He touches on something very important when he describes the change as being "for Americans to make peace with their past" and says "it focuses on formalities, but actually it has a real root of prejudice against others". I'd hazard a guess that most of the people who are offended are offended because they feel guilty, and not because they're harmed by the terminology.

Maybe those people should feel guilty. Maybe, as a European, he doesn't want American guilt to control the way he uses language.