Is the pursuit of political correctness bordering on overzealous? I think so.
During my visit to Universal Studios after Christmas, my friends and I went on the backlot tour where we sat in these carts and they drove us around and showed us the different studios and quirks of the backlots. There was a mix-up as to who our driver was and who our tour guide was. I said something like, "No, it's the black guy!" and immediately afterwards, my friends gave me an indication that what I said was insensitive and/or rude.
What I'm saying is this. Is there something inherently bad about being black? It is what he is, right? Then why is it that I can't describe him as black? What if I had said, "No, it's the white guy" or "No, it's the Hispanic guy"? Where do these statements lie on the racist spectrum?
Also, I understand the concern that I might be categorizing him under the label of his ethnicity. But in that situation, can you really claim that that was what I was doing? I can't imagine why I would try and imply that black people are drivers of backlot tours, but perhaps my deeply ingrained racism has taken a toll on my powers of deduction as well.
The fact of the matter is that black people are dark-skinned. It's neither good nor bad; it is what it is. When you try and point out people from afar, you use the traits of appearance that are most readily observable to increase the ease and speed of identifying them. To avoid this painfully obvious trait when identifying individuals does not further the cause of treating each other like equals–it impedes it. Let us call a spade a spade, acknowledge the lack of significance it carries, and move on with our lives.