Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
Offense is on who[m?] ever takes it. The first choice is fragmentary, the second ambiguous (is/are). maybe deserves it's own apostrophe, I dunno.
Apologizing for offense taken is a slippery slope.
All I remember from today's episode is Trick-or-treaters chanting "Respect -- respect -- water".
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Insincere apology is certainly a slippery slope. Sincere apology is almost never harmful.
Our culture does a poor job of training our youth to become resilient against becoming offended. Since all relationships are a 2-way street, we have a duty to a. not intentionally offend people, and b. to take as little offense as possible from others.
I'd not be very likely to apologize for a joke though. The right response to an unfunny joke is to not laugh, and that sends the message.
The disorderly discussion that resulted in a beeper joke reminds me of the thing I'm currently (painfully) listening to. It devolves into ad hominems because the participants view the enemy as the person, and not the ideas themself.