Am I Offending You?

Make No Mistake We Are At War

In this age of political correctness, it feels like we should be even more careful with what we say or do even if we have already been watchful and cautious all our lives, less we offend somebody, anybody in the slightest bit. And we can’t have any of that now.

But the reality that we are missing here is that people are people.

We are all different. We were born in different generations, different times and different time zones.

We grew up in different societies, with different values, ideologies, surroundings and belief systems. And so we will always find a way to offend somebody out there who are different from us, even if we weren’t meaning to.

You might even come across some people who might and will get offended even with you just being in the same room with them. How dare you do that to them nice folks? You should be ashamed of yourself, now go throw yourself down at their feet, apologize, beg for forgiveness and scram.

News Flash: Now for the even sadder truth, there will always be somebody out there who will be offended with anything, everything or at least something that you might say or do.

In this politically correct era, we should all be able to learn to walk, to thread, to tip-toe and to step on eggshells or die or go bonkers trying, whichever comes first.

We should be well-versed in doing that, especially, especially if you are in the perceived majority or if you belong to a group of people who are perceived notorious offenders of humankind.

I belong to a minority group, so I do not have it as bad.

But I don't get it when some people belonging to minority groups do cause an offense on people who belong to another minority group and believing that them being in the minority themselves, they can get away with it. Most times, I just say they probably are not aware or do not know that they are offending others and just give them a pass from time to time. I don’t like it specially when these same people are the very ones who cry out and cry out the loudest when somebody else manages to offend them, especially if it was done unwittingly or without malice.

I also do not understand it when a person belonging in a perceived minority can offend those in a perceived majority and they think they can get away with it. But never, never try it the other way around, if you know what’s good for you.

As in the saying you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

I’ve always wanted to use that phrase, even though I have no idea what it actually really means.

But there you go, I said it.

And I’ll say it again, we cannot have our cake and then expect to eat it too.

Certain things, we just cannot have both ways.

We cannot espouse on and tell people that we all have freedom of speech and speak all we want but not allow somebody else who wanted to speak on something that will go counter to what we have just said. And then justify it by saying they cannot do that because they offend me.

We don’t just change the rules in the middle of the game like that.

We cannot say we should all have religious freedom and religious expressions, and that we should be able to freely worship God or not worship or believe in God and do anything in between but not allow people of a certain belief system to have their symbols of faith publicly displayed or not allow them to pray in the name of their God or do anything they and their people have done for thousands of years just because some people say doing so offends them.

Why?

Because you are changing the rules again, at mid-game.

It’s going to be no fun. It’s going to be unsportsmanlike. And it’s going to be ridiculous. If this was really a ballgame, people in the stands, in the bleachers, everywhere will start booing and throwing things into the court, walking out and start clamoring for a refund of their ticket.

Boo.

And so I say again, make no mistakes, we are at war, people.

We are at war and we are fighting in an invisible battlefield and worse we are fighting an invisible enemy.

Sometimes, I tell you, it feels like we are in the Matrix (as in the movie) or worse we are living within our own worst nightmares. So be careful what movie you would end up watching tonight for you might end up living in a Freddie Kruger-like movie.

We are at war with people, we are at war with those who adopt the rules when it suits them but change the same rules when it doesn’t. If you aren't, that does not change the fact that these people certainly are at war with you (or what you believe in).

Does all this sound familiar?

Do you belong to those who follow the rules or to the rule breakers? Or do you even care? If you don’t then I’m with you. I can live my life totally unattached with everyone, totally oblivious with everything and will totally not be offended. I can be a totally uncaring person like that.

But all of you, don’t go complaining when the time comes when you cannot even sneeze without some Offense Police Patrol giving you an automatic citation for offending that one person in your neighborhood who cannot stand people who could be so inconsiderate as to sneeze in public. Yes, even if you covered your nose and was very careful not to make a noise.

Shame on you…

Have I offended you in any way with anything and everything I have written about?

Am I offending you right now?

My unsolicited advice, be used to it. Or you might just have to go buy yourself an island, create your own country, make up your own rules and go live there. And don't go play a game and then change the rules midway.

Hub Number: #028

Date: 2010-May-18

First Hub: http://hubpages.com/hub/Remembering-Memorial-Day