In the past, whenever I read the word 'racist' or 'sexist', it was an alarm bell, signifying that there's a good chance someone was in the wrong. Nowadays, when

In the past, whenever I read the word 'racist' or 'sexist', it was an alarm bell, signifying that there's a good chance someone was in the wrong. Nowadays, whenever I read the word 'racist' or 'sexist' in an article, I replace it with the words, 'something outside of the bounds of what the author finds politically acceptable.' I don't do this literally, of course. It's just that the words are thrown around so much that it's become little more than a political version of calling someone an ahole. It signifies the author has strong feelings toward the situation but I assume that the author is just as likely to be in the wrong as the person whom they are labeling with that epithet. It's not in any way anymore an alarm bell like so many people think it will be.