On the other hand, the issue isn't as simple as saying the PC police are overreacting though. After all, in human communication it is pretty typical for there to be a lot of unspoken meanings behind statements which, taken at face value, would be quite innocent. It's like when someone is being passive-aggressive and commenting about how messy something is when they really mean "you are a lazy fuck and I hate you."
Ultimately, it's better for people who aren't sure of the exact boundaries (and let's face it, that is the majority of people) to err on the side of caution. To put it another way, it's very hard for social norms to land anywhere close to a fine* distinction, so it's better for people to be pushed to be oversensitive rather than totally careless.
*in societal terms, a "fine" distinction is anything more nuanced than simply GOOD/EVIL