Reply #13: coulda woulda shoulda [View All]

[lapislzi]

Good points all, mopaul...however, not everyone can deal with this subject in a mature way.

I'm with you. If you call me a fat commie bitch, it says a helluva lot more about you than it does about me, but I will still probably be offended by both your boorishness and your choice of words. Ad hominem attacks are always the lowest form of discourse. I wouldn't dignify one with a response. And there you have it. I'm offended. OK, so what; I'll get over it.

But there is even a nugget of truth in that freeper e-mail that circulates here from time to time. You don't have the right not to be offended. There is plenty of offense in the world if you look around, and the choice is yours to be bothered by it or not.

I try hard to craft my discourse so as not to offend people. I would never offend anyone intentionally, and I think intent and context are both important factors to consider when debating this issue. Much offense stems from ignorance. I grew up in a household where the word "Jew" was used as a racial epithet, and to this day I am not comfortable saying it, even to describe a follower of the Judaic faith. Bias is an awfully hard thing to overcome, especially if you don't even realize you're biased.

I'd like to believe the best of the people on these boards; we are, after all, on the same team.