What is the point of being offended? (moral, minority, moral)

[Lycan]

What does being offended actually do? How does it help a situation?


Lycan

[Sunstone]

Do you distinquish between being offended (on the one hand) and holding a grudge (on the other)? It seems to me that holding a grudge is pointless, but that being offended is at times unavoidable.

[Lycan]

I was merely speaking of being offended, not holding a grudge...

It seems to me that holding a grudge is pointless, but that being offended is at times unavoidable.

I agree with the first half of this comment...

IMHO -
On the other half, I think people allow themselves to get offended... and as I said, for what purpose?

Lycan

[Scuba Pete]

Does it HAVE to have a purpose?

A far better question would be: Why do people have to offend others?

[Performance Park]

I don't get offended by much these days. If I feel offended in something I saw, or something I heard, many times I could have avoided it completely. For example, if I don't want to see beer commercials on TV during the SuperBowl, then I shouldn't watch. There are times when you hear or see something totallt out of the ordinary and it surprises you though.

[Lycan]

Does it HAVE to have a purpose?

IMHO -
No, it doesn't have to have a purpose, although most things that we feel or do as humans do have some sort of purpose. I was just laying out the question for the forum.

A far better question would be: Why do people have to offend others?

Because you never know what will offend another. Something you thinK is reasonably non-offensive, could throw someone else into a tizzy.

Lycan

[No*s]

Originally Posted by Lycan

What does being offended actually do? How does it help a situation?


Lycan

Of course it does, like every emotion we have, and like any emotion, it will arise in places where it is not productive.

Offense is, at its heart, a form of moral outrage. If I see an infant simply left out in the cold, you're dang straight I'm going to be offended. That's an extreme example, but the same applies to when I see someone picking on the poor minority. It causes offense. If I see someone deliberately trying to defame my religion, I will be offended.

It serves a purpose, and like NetDoc said, the better question is "Why do people offend others so much."

[Scuba Pete]

Because you never know what will offend another.

In instances like this, it can provide dialogue, as you try to discover why you were so incredibly insensitive, or why they are overly sensitive. Call it feedback if you will.

[Lycan]

Offense is, at its heart, a form of moral outrage

IMHO -
I disagree. It is more of a personal outrage. What offends you, may not offend someone else. Morality has nothing to do with it, just your personal perception of the subject in question.

If I see an infant simply left out in the cold, you're dang straight I'm going to be offended

I see what you are saying but that to me is more of an anger issue, not really being offended. You can be offended but not angry.

If I see someone deliberately trying to defame my religion, I will be offended

It seems to me that if you are secure in your beliefs, then there would be no need to be offended. Since you know what is right for you, why let defaming comments offend you?

Lycan

[No*s]

Originally Posted by Lycan

IMHO -
I disagree. It is more of a personal outrage. What offends you, may not offend someone else. Morality has nothing to do with it, just your personal perception of the subject in question.

How many spots can you name where morality wasn't involved? Morality is, at its heart, a "personal perception," but of how things ought to be done or practiced. If someone is using the "f-word" around a person who thinks it's inappropriate, they are offended because of how they perceive that word. I have rarely seen a person offended that, after I thought about it, I couldn't see some sort of moral/ethical cause underlying it.

Originally Posted by Lycan

I see what you are saying but that to me is more of an anger issue, not really being offended. You can be offended but not angry.

This is very true, and a result of my choice of words. We are dealing with an emotion that has no real term outside of what we are using. There are, indeed, times in which it doesn't involve anger.

Originally Posted by Lycan

It seems to me that if you are secure in your beliefs, then there would be no need to be offended. Since you know what is right for you, why let defaming comments offend you?

Lycan

Because it is an emotion, and I think it serves a purpose. If someone is deliberately trying to defame my religion, I'm not offended because he might be right, but because of the intent: he means harm in some way. I have no problem with dialogue, and people trying to tell me why they think my faith is wrong. It's when malevolent attempt comes in that offense can arise.

As with all emotions, the person offended is still in charge of how he responds to his emotion. The same goes here for my responses (and elsewhere). I choose how I respond, and while the emotion is non-volitional, my acts are.