The Right Not To Be Offended…
… or insulted…
… or angered…
… or displeased…
… or irritated…
… DOES NOT EXIST.
Civil behavior calls for the decent treatment of others but, when it comes to words, almost anything goes.
Good manners dictate that acceptable public commentary be mindful of the audience, but not everyone has good manners.
Common decency says it’s better to speak good of others or not at all, but common decency is a rare commodity.
There is no RIGHT not to be offended… there is no law preventing someone from insulting you. (Nor should there be since it implies that someBODY would make the decision as to what constitutes an insult.) Such actions speak more of the perpetrator than the recipient, so it is better to ignore such things than to lash out in kind.
Anyone who claims to have such a right is simply ignorant. Sadly, they are also, in all likelihood, incapable of learning otherwise due to their own internal prejudices and self-centered nature. It’s been my observation that, paradoxically, the very people who cry loudest about being insulted are the ones who will not hesitate to insult you about beliefs you hold quite dear.
These are the people who deserve no respect… and the ones who seem to expect it most.
