5 Reasons Why It Is Good to Be Offended

More and more we see our culture being driven by the fear of offence. There was a time when it was mostly Christians being offended by other lifestyles. Now offence deals comes with any differences in opinion on religion, gender, sexual orientation, economic status and so on. I recently heard about the transgender community being offended by drag queens within the gay community. Recently some Christians were offended by coffee cups.

What concerns me most is that society has bought into the idea that people have the right to not be offended. In order to prevent people from being offended, new laws are being put in place to punish those who offend.

But what does it mean to be offended? There are things that are truly offensive, violent pornography as an example. But what most people mean by offensive is simply having to encounter a view or opinion different than their own.

These are examples of things that are offended considered offensive:

• Atheists encountering religious symbols or beliefs in a public setting.
• People who are for/against same-sex marriage.
• Disagreements over conservative/liberal political positions.
• Christians who see Muslim women with head coverings.

Is it really so bad to see or hear something that we disagree with? Should there be legal consequences to offending someone?

Here are five reasons why I think it is good to be offended once in a while.

1. Encountering different beliefs, even if we are convinced they are completely wrong, can be a learning opportunity.
2. Dealing with offence in a positive way can be character building.
3. Tolerating other people’s offensive views should mean that others will tolerate our offensive views.
4. Trying to stomp out all offensiveness leads to an oppressive society.
5. Life is a lot less boring and more enjoyable when people are allowed to be themselves and not have to live in fear.

I am not suggesting that we should go out of our way to offend people. I really believe that we should try to be as respectful as possible. But I don’t want to hide who I really am or what I believe in case someone might be offended.

I don’t have to agree with the Muslim or atheist on every issue. They may feel strongly that I am wrong. Good. I don’t want to be protected from their views. Neither do they need to be protected from mine.

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