In current times, it seems like everyone needs to pick and choose their words wisely, or else they’ll offend someone without even realizing it. People are taking offense to even the tiniest things, some of which make no sense. At this rate, nobody can keep up with the ever-expanding list of what is offensive.

One Redditor decided to poke fun at this weird phenomenon and asked people to describe incidents where folks got way too riled up about the least offensive stuff. You might just lose your mind at some of these responses, or not, if you aren't easily offended.

More info: Reddit

#1

I was learning another language and someone told me it was cultural appropriation.

Image credits: Kooriki

#2

Someone called me black (I am) and a white woman got offended on my behalf, correcting them that it’s “African American”. When I corrected her that I prefer black, she looked appalled and told *me* that that is offensive.

?

Edit: I want to be very clear that I do not have a problem with the term African American. For those not in the know, it comes from the civil rights movement in the US as a way to reclaim the ancestry black Americans had largely been denied. My only point is that it is a preference and if someone corrects your use of any term that is applied to them as an individual, it’s very easy to just say “okay, got it” and make the change. Pretty easy, folks!

Image credits: heydonteatmyfriends

#3

41M with two total hip replacements. A woman in her 50s got so offended by me having a disabled parking permit that she took the time out of her day to park behind me so I couldn’t leave and proceeded to call the police. The police came and cited her for breach of peace for how irate she was acting.

Image credits: JonnyP3283

Major issues like racism, homophobia, classism, etc. shouldn’t be treated lightly or made fun of. When there is actually discriminatory behavior, it makes sense if people get offended, express their feelings, or set boundaries. But if someone is always getting upset or irritated over the smallest stuff, then it probably points to something deeper.

Let’s face it, there are people who get too easily offended, and they can’t wait to unleash their fury on any unsuspecting person. This behavior could stem from many reasons, such as unhealed psychological issues, a lack of self-esteem, feeling self-conscious about something, and even the person’s emotional state. This thread is full of people like that who can’t seem to avoid making non-issues into full-blown tragedies.

#4

Me not wanting to have kids. People get so up in arms about my personal choice that has zero impact on them. As if me not wanting to have kids has somehow devalued their own children or that me not wanting to follow their same life path invalidates the worth of theirs.

Bruh, go make babies, be happy. I’m no reflection on you.

Image credits: Suitable_cataclysm

#5

I used to send a “fun fact of the day” slack message to all my employees and peers. Just a fun way to start the day. I was called by HR because an employee of mine said that I was promoting murder on official company property. The offending fun fact: A Group of Crows is called a “Murder”.

Image credits: Vectrex221

#6

Had a friend who flew into a fit of rage if he sneezed and someone said “bless you”.  He said it was offensive to his atheism. So I used to say it everytime he sneezed.  I also am not religious.

Image credits: onionleekdude

It’s not just situations or people’s actions that might be seen as offensive; certain language has gotten a bad rap, too. That’s why many people worry and obsess over what they’re saying and whether they’re being politically correct. Surveys have found that 68% of men and 51% of women feel that too many people are easily offended over language. Adults over 65 are likelier than young people to feel the need to be careful with what they say to avoid offending others.

It becomes harder to know who you’ll offend because of how intricately language and culture are tied to people’s identities. In this day and age, social media can also magnify a person’s outrage and bring a whole lot of other people into the conversation. If many people buy into accusations against you, then it may not end so well.

#7

I was subbing a class and was told a student used they/them pronouns. I couldn’t remember which student it was, so I just used they/them the whole class.

At the end of the class, the student got angry for diminishing the non-binary experience by using gender neutral pronouns for everyone.

Image credits: Kintsugiera

#8

Apparently using "big" words is offensive.

Image credits: No_Nectarine6942

#9

Someone at a table next to me got mad at me at a restaurant because I said that ranch tastes better than blue cheese dip when eating chicken wings. He shouted “You’re wrong.” I just said “Ok” and he was looking at me like I disrespected his heritage. He kept staring at me and it was getting so awkward that I asked the waiter to move tables.

