorant of the fact that they've said something racist, (again, politely) explain it to them. However, remember that you can't change everyone's mind, and it's also not your job to educate the racists of the world.

Being a conservative doesn't mean being rude. Just be respectful of everyone.

Political correctness is being kind and aware of different races, sexualities religions, genders, disabilities, etc. There’s nothing to hate about being nice to others. The vast majority of people living in western society do not hate political correctness, just a loud vocal minority.

Do your research. There are many lists of slurs and offensive words that you should just generally avoid. You shouldn’t change how you act around a certain group of people but you may want to think about changing the fact that you use those words at all.

Sure. You can still be religious whilst supporting a certain group. Religion isn't an excuse to be homophobic.

There's no such thing as "infinite genders with infinite pronouns." There are three basic identifiers: Male (he/him), female (she/her), and non-binary (they/them). And if you don't know someone's gender identity, then you can just nicely ask them what their pronouns are. And about math and science being racist, that is definitely not true, racism and math/science have nothing in common. And while the idea of schools teaching students about pronouns is good in English or language class, schools don't only talk about pronouns.