America the Offended

[bonnie]

America the Offended

Jon Gabriel, Ed. · February 5, 2014 at 12:57pm

If I'm going to succeed in this new America, I need to learn how to be offended. It’s not that I haven’t tried, but I sadly have neither pearls to clutch nor a fainting couch to collapse upon.

The past few days have provided a crash course in the new Politics of Offense:

Piers Morgan offended transgendered activists by saying that a woman who used to be a man used to be a man.

Jerry Seinfeld offended a Gawker writer by saying he's less concerned about a comedian's race than how funny he is.

Coca-Cola offended English-only activists by a multilingual rendition of “America the Beautiful.”

Joe Namath offended animal rights activists by wearing a fur coat to the Super Bowl.

MSNBC offended conservatives by assuming they would be offended by a Cheerios ad.

Non-white feminists offended white feminists by alleging that white feminists were offending non-white feminists.

Let me give everyone of all races, creeds, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, income levels, academic backgrounds, and nationalities a brief piece of advice: You are only offended if you choose to be.

If someone insults me for who I am or what I believe, I don’t get hurt feelings, I just think that person is lame. Obviously he’s in the wrong, because I’m awesome. (Of my many admirable traits, humility is the greatest.)

Whenever I provide this sage advice, the perpetually offended reply, “Oh yeah?! Easy for you to say! You’re not [female/latino/gay/poor/gluten intolerant/etc.]!”

I agree that it's easy for me to say. I’m a healthy, middle-aged, middle-class hetero white male with an amazing wife and 2.5 kids. I’m one picket fence away from being a Norman Rockwell painting. Perhaps I'd have a different perspective if I belonged to an oppressed subgroup. But I don't understand how that makes the principle any less true.

Being offended all the time is exhausting and unhealthy. Life is too short and happiness too dear. A content person doesn’t surrender control of their emotional state and self-worth to others, especially not to far-off celebrities or anonymous strangers on the Internet.

What do you think, Ricochetti — am I missing something? Is there ever a reason to be offended and, if there is, is taking offense helpful in any way?

[LifeHiscost]

We're, as a nation, well on our way to being extremely offended.

"He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."Revelation 13:15-18 NKJV

"For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God."John 16:2 NLT

Jesus/God saves!

[debbym]

I don't see these offended groups as involved in any emotional personal feelings. It is their causes they are promoting that they see as in some way less effective. It is about juggling around political leverages. And yes they are choosing to take occasion to prop up their cause.

and yes it does get ridiculous. It is great fodder for comedians.

just listen to Congress for a day, or British Parliament.

even a court room when one side or the other gets out on a fine limb of reason that is about to break and watch them shore it up with any kind of prop they can find.

emotional distance is a social marker for a higher class. you simply do not talk to the help, they are another class. you do not look at or respond to a freezing homeless person who may have wandered into view.

this guy is touting from a position of a higher class, in my view. he is not a third world emigrant, struggling to find acceptance and a niche. he is not a person who has had three surgeries to be another gender and doesn't pass anywhere to anyone. he does not have PTSD and an unstable self image and everything that happens around him happens to him, and he lives without emotional boundaries. he may live much healthier then those who have little emotional management and are not doing so great.

[LifeHiscost]

My sound on my computer is out so was unable to listen to the video, however I found your response to it very interesting. It reminds me of some advice given to the politically correct. Well!!! as well as others.

"You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."

Revelation 3:17 NLT

Jesus/God saves!

[debbym]

we do have a social class system, and those higher up seem to be above taking any offense anytime. They are not grasping for power. they carry all the social markers of their class. and in ways live a different reality then the lower classes.

it is those scrapping for power, or those devoted to some social change within or without that you find expressing dismay, whining, bullying vying for the top position of influence and say.

Then in contrast we have Christ who has all power, and he is not taking offense and not scrapping for influence or power. He is not resting in the power of wealth, position, and man made self assurance. Perfect peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them.

Hopefully then too, we have His followers who are resting in his power, His authority, in surrender to His will. They are filled with His power to do His will, and satisfied, yet agonizing for a lost world that does not know this great peace.

[phkrause]

GP: Not only that, God setup Israel with a social system, called the year of Jubilee. So that no one could over burden the lower classes. So when those that owed others could work it off or if the jubilee year came they could get back what was there's. Of course that's the simple version.