Offense can only be taken, never given.

To be disrespectful isn’t an indictment of someone’s character. It’s the opposite. It inculpates anyone around them who is offended. I promise, you are disrespectful to someone. It doesn’t matter how considerate, careful, or thoughtful you might be. There is someone out there who wouldn’t appreciate it and would even dislike you for it. Is that your fault? Of course it’s not. Offense can only be taken. Never given. So if you’re upset by someone else’s attitude, check your own. That says more about you than them. You see things as you are. Not as they are.

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FreddieUK · 70-79, M

We had a great broadcaster who made mainly lighthearted banter on his morning radio show and for many he was very amusing and a brilliant raconteur. He once said:

You only have to open your mouth and someone's offended.

(Terry Wogan 1938 - 2016)

Reject · 31-35, M

@FreddieUK That’s very true. People can be offended by literally anything. People in entertainment more than most would benefit from not taking things personally. It sounds like Terry had wisdom to go with his charisma. People like him are my aspiration.

Bleak · 36-40, F

Some people are too easily offended, yes. But sometimes people are genuinely disrespectful, and that’s on them. We all have a responsibility for how we speak to others, just as we have a responsibility for how we react.

Not every offense is imagined, and not every offense is justified. Reality is usually somewhere in the middle.

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Reject · 31-35, M

@Bleak What you’re describing is someone’s intent to be offensive or disrespectful. That is real, sure. However, me being offended by that or not is all in my head. I could have worded my response better. I apologize. Let me say this instead:

Give me an example of being offended that isn’t imagined.

Bleak · 36-40, F

@Reject I agree that the feeling of being offended happens in the mind. Every emotion does. But that doesn’t make it “imagined” in the sense of being unreal or baseless.

If someone intentionally humiliates, threatens, or degrades another person, the emotional response isn’t just invented out of thin air—it’s a response to something that actually happened. Different people may react differently, but the cause is still real.

So I’d say the experience of offense is subjective, not imaginary.

Reject · 31-35, M

@Bleak I think you’re confusing justifications with reality. You can base your feelings on whatever you want and use that as your excuse to be negative, but every part of that process is imaginary.

GoFish ·

no some people are offensive so i totally disagree with this .. a person can chose not to be offended but some people are actually offensive af

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Reject · 31-35, M

@Thinkerbell I’m sorry to see how offended you are. Even worse since you can’t help it. That must be hard.

Thinkerbell · 41-45, F

@Reject

I'm not offended; I just think your view does not have wide application.

P.S. What do you say about the dictionaries? Are they wrong?

Reject · 31-35, M

@Thinkerbell It certainly doesn’t have a wide application. Honestly? I think most people wouldn’t get it.

Why are you so caught up on the dictionary? A dictionary can classify words however they like because some words bother a lot of people. That’s not the words fault. It’s just a word. It only has the power you give it. Most people give away a lot more than they realize. That only means they didn’t know any better.