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
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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.
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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.
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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.
To understand this phenomenon of people taking offense at even the slightest things, Bored Panda reached out to Teal Swan. She is a New Thought Leader specializing in human development, relationships, and trauma healing. She gave an insight into cancel culture, mentioning that “cancel culture says it is wrong to find humor in anything that is ‘sensitive’ in nature to anyone else. Cancel culture seeks to destroy history that does not align with current values, rather than to see it as history; and history as complicated.”
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Teal Swan shared a few more thoughts on the culture of offense, stating: “Cancel culture is a shared social attitude and custom of trying to get rid of the source of something you dislike (the person saying or doing something) rather than trying to resolve or enter into conflict with the words or actions themselves. One of the main things fueling cancel culture is our attachment to a sense of goodness. People can commit all manner of sins when they are convinced that they are doing it for the ‘greater good.’ The reason that the pattern of cancel culture does not stop is because we fall into the trap of seeing the person doing the canceling as a ‘good guy’.”
“Social media has changed the world we live in. It has given people control over canceling what they like and dislike that they never had before. It takes nothing to ‘cancel’ someone. Today, if someone doesn’t like something that someone said or did, they simply rally a group of people against that person from the comfort of their own homes and get them to do things like spread slander or collectively report the person so as to eradicate their support and to have their platforms removed. It is to consciously poison people against someone, so they turn on that person,” she added.
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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.
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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.
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