Image credits: DrakeLostLol

A big impact of social media outrage is a phenomenon called “cancel culture.” This powerful force is backed up by large groups who withdraw support for a person or organization if they’ve acted unacceptably. People have been quick to call out offensive behavior in recent years, but they are still divided on the effectiveness of ignoring it or speaking up. Another survey’s research found that 5% of people on social media feel that you shouldn’t engage with offensive posts, and only 4% believe that it’s important to call people out and hold them accountable.

#10

I used to work at a theme park and I was leading a group of young kids around. I said “this way cherubs”.

A parent heard it, got me written up for being antisemitic. He told my manager that I “clearly only called them cherubs because he knew they were all Jewish”.

I still can’t work out the mental gymnastics there.

Image credits: SquatchHasNoHeros

#11

I have a colleague called Hercules. When he started, I said to my manager “oh, he has a strong name” and she started freaking out like “no you CANT say that, HR will be on your case, don’t say that again around me”.

It is an objectively strong name on account of, yknow, the Greek myth.

Image credits: Kaael

#12

Guy told my mother it was a good thing my father was dead because it was the only way he could escape the shame of being associated with her.

She was celebrating her football team win on Facebook.

Image credits: pitathegreat

If you’ve said or done something that’s genuinely offensive, it’s important to take responsibility for your actions and apologize. But if you’re dealing with someone who takes everything to heart, the best way to de-escalate the situation is to remain calm. You shouldn’t fuel the fire by getting angry or aggressive; instead, respond rationally and try to understand where they’re coming from. This can lead to a rational conversation and hopefully prevent these outbursts from happening again.

#13

A friend of mine, back when she first introduced her now-husband to her parents, told me that her father for some reason thought it was a great idea to bring up politics. Her husband, very obviously not being serious, joked he was going to write-in vote for Mickey Mouse, in an effort to change the subject. Her father got very upset and came to her saying he thought she should break up with him because “he doesn’t share our values.”.

Image credits: EmiliusReturns

#14

When I was in college in the 90s, I was working as a cashier at a department store and some old lady was so offended by my bleached hair that she told me I was going to die of AIDS.

Image credits: BottleTemple

#15

I know someone who judged a teachers social media bc the teacher was wearing shorts in her profile picture. Not booty shorts. Just regular shorts.

Image credits: growsonwalls

If you know someone who loses their cool over inoffensive stuff, studies have shown that it all connects back to self-image. This means that they don’t like it when people question or do things that make them feel like their identity is being attacked. However, this tendency to get offended over everything can change if they try to develop their self-esteem because it can act as a buffer when their feelings are hurt. It might take a while for people get to a place where they feel totally secure, but it can help protect one’s mental health in the long run.

#16

There’s a popular breakfast joint in a town in VT. Used to eat there frequently when I visited. It’s on a traffic circle, and the city puts it on the businesses lining it to maintain the grounds inside the traffic circle with flower beds. In exchange, the businesses got to put up little signs. The breakfast joint put a sign up by the pedestrian crosswalk that said “Brake for [business name’s] bacon.” Someone complained that it was against their religion to eat bacon, and therefore the sign was offensive. The breakfast joint ended up taking the sign down.

Image credits: CMDR_Tauri

#17

I don’t know if this offended anyone, but one of my more downvoted comments on Reddit. There was a video of someone fishing and he did something I didn’t understand. So I asked: “genuine question here but why did the guy do this?” Someone chimed in and gave a thoughtful response. I responded “Thanks”. That “Thanks” got like 15 downvotes.

Image credits: discostud1515

#18

I get asked if I speak Spanish, and when I say, “I’m sorry, I don’t.” People have been offended. They give me an incredulous or dirty look and respond with confusion that I don’t speak Spanish. Sorry???

I am white. My background is almost entirely European. Not sure if it’s because I have really tan skin and dark hair and eyes, but it happens on a regular enough basis that I am perplexed. I am terrible at learning languages, my bad!

