“Politically correct” terms are hardly found in other countries, but the US has become obsessed with using “non-offensive” terminology.
Like the case of the metric system, I think the US needs to follow the example of the rest of the world and ditch this crazy language system for the following reasons:
1. They can sound just as offensive. The most obvious example to me is that of “little person” rather than “midget.” “Little person” seems condescending; why not just call them itsy-bitsy?
2. They are confusing and ambiguous. When I hear the term “differently abled” I think of someone who’s good at soccer but not football, not someone who’s mentally disabled. And then there’s terms like African American (yes, I’m going there). Is a black person whose parents were from Haiti still African American? If a black person moves to Sweden are they now African-Swedish? Or African-American-Swedish? We call white people white, so can’t black people just be black again?
3. They don’t help the real issue. Using different terms to describe ethnicity, capability etc. puts a band-aid on prejudice, but does little to help the problem. You’re still a bigot when you make jokes about African Americans, and you’re still an asshole to make fun of someone who’s “differently abled.” The words themselves are not the problem; it’s the attitude behind them.
Overall, I’d say the best plan is to stick with what people in any group call themselves. If they want to be little people, they shall be little people!
(Note: this does not in any way apply to the n-word, or the f-word regarding homosexuality. Those will get you in trouble and should at all costs be avoided).
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