NEW YORK, March 10 (UPI) -- Nearly one in five Americans and Canadians say they sometimes act politically correct because it's the safe route to take, an Angus Reid survey indicated.
Forty-four percent of U.S. citizens responding to the online poll said they act PC at times, while 48 percent of Canadians said they have been political correct some of the time, Angus Reid said Wednesday in a release issued from New York.
The online survey was conducted after the public quarrel involving former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and the creators of the "Family Guy" cartoon series. Respondents in both countries said they thought comedians should be able to put political correctness aside more often than teachers, politicians or journalists, the survey indicates.
Canadians are more likely to support the concept of political correctness than oppose it, 50 percent to 37 percent. U.S. respondents were more divided, with 45 percent saying they opposed using political correctness and 41 percent said they support it.
However, 23 percent of respondents on both sides of the border said they always act in a politically correct manner because it's the right thing to do. Sixteen percent in Canada and 18 percent in the United States said they don't act PC because it's wrong.
The Angus Reid Public Opinion poll was conducted online Feb. 19-21 among 1,008 Canadian adults and 1,003 U.S. adults. The margin of error was 3.1 percentage points.
