Being offended...

[MissBarbara]

...is a choice.  Being a thin-skinned politically correct pussy is a choice.

Being able to say whatever you please is a freedom not only guaranteed you by the bill of rights
but it is mere common sense.  

I never set out to do so, but if I happen to offend someone, I don't really give a shit.

Sorry for being late to the game. The Venn diagram that has "MissBarbara" and "Technology" has almost no overlap.

You're right: No one has the right not to be offended. And if you are offended, you are choosing to be offended. Yes, the First Amendment allows you to offend, and as a firm Free Speech advocate, I believe that the more speech offends you, the freer it is (and the more firmly you should support it).

But you're also dead wrong: As in Lois's example, despite your right to say something offensive, or to be offensive, basic human concern should lead you to choose not be offensive, and to give a shit. Just as justice must be tempered with mercy, rights should be tempered with responsibility. And the option to forego certain rights for the sake of other people is also a choice. Responsibility is not enforced by law; it is self-enforced, by choice, with other people in mind. The guy in Lois's example had every right to say what he said. No one should deny that. But that guy should choose to not say what he said, especially not in that context.  

To say, "I don't really give a shit" is your right, and no one should deny that. But to say, "I don't really give a shit," especially when what you say is genuinely offensive, strikes me as aggressively narcissistic.  

[Jed_]

To say, "I don't really give a shit" is you're right, and no one should deny that. But to say, "I don't really give a shit," especially when what you say is genuinely offensive, strikes me as aggressively narcissistic. 


[/b]

Exactly Miss Barbara, and what an elegantly accurate way to describe such behavior, ‘aggressively narcissistic’, as it’s very selfish, self-centered and even sociopathic (totally lacking in empathy).  Reminds me of someone occupying a high office.

That ‘aggressively narcissistic’ gets a woo.

[RopeFiend]

PsiBerserker, the symbol I'm referring to is 仙, and it predates the first Chinese dictionary of ~100 A.D.  I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with Sanskrit.  Here it is bigger:

  < looks nothing like the Greek or Sanskrit or whatever you're reading from >

Hey, the topic of the thread was 'being offended', so I got offended.    I'm just following on in-kind.  Feel free to do the same.

Being Taoist doesn't mean I have to follow every word; it's a way or a guide, not a rule-book.  I generally prefer the writings of Lao Tse over Chuang Tse.  If there are 'N' Taoists, then there are at least N+1 different versions of Taoism.  We all interpret it uniquely, and we're OK with that.  It's not like many other faiths where people kill each other over the interpretation of a bunch of archaic phrases or misunderstood concepts.

On alternate Tuesdays I'm a Frisbeetarian.

[psiberzerker]

Yes, I know.  Now, show me where the X in that is.  It isn't, because I wasn't talking about Tao.  In Sanskrit, it's pronounced Rishi, and that's where the Taoists got it from.

[IrishGirl]

Today we praise people that get offended don't we?  It's why things come with "trigger warnings"

The more offended you get, the ore credibility you can demand, the more sympathy you can demand, the louder you can be heard...we're making them heroes for throwing fits.

The best part about it is, you can be offended by anything and...people will validate you for having such a thin skin that...you...just...can't...deal...with...it.

And then you can use the outrage and sympathy to demand that people take your side.

"You have to agree with me, I had a hard life and...this thing just made it worse."

Being offended ranks you among the oppressed and that is also a powerful tool.

The bottom line is, you can't ALWAYS help being offended, it's not something that can always be controlled.  But, for the most part, you can totally, 100% control how you respond to the offense, especially if it's slight. 

You can choose to ignore what is offending you.

But, you can also choose to be offended by absolutely everything, and you can choose to exploit that offense.

You can choose to be so offended that you can demand that you live in 1984 society where everything is banned, that could possibly be offensive.

Or...you can choose to counter what offends you with common sense and rhetoric, but that's not as easy to do and you certainly can't get the EASY WIN by crying about it.

But the fact is that if you are offended all the time...you fall into an old saying:

 "You meet an asshole in the morning, you met an asshole, you meet assholes all day long, YOU'RE the asshole."

[psiberzerker]

Today we praise people that get offended don't we?  It's why things come with "trigger warnings"

No, things come with trigger warnings, so they have a choice, whether to flashback to childhood sexual trauma (For example) or find another story that doesn't involve a little girl being raped by her uncle.  That's not "Praise," it's respecting other people's feelings.  Nobody has ever gotten a "Good job being offended" except sarcastically.

The more offended you get, the more credibility you can demand, the more sympathy you can demand, the louder you can be heard...we're making them heroes for throwing fits.

Who's them?  Donald Trump gets offended on a daily basis, and tweets loudly about it to the point that the Whitehouse Press Secretary has to appologise, and make excuses about him, instead of performing the traditional duties of her office (Or get fired, because she offended him.  Again.)  Any more examples?  Because that is the one and only I can think of who's literally a hero, and praised (On Fox News) for getting offended.  They, plural would imply that there's more than one person that fucking special, which would undoubtedly offend his guilded ass, too.

The best part about it is, you can be offended by anything and...people will validate you for having such a thin skin that...you...just...can't...deal...with...it.

