- #1
Pengwuino
Gold Member
- 5,123
- 20
I'm the type of person who rarely gets offended by anything. I'm also a person who can see "how" someone can be offended over various things. However, I put "how" in quotation marks because I've never been entirely sure how people are offended. Now, there are of course derogatory words and sayings that are fairly obvious. On the other hand, there are things that I simply do not get. For example, I'm a teaching assistant, and I "know" I'm not suppose to tell a student that they need to stop complaining because they're acting like a child if they whine about a grade because I'll "offend" them. As an aside, no one EVER complains to me about a grade. NEVER. I don't know why. Everyone else says they have tons of complaints. I must give off that "if you complain, you'll regret it more than anything you've ever regretted in your life" vibe. But anyhow, back on topic. So as a teaching assistant (and I'm sure you can think of many examples in your profession), you're not suppose to offend students. Why not?
Usually when there is an opportunity to offend someone, it is because the person has done something that requires a possibly offensive response. Then there are other cases (maybe this is just so pervasive because I live in California) where simply an action might offend someone. I can't dare speak about my beliefs unless I'm surrounded by people who agree with my beliefs even more than I do because I've been trained to believe that speaking my beliefs when people who disagree are around is offensive and thus, something to be avoided.
What is this nonsense I have been trained to believe in? Why do people get offended over anything? What does it even feel like to be offended? To me, when people say stuff that is suppose to be offensive, I just hear it as someone saying something silly like "1 + 1 is 3". Or I think "this person has every right to say whatever the hell he wants to say, no matter how stupid I think it is and no matter how stupid it makes him seem". I just don't get it.
Usually when there is an opportunity to offend someone, it is because the person has done something that requires a possibly offensive response. Then there are other cases (maybe this is just so pervasive because I live in California) where simply an action might offend someone. I can't dare speak about my beliefs unless I'm surrounded by people who agree with my beliefs even more than I do because I've been trained to believe that speaking my beliefs when people who disagree are around is offensive and thus, something to be avoided.
What is this nonsense I have been trained to believe in? Why do people get offended over anything? What does it even feel like to be offended? To me, when people say stuff that is suppose to be offensive, I just hear it as someone saying something silly like "1 + 1 is 3". Or I think "this person has every right to say whatever the hell he wants to say, no matter how stupid I think it is and no matter how stupid it makes him seem". I just don't get it.