This post was inspired by a story someone shared with me on Instagram about their experience in university and what it means to be offended (and to cause offence).
I have purposefully left out the topic of hatred, because I hope we can all agree that hatred towards a group of people has no place in civilized society.
Instead, I want to focus on the difference between offensive ideas and offensive language.
Ideas are offensive.
Some of the most influential books in history have been burned, banned, or censored for the ideas they portrayed.
And how many people have been (and continue to be) killed because their ideas offended the wrong people?
Even so, it is the offensive ideas that challenge us to change, that inspire us to improve.
The way ideas are presented, however can be hateful, inconsiderate, or inappropriate.
Language is a powerful thing, and the way in which language is used can have a profound and unintended consequence.
It does not matter how paradigm-shattering someone’s idea is; if they use language that is offensive to a group of people, it will undermine the original idea and it could injure people in the worst of ways.
As humans we need to be challenged, pushed, even offended, or else we live in a state of moral stasis.
We do, however, have the responsibility to engage in offensive and challenging ideas with the utmost respect and care for each other.
Try being offended.
It’s uncomfortable, but progress is always uncomfortable.
If you want comfort, go back to bed.
In my next post I will be talking about how political debates and speeches have devolved to a meaningless exchange of self-serving rhetoric.