That attitude might work in the UK, but not here.
Here that shit is hateful and racist
If it wasn't hateful and racist then dumb fucks wouldn't use it as a hateful racist term when talking about black people. If you need examples take a look at how Racists talked about Barack Obama. If monkey was an okay term then racists would have used something else.
I guarantee you that here in this country in reference to african americans, Monkey, Ape, Jigaboo, Nigger, etc are all the same
Even Wikipedia lists it as an Ethnic slur:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs_by_ethnicity
(Just a small list of slurs I hear on a regular basis here)
Ape
(U.S.) a black person.[10]
Coon
(U.S. & U.K) a black person. Possibly from Portuguese barracoos, a building constructed to hold slaves for sale. (1837).[16]
Monkey
a person of black African descent.[24] See also Macaca (slur). It also gave rise to the racist "monkey chants" in sports.
Jigaboo, jiggabo, jijjiboo, zigabo, jig, jigg, jiggy, jigga
(U.S. & UK) a black person (JB) with stereotypical black features (dark skin, wide nose, etc.) Used to refer to mannerisms that resemble dancing.
Jungle bunny
(US and UK) a black person.[23]
Mammy
Domestic servant of black African descent, generally good-natured, often overweight, and loud.[25]
Nigger / nigra / nigga / niggah / nigguh
(U.S., UK) An offensive term for a black person. From the word negro which means the color black in numerous languages. Diminutive appellations include "Nigg" and "Nigz". Over time, the terms "Nigga" and "Niggaz" (plural) have come to be frequently used between some African-Americans without the negative associations of "Nigger".
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Since we segue'd over to political correctness, I will say this. There isnt' anything wrong with political correctness, the problem is people want to be outraged all the time. So its just one more thing to lash out at for people and to keep the public angry. If you are not an asshole and you don't speak like an asshole, then honestly I can't see how the term political correctness would have any impact on your day.
Unless you just want to be pissed off about something, then sure go nuts.