Be Nice

A recent comment on someone's post gave me pause.

It was kind of a long pause.

The topic was about how it seems as though lately every other thing is offending somebody all of a sudden.

I realize it's not 'all of a sudden' at all - it just kind of feels that way.

My opinion is that if the intent of someone is to insult and offend someone else, that someone else is entitled to be insulted and offended but not entitled to make a bigger deal out of it than it is. 

On the other hand, if whatever it is is NOT intended specifically to offend you, what do you have to be offended about? 

Really?

Unless you're one of those 'it's all about me and nobody else counts for anything' people, and take every last thing in the whole wide world personally, how is it offensive to you what someone else chooses for themselves because they happen to like whatever it is, so long as it isn't harmful?

Someone walks up to you and slaps you in the face, that's insulting and offensive and harmful. Be insulted and offended, by all means. It's also assault and you've been harmed; so have them arrested and give them time to think about it while they're sitting in jail.

Someone decorates their house with a Nativity, chances are it's because they're Christian and honoring that. A group of people choose to get together and decorate their community in a way that pleases them, while others would prefer something different? Let the second group get together and decorate their space however they want. What the heck is there to get all het up and bent out of shape about because 'tis the Season and people want to celebrate it the same way they've been celebrating it for all of their lives, and all of the lives of the generations who came before them?

If you're one of those 'it's all about me' people, get over yourself for cryin' out loud.

Frankly, there are a whole bunch of us out here who find it offensive that so many people are so thin-skinned that they'll create issues out of things that aren't in any way meant to offend anyone but instead to make people smile.

...

If we as a society are indeed that 'all about me' and can't manage to respect the rights of others, perhaps every religious edifice in our nation needs to be removed. Period. No more religious buildings of any kind. Some people find mosques and synagogues offensive. Some find crosses on tops of steeples offensive. Some find the crosses with a dead guy hanging on them offensive. Some find the ones with circles on them offensive. So maybe we ought to just get rid of them all and replace them with identical boxes all lined up along one street. Lest anyone be offended, you know.

If Christmas decor is all that offensive to so many people, maybe we ought to just dispense with it altogether, along with every other kind of decor because you just can't tell if your hedge might offend someone, or your trees, or maybe the color or your house. I've seen some houses painted some really ugly colors - with a bunch of bright flowers planted around them that totally clash with the house's colors. I find that aesthetically offensive. Do I tell the home-owners they have to change that ugly color scheme because it offends my sense of balanced beauty?

Maybe we ought to, if all of our religious edifices are going to be required to be identical boxes, be each and all required to live in identical square boxes, drive identical vehicles, dress each and all in identical clothing, have our hair cut and dyed all the identical style and color, and all the males be named John Doe and all the females named Jane Doe.

Just in case someone might be offended, you know, if we happen to have a bigger house or maybe a name someone doesn't particularly like.

While we're at it, we can make sure everyone is the same height and weight, so the skinny people and the portly people can lay off each other for once.

And no pets. For anyone. Because some people don't like cats, or dogs, or whatever.

And everyone eat the identical food at the identical time every identical day. Think how easy grocery shopping would be.

And won't that simplify things?

Even if you should happen to get into the wrong identical car, drive to the wrong identical house, and get into bed with the wrong identical person, it won't matter in the least. If you should happen to make a child in the process, nobody's going to know the difference because there would be no difference.

...

Good Lord.

People.

Are you kidding me?

What I just wrote is stupid.

So is a lot of stuff.

Be nice.

Is that so hard?