Why the backlash against political correctness?

Supporters of Donald Trump will often explain their enthusiasm for the Republican candidate for president by saying "he's not politically correct!"

But what does that mean? Does it mean speaking your mind? Talking plainly? The "freedom to offend"? 

Or is it, as U.S. President Barrack Obama said, "an excuse just to say offensive things or to lie out loud"?

Given that, as Neil Macdonald writes, "political correctness is often just early-onset politeness," why is there a backlash against PC? Here's how the conversation went: 

(Please note that usernames are not necessarily the names of commenters. Some comments have been altered to correct spelling and to conform to CBC style. Click on the username to see the complete comment in the blog format.)

"For me political correctness is the stifling of a person's right to express an uncomfortable truth. You can camouflage the truth all you want, but in the end, as in the Ghomeshi trial, the truth will be forced out, and the lies exposed." — Sunray Minor 

"Being politically correct means prioritizing being inoffensive, even if it compromises the truth, or a person's true opinion. Eschewing political correctness is the practice of putting some other factor ahead of being inoffensive. Yes, sometimes that other factor is ignorance, or racism, which can make it unpleasant, but at least it has some credibility in that a politically incorrect statement is probably something that somebody really believes." — GaryC 

"People do not like to be told what to do and how to behave. It goes against their view of freedom. When everyone is told they have to be tolerant, people push back, saying that their views are not being respected. When they are told they have to be honest and outspoken they push back, saying the views of others dominate their own. This is a human psychological reaction, not a societal condition." — tiberius

"The backlash occurs because people feel they are constantly being talked-down to by their 'intellectual superiors.' Examples include young men being reminded not to rape people in bathroom advertising campaigns, or non-aboriginals feeling they need to repent ad nauseum for the actions of their great-great grandparents. At some point, the 'enough is enough' switch kicks in." — 82CR

"There's a backlash because entrenched portions of our society that like to think they're better than others are being told that it's not acceptable to use derogatory terms to describe their targets." — NeilinBC

"Being frustrated with PCness is understandable in the sense that people react badly to criticism. That being said, understandable doesn't mean OK. The world is changing and will constantly change. Everyone upset at PCness is just upset that they're constantly having to learn about new people's suffering and reacting badly to feeling guilt. Most people get defensive when they're made to feel guilty about their actions, especially if they're made to feel guilty about something they've likely been doing / saying for years and this is no exception." — JimboJones

"Saying hostile and hateful things is not practicing 'freedom of speech.' It is practicing being a hostile and hateful person. Words can be weapons and 'freedom' or 'truth' does not make them less hurtful." — Ron Brown 

"The term 'politically incorrect' refers to tasteless jokes about blind people, fat people, and so forth. Telling people to beat the crap out of someone is not 'politically incorrect' — it is inciting violence. Saying all people of one religion should be banned from entering the country is not "politically incorrect" — it is flat out bigotry. Threatening to nuke Mexico is not "politically incorrect" — it is advocating mass murder. This is not a backlash against "political correctness" — it is the re-branding of fear, violence and hate." — Pete from Scarborough

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