Image credits: Scared_Ad2563

Knowing the difference between important issues that should be taken to heart and small occurrences that don’t warrant that type of anger is essential. Of course, there might be situations where the line is blurred, but the posts in this thread clearly don’t fit into that category. That’s why this thread received over 3.4k comments, with people sharing their most unhinged experiences. 

Have you ever encountered someone who took offense to something minor? It’s time to tell us your story.

#19

Back when personal drones were just becoming more accessible, I was cashiering at a Rite Aid and we just put our Christmas stuff out, including a stack of cheap drones.

This kid, maybe 8, and his dad had picked up a few items. The kid sees the drones and says, excited, “oh, wow; that’s cool”.

His. Dad. *Flipped*. 

DRONES AREN’T COOL THEY’RE FOR PERVERTS WHO WANT TO PEEK AT YOU IN YOUR OWN YARD ONLY FILTHY DIRTY PERVERTED PEOPLE WANT A DRONE 

And so on, as his kid is *shrinking* into the floor. 

They had already paid for their stuff so after his screamfest dear old Daddy pulled his kid out the door, still swearing and grumbling. 

Torn between being thankful they weren’t regulars and sorry I didn’t get a chance to tell the kid, *it’s not you, your dad is just a d**k and everyone sees it*. .

Image credits: lyan-cat

#20

A friend paid the check for dinner and said, “I ate the most food anyway.” Another friend found it rude that they mentioned eating more food instead of “just doing it out of the goodness of their heart.”.

Image credits: Carnilinguist

#21

Me not being from the right nationality they thought it was from.

Image credits: Kittytigris

#22

A doctor on Instagram was telling an interesting patient story, and mentioned that the patient was in town for a “sportsball” game. She received angry messages about how she was demeaning sports.

Image credits: mossadspydolphin

#23

A while back, a woman in a local Wiccan society in Washington was offended by children dressing as witches for Halloween.

Edited for spelling.

Image credits: Drake_Cloans

#24

Wife told me it had rained overnight. I said „oh really?“. She lost it because I accused her of lying with that.

Image credits: BigBorner

#25

I did not know what a slang term for a section of downtown Reykjavik was and apparently this made me antisemetic.

Image credits: BigNorseWolf

#26

I spent 9 hours deep-cleaning the house for an inspection. I went above and beyond, clearing my work schedule and going the extra mile, and my roommate “double checked” my work. He had a complete psychotic meltdown because I forgot to sweep *underneath* the couch.

I moved out the next day and never spoke to him again.

Image credits: BarPotential2651

#27

Way back in the early 90s when I was in high school, I went to the lab and said, “Hey guys, is the teacher here?”

Cue the most pedantic girl in our class, “There aren’t any ‘guys’ in here. We’re all girls. Why would you call us ‘guys’?” 

She was so offended over a simple expression.

#28

Someone got offended by a “Keep Off the Grass” sign.

Image credits: Loud-Yak-690

#29

Joking with a patient (in an outpatient, family practice doctors office) that we have a lab on site so she wouldn’t want me to be the one drawing her blood since I’m out of practice.

She seriously made me explain what I said, then got pissy and told me that I shouldn’t joke about things like that because I “seriously destroyed her confidence in me as a nurse.”.

Image credits: ApprehensiveDingo350

#30

My coworker was called an “egg eater” while she was eating eggs at her desk and it became a whole thing.

Image credits: onyxanderson

#31

I grew up with a kid who had the last name of sprouse but every single teacher/substitute would pronounce it as spruce during rollcall and he would lose his f*****g s**t every time. like i remember i had like 3 classes in a row with him the first day of school and each time he blew a gasket. when we’d have substitute they’d do it too and everyone in class would start giggling and staring at him as the rollcall was approaching his name then predictably they’d say “spruce” and he’d start yelling and screaming at them. it was wonderful.

Image credits: ARGENTAVIS9000

from Bored Panda https://ift.tt/0QBAXK4
via IFTTT source site : boredpanda