[Coda]

Ah, "politically incorrect." Therein lies the rub.

It IS politically incorrect, but political correctness has nothing to do with what's actually right or wrong, or what's actually offensive or inoffensive, but rather what people think that OTHER people think might be right/wrong/offensive/inoffensive. It's a level removed from reality.

Classic example: I know PLENTY of black people who find "person of color" to be substantially more offensive than calling them "black." Some of them also find "African-American" to be a little bit offensive (but less so) because they don't consider themselves African at all (some because not all dark-skinned people are from Africa, some because they don't feel a cultural connection to the place their ancestors lived). But right now, "person of color" is considered to be the "politically correct" term because it's what the people who are looking out for things that MIGHT be offensive to someone ELSE think is a safe choice of terminology.

EDIT: And choco, yes, I know I'm not an authority on what's offensive or inoffensive, but neither are you. Yokuutsu has EXACTLY the right way of thinking about it.