Ah do declare! I am offended, sir!

I don’t consider myself easily offended. I like dirty jokes, you know? I’ll swear on occasion. I’ll watch an R-rated movie. But in the past few days I’ve been extremely offended on two separate instances. Neither of the offensive happenings were aimed directly at me, which leads me to wonder if I’m becoming over-sensitive. I also believe that not being so easily offended is just as important as trying not to offend people, but that belief has to coexist with justice: I’m all for not getting personally put off, but if someone says something totally wrong then I think it’s a person’s responsibility to say, on behalf of the world of civilized human beings, that they found that comment very inappropriate. If someone tells a terrible, racist joke I don’t think you should just ignore it, but I don’t think you should get in their face about it either. How about a simple “I know you weren’t serious, but I found that joke to be a little inappropriate.”? Obviously I’m not saying people have to act all P.C. around close friends, but I do think that in some situations, say, an office, where you don’t know everyone well, if someone crosses the line then they ought to be willing to listen to your opinion too. If not then they’re a douchebag.

Case in Point: Today, at my friend’s office, someone dressed up as a New Orleans looter for Halloween. Maybe this would be funny to some people if done a certain way, but even so how is that in any way an appropriate costume to wear to a large work setting? Furthermore, the specifics of this costume were such that I really can’t think of ANY PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE where anyone should be wearing them. I kid you not: the guy’s “costume” (if you can call an idiotic amalgamation of racism a costume) was that he pushed around a cart full of electronics, had painted on “blackface”, and wore a dreadlock wig. I AM TOTALLY SERIOUS. My friend said the guy is Hispanic, which makes me wonder if he’s one of those people who thinks that being a minority gives you the right to act like a racist asshole to other minorities. Guess what – you don’t have to be white to be prejudiced. It’s not okay for anyone to be racist. There is no civilized, educated person in the world who would think it’s appropriate to wear blackface as part of a costume, let alone as part of a racist costume, let alone as part of a racist costume that you wore in a public place. I hope that guy wears his costume on Sixth Street and gets the you-know-what beaten out of him by some people from New Orleans.

Some things are funny and un-offensive around your friends but offensive to others. Some things, though, are offensive no matter who finds them funny.

Case in Point #2 is less politically charged, but still got me upset. I’ll decline to go into specifics, but basically I think it’s offensive and presumptuous to send people an email insinuating that they’re neglecting important responsibilities for selfish desires, that they’re wasting precious time on material pursuits, just because they aren’t able to help you with a particular activity. They’re probably doing things that are just as important as what you’re doing, and assuming that they’re just piddling around and sending out guilty-trippy emails, as if they’ll read them and think “Gosh, maybe I should try to do something worthwhile instead of spending all my time doing crack” is unfair and hurtful, especially considering the fact that they would probably love to help you if they had the time.

*Deep breath. Okay, I think I’ve gotten everything off my chest. Aside from my newly discovered sensibilities everything is good. I’m working on a mammoth but very interesting paper that’s due in less than two weeks. Assault and Flattery auditions are ongoing.