Saturday, December 19, 2015

What’s wrong with being offended?


Steve Hughes on being offended:
 … Political correctness is the oppression of our intellectual movement so no one says anything anymore just in case anyone else gets offended. What happens if you say that and someone gets offended? Well they can be offended, can’t they? What’s wrong with being offended? When did "stick 'n' stones may break my bones" stop being relevant? Isn’t that what you teach children? He called me an idiot! Don’t worry about it, he’s a dick.

Now you have adults going “I was offended, I was offended and I have rights!” Well so what, be offended, nothing happened. You’re an adult, grow up, and deal with it. I was offended! Well, I don’t care! Nothing happens when you’re offended. “I went to the comedy show and the comedian said something about the lord, and I was offended, and when I woke up in the morning, I had leprosy."

Nothing Happens. “I want to live in a democracy but I never want to be offended again.” Well you’re an idiot.

How do you make a law about offending people? How do you make it an offense to offend people? Being offended is subjective. It has everything to do with you as an individual or a collective, or a group or a society or a community. Your moral conditioning, your religious beliefs. What offends me may not offend you. And you want to make laws about this? I’m offended when I see boy bands for god sake.

It’s a valid offense, I’m offended. They’re corporate shills, posing as musicians to further a modeling career and frankly I’m disgusted. …
The full sketch (including the weird and oppressive régime of Health & Safety regulations and the ban on smoking):