Can I agree with all of the previous posters (at least the lefties among 'em)?
I think elfbabe and L_C put it quite nicely. It’s not precisely a PC thing as well as a somewhat odd person. Occurences such as these are more prevalent in leftist circles because it is more common there to offer outsider viewpoints room (which in itself is a good thing). Unfortunately it has got to the point where the crank or extremist viewpoints among spoecific groups (like minorities and women) get too much room, to the detriment of the more serious issues of these groups.
I do think it should be possible to have a healthy debate on contrary experiences without this turning into ‘denying of experiences’. I would, however, loath to see this turn into the contrary position, which is that every experience divergent of the majority perspective is brushed aside as non-existent.
BTW, while the way of expressing it is restricted to left-wing discussion, the confused way of argumentation can be found at both sides of the political spectrum. Like “if you are against the war in Iraq you are in favor of people killing our troops”.
Nor is this viewpoint unique to Mr. Wilson; I used to have a “Dictionary of Politically Correct Language” (which is mainly satirical) that included a discussion of the origins of political correctness that made that assertion with justification. I purchased the book no later than 1993, although I do not recall the exact title or author.
That’s hardly an unbiased source, and it doesn’t support the point that I thought you were trying to make, namely:
As the first sentence in the link you posted states, PC was created by the left as a form of self-criticism. Is it possible that some conservatives exagerated PC to a comical level to create a strawman argument? Probably. The same is true of the comically exagerated caricature of conservatives that is used as a strawman by liberals. Very few people, if anybody, actually come close to matching these stereotypes.
Before you go and pit me for being some ignorant reactionary conservative, you should know that I’m not either a conservative or a liberal, and am equally critical of both. This board is about fighting ignorance. Making an unfounded, illogical, and blatantly partisan statement does not aid the fight against ignorance.
Max_Castle, the book in question does discuss the origins of the label. I can’t give you a direct reference on the web. Mr. Wilson doesn’t publish his book on line. Try a library.