The impression I get from a lot of people on this board is the only way to avoid ever hurting someone’s feelings is to avoid interaction altogether.
The discussion about this , I am sure, could garner it's own thread.
Suffice it to say that on the whole, I agree.
But not because of "the people on this board"... it just seems to be the way the human race is looking right now.
"The Offended" have never been so quick to play "The Victim" card.
And, touchy subject though it may be, the insidious "New Puritanism" is also a part of this Mega Offense Offensive that seems to be en vogue at the moment.
Few people actively go out of their way to deliberately offend people, unless they are media shills touting for the outrage dollar (Hi Katie! Got another job yet!?) but it's almost getting to the point where having ANY opinion which differs from ANYONE else's is being viewed as a slur...
(Case in point? Tova directed me to an article about the new Star Wars movie. Those who dislike it are explaining why (for the most part) intelligently and with reasonable debate... And those who like the movie are adding the words "these Fanboy" into their responses... which serves only as an attempt to undermine the actual meat of the argument as something trivial. (As if ANY side of such a debate ISN'T! Ultimately it's only a bloody movie... but that's speaking from a point of SOLID logic and ignoring any culture around it))
The culture of casual insult has seen the birth of a culture of constant offense.
I dunno what the answer to it is other than to scrutinise every single word and parse ever single sentence you may speak before you ever do so.
And that way leads both madness and a lessening of the human race.
Do we need offense? No, but we DO need to stop LOOKING for it... because if you are looking for offense in every interaction you make... you WILL find it.)
NB: And, now to ensure YOU don't take offense, I add this at the end to remind readers that the *you* at the end of my sentence is generic...
(See what I mean!)