I can't mention White Supremacists, in a thread about White Supremacists, just to tell you it's not a thread about Jobs, without you getting offended, and claiming that I called you a White Supremacist.  or a Nazi.  Nobody has ever, in all the time I have known you, called you either of those things, and yet you regularyl, 2 tweets in a row, accuse4 people of calling you a Nazi for being a "Moderate" so you can enjoy all the praise that can be gained by being offended.

So, why aren't you happy?  If this is all about how "They" are rewarded for being offended, then why aren't you reaping those rewards?

And then you can use the outrage and sympathy to demand that people take your side.

At what point do you stop saying your side, and admit this is an emotional ploy for someone to take Your side, for constantly being offended?

Being offended ranks you among the oppressed and that is also a powerful tool.

One that you continue to fail to use effectively to gain sympathy.

The bottom line is, you can't ALWAYS help being offended, it's not something that can always be controlled.  But, for the most part, you can totally, 100% control how you respond to the offense, especially if it's slight.

Again, who are you talking to?  Who is this "You" you're talking to?

You can choose to ignore what is offending you.

Or, you can chose to accuse someone of calling you a Nazi, so you can feel righteously offended.

But, you can also choose to be offended by absolutely everything, and you can choose to exploit that offense.

Absolutely, everything.  Again, show me one person, who's been "Praised" by being offended by absolutely everything, because if such a person existed, we almost certainly would know about it, according to this manifesto.

You can choose to be so offended that you can demand that you live in 1984 society where everything is banned, that could possibly be offensive.

Uhm, no.  That wasn't Nineteen Eighty Four.  That was Fahrenheit 451.

Or...you can choose to counter what offends you with common sense and rhetoric, but that's not as easy to do and you certainly can't get the EASY WIN by crying about it.

"SHE CALLED ME A NAZI!  Did you hear that?  She just called me a Nazi, for just speaking my opinion!  Oh boo hoo hoo!  Somebody ban Katiebee quick!"

But the fact is that if you are offended all the time...you fall into an old saying:

 "You meet an asshole in the morning, you met an asshole, you meet assholes all day long, YOU'RE the asshole."

I've only heard one asshole ever say that before, and she would know.

[psiberzerker]

There is literally 1 person, on tbis entire board, who is offended in every single one of her posts.  The only person that goes to "You might be a White Supremacist if.." looking for people to call her a White Supremacist.

Thank you for explaining in such great detail, formatted for convenient quoting, what you intend to gain out of this.

You're not getting praised, and rewarded for seeking out people to offend you.  You never will be.

[_priapism]

You were here in May for a few days.  You got offended, and made a dramatic announcement that you were leaving.

Now you are back, and demanding (again) that people give you respect.  Honestly, few here agree with you, and even fewer give a shit.

Still interested in who you are, because you seen like a former member.  Few newbies start off like this.

[IrishGirl]

You were here in May for a few days.  You got offended, and made a dramatic announcement that you were leaving.

Now you are back, and demanding (again) that people give you respect.  Honestly, few here agree with you, and even fewer give a shit.

Still interested in who you are, because you seen like a former member.  Few newbies start off like this.

Actually, no, I was told to leave with implications of actions elsewhere because someone else was offended by my presence. 

[Athos_131]

Still interested in who you are, because you seen like a former member.  Few newbies start off like this.

I find it very difficult to believe someone going to University of Chicago keeps misusing ellipses.

#Resist

[IrishGirl]

Still interested in who you are, because you seen like a former member.  Few newbies start off like this.

I find it very difficult to believe someone going to University of Chicago keeps misusing ellipses.

#Resist

Well, that entire mystery of who I am can be solved by visiting RU.

[Jed_]

Still interested in who you are, because you seen like a former member.  Few newbies start off like this.

I find it very difficult to believe someone going to University of Chicago keeps misusing ellipses.

#Resist

Well, that entire mystery of who I am can be solved by visiting RU.

Knowing you requires a bit more effort than that.  Just superficially reading your posts here or there can give the first impression of an extremely opinionated hummingbird on a meth binge.

[Katiebee]

Knowing you requires a bit more effort than that.  Just superficially reading your posts here or there can give the first impression of an extremely opinionated hummingbird on a meth binge.

Now that is funny!

[Jed_]

Knowing you requires a bit more effort than that.  Just superficially reading your posts here or there can give the first impression of an extremely opinionated hummingbird on a meth binge.

Now that is funny!

After what must be at least a 100+ hours of private conversations, let’s just say the ‘superficial’ understanding of this girl is not the whole picture.  She’s frequently misinterpreted, and even I find her posts sometimes hard to follow and often overly argumentative.  But she’s a good girl and very intelligent, and she’s just trying to find her, difficult, way in the world.

Love ya, you Irish slut.

[psiberzerker]

Actually, no, I was told to leave with implications of actions elsewhere because someone else was offended by my presence.

Someone else was sick of telling you to let it go, and stop finding new ways to get offended by the same shit you dragged over here from RavishU.  It didn't fly there, and it doesn't belong here.

Coming from someone who was literally asked to leave, partially due to your constant harassment, this latest cry for attention, and sympathy is particularly hollow.  Now you want to try it again?

Fine, expect exactly the same amount of success.  Or here's a thought:  Change the fucking record.  Again, thank you for testifying as an expert on the subject of being offended.  You know better than anyone, and I learned a lot from reading your post.  You'll have to wait for your Kudo, there's a 24 hour period between submitting feedback.

Have a nice night.

[IrishGirl]

https://youtu.be/8lyp9pdrpa0?list=WL