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"You can't say that because it offends me"
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Post by
Laihendi
It is unreasonable to sacrifice freedom of expression for fear of offending someone. If you believe that someone should not be allowed to act a certain way because it offends you, then you are an intolerant bigot. You are arrogantly assuming that you have the authority to decide what is right and wrong, and that you have the authority to impose your values on others.
Anyone who believes that ideas should not be expressed if they might offend someone is an advocate of censorship, and censorship of ideas is intellectual slavery. People sacrifice the freedom of their selves and others to promote a rigid set of rules and customs (as determined by religion, tradition, culture, etc.) that they believe to be immune to criticism, and then expect the rest of the world to conform to their values so that they will not be offended. How do you feel about that?
Post by
Adamsm
That everyone has the right to say whatever they want....but they should accept that it's going to offend someone and just suck it up.
Post by
392412
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
MyTie
I think we take freedom of speech for granted in the United States. I watched a documentary on North Korea and it was very eye opening.
Hi Laihendi. Are you back?
Post by
168916
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Squishalot
It’s now very common to hear people say, “I’m rather offended by that,” as if that gives them certain rights. It’s simply a whine. It’s no more than a whine. It has no meaning, it has no purpose, it has no reason to be respected as a phrase - “I’m so offended by that.” Well, so @#$%ing what?
As much as I dislike whiners, I do draw the line when it comes to bullying (i.e. you know that it hurts someone else's feelings, and you do it anyway, either intentionally or otherwise). The lack of respect that people have for other random people in our society these days is disturbing.
Post by
168916
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Squishalot
I don't think "offense" is the word for what is caused by bullying.
Perhaps not exactly, but the lines are drawn very closely, and the pain caused by bullying is often dismissed as readily as any offense is.
Post by
168916
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Gone
I think freedome of speech is important, but you should still try not to offend people. I mean if phrasing something a certain way offends somebody, does it really kill you to avoid phrasing it like this?
Plus where do we draw the line? What if somebody says something that another person feels as though offends their religion, or race, or sexual orientation? I mean I dont like people playing off the race card (or to a lesser extent the gay card or religion card or any "I feel biggoted against because blah" card) but what if somebody says something that is legitimatley offensive?
I mean can somebody just come on to the forums and start going off on how they dont like jews or blacks or gays something? I mean its free speech and its their opinion, does that make it alright to say?
I feel like in todays society there are a lot of taboos where if anybody says anything about it, their instantly ganged up on as a hatefull biggot, and its simply not ok to do, but then other things are considered open season.
For example there have been dozens of religious threads around here where one religion or another or atheism or any belief along those lines is brought up and questioned or even attacked. But if anybody made a thread attackings omebodys race or sexual orientation? It would get locked in a heartbeat as biggoted.
And its the same logic, do people who feel offended about their religion being questioned have any more or less caus for offence than somebody does if their sexual orientation is brought into question? Both are protected by the contitution, so why is one more or less sacred or taboo than the other?
I cant help but feel as though todays its trendy to all have a united front against certain issues, as though they hold any greater significance than other things. And everybody goes along with it if only because its what the rest of the crowd is doing.
The big question I find myself asking is why do people get offended, by people getting offended? Why is it when somebody says "this offends me" its a persons first instinct to react with "what a douchbag they have no right to be offended by this".
Bullying is another one, where does one draws the line between bullying, and just joking around? I mean how many people who take this hard line on bullying dont even relise they bully each other themselves. Everybody jokes around and teases with their friends, but how often does a friend feel bullyied by this and just keeps quiet because he/she feels like they have to?
I mean we demonize bullys so much in todays society, but do you think most bullys really even are aware of what their doing? I dont think anybody really does it on porpouse.
Post by
Squishalot
Not at all. What bullying causes is
harm
. If someone is causing harm, in generally there is little need to pay any attention to whether they are causing offense as well. Fry is clearly talking about the case where offense is all that's been given, because that's the case where people complain that they are offended.
Next you're going to say "words will never hurt me"? Harm comes in all shapes and sizes. If someone is offended, then they've been harmed, if ever so slightly. Where do you draw the line between telling a fat joke and offending someone, and telling a fat joke and contributing to the ongoing bullying of the person?
I mean we demonize bullys so much in todays society, but do you think most bullys really even are aware of what their doing? I dont think anybody really does it on porpouse.
All the more reason to make it clearer that it's unacceptable. Kids look to grown-ups as role models.(##RESPBREAK##)8##DELIM##Squishalot##DELIM##
Post by
138638
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Gone
Imma be honest, does it really hurt somebody to just keep his/her mouth shut to avoid offending somebody? A little restraint used to be a good thing, whether you should have to or not, I think that asking yourself "is it really worth it to say this" is usually a good idea.
Post by
168916
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
164232
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Lombax
Imma be honest, does it really hurt somebody to just keep his/her mouth shut to avoid offending somebody? A little restraint used to be a good thing, whether you should have to or not, I think that asking yourself "is it really worth it to say this" is usually a good idea.
You have to judge the situation, sometimes offending someone is going to far and sometimes it's needed.
Post by
Gone
Imma be honest, does it really hurt somebody to just keep his/her mouth shut to avoid offending somebody? A little restraint used to be a good thing, whether you should have to or not, I think that asking yourself "is it really worth it to say this" is usually a good idea.
You have to judge the situation, sometimes offending someone is going to far and sometimes it's needed.
People confuse want with need a lot, sometimes its better to just drop it and walk away, especially if your dealing with a RL person who you have to see on a daily basis or something like that. Even if it isnt going too far, sometimes its just less hassel to keep ones mouth shut.
Post by
Lombax
Imma be honest, does it really hurt somebody to just keep his/her mouth shut to avoid offending somebody? A little restraint used to be a good thing, whether you should have to or not, I think that asking yourself "is it really worth it to say this" is usually a good idea.
You have to judge the situation, sometimes offending someone is going to far and sometimes it's needed.
People confuse want with need a lot, sometimes its better to just drop it and walk away, especially if your dealing with a RL person who you have to see on a daily basis or something like that. Even if it isnt going too far, sometimes its just less hassel to keep ones mouth shut.
I know this, I used to be a total $%^& who offended people on a daily basis. Sometimes I feel it's just necessary. There are very few cases where it's necessary though.
Post by
Squishalot
Next you're going to say "words will never hurt me"?
If I replied to this with: "Next you're going to say rudeness should be illegal", would that be useful to the conversation?
Not if you don't put it in context, as I did.
"Freedom of speech" doesn't mean what a lot of people think it does...
I have a distinct feeling of deja vu...(##RESPBREAK##)8##DELIM##Squishalot##DELIM##
Post by
asakawa
Sorry Squish but I'm dead against you here.
I agree with Fenomas that . Harm is something separate that can be dealt with if it occurs, it's no reason to outlaw "offence".
Now, this isn't to say that tact isn't important or knowing when something you're about to say is likely to cause offence. I'm not advocating that people should seek to cause offence but someone being offended does not mean that the thing said was bad, wrong to say or misjudged. You can't make rules based on someone's level of offence-taken.
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