I agree. And many people "play it safe" publicly, even when they know they are being cowardly in doing so.

The other night, I was at a party, and starting talking with someone, where the conversation got onto NFL football.

I forget exactly what he said, but then he followed it up with, "Oh, and I didn't mean to speak in offensive language" or something similar.

I said, "Hey, fuck that bullshit! We need to stop with this political correct nonsense. I still call the Washington Redskins the Redskins."

He immediately said, "Oh, cool. I agree, but it seems like we need to be careful these days."

Conversation got better once he dropped the bullshit facade of self-censorship.