PC or not?

BBC Radio 1 found it at the centre of a controversy over the censoring of the words "faggot" and "slut" from the words of "Fairytale of New York" and then reinstating them.

As reported in The Independent.

"Embarrassed BBC bosses have climbed down over attempts to ban words it deemed offensive in the Christmas hit song "Fairytale of New York".

The emotionally gritty song boils over as the late Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues' Shane MacGowan engage in a vocal domestic that rings bells in households across the world every year."

So what do you think it is offensive to use the word "Faggot" in a derogatory manner. This is bound to divide between those who think the BBC was been politically correct and those who think the words should be changed to be less offensive.

This on top of this weeks "gay" comment does make you wonder about language and how it changes over time.

So is it offensive or not? The only test I can apply is to replace it with other words which refer to other ethnic groups.

It is an interesting debate and there is no right or wrong answer other than listening to what is been said. One thing is clear is that if someone attempts to go for the PC gone mad respond then they are not listening and fail to understand why some people might be offended.

Sometimes of course there can be no resolution other than agreeing to disagree.

So what do people think - should the words be changed in this song? Comments welcome below.