First of all, yeah, "gay" meant happy. But ignorant shitheads started using it to demean homosexuals, so homosexuals are the main reference of the usage of the word. When you go around saying "that's gay, bro. Let's go back to being stupid ignorant shitheads," you are implying that being gay is not acceptable, and the sexual connotations of homosexuality are inherently negative. If you weren't a total dumbass, you wouldn't call something you hate "black" or "mexican" in a way to denigrate its being. I don't mind if someone's stupid and does these things, but you can't say that you believe in civil rights and the advancement thereof for homosexuals if you do so.

Using a word such as "nigger" isn't inherently racist or politically incorrect. I could look my kids in the eyes and say "never call someone a nigger, or else you are a jackass." However, using it as a term to describe someone or something is, because it's a hateful word used to denegrate a certain sect of people who already have it shitty in this society to begin with, and when you describe something (inanimate or even non-black) as being a nigger, it also implies that being black is an inherently bad thing, which subconsciously makes you racist.

Overall, political correctness killed itself. Many of its most outspoken voices didn't differentiate between malice or ignorance. Now, because of people getting blasted for PC moments, there is a whole backlash where we get comedians like that fuckwit Mencia screaming "Niggers love fried chicken (He said something like that, though I'm paraphrasing)! If you didn't like that, you're too PC!"

ah whatever, here come the "hippy liberal" insults at me.