(This article was originally published in October 2009)
The Chronically Offended
A Malady, Perhaps?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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It makes no difference what you do or what you say, these
days, you can bet that someone will be offended.
Oh, yeah, I know people were offended back in the day. Truly they were, but… there was one major difference. Back in the day, we understood that for an
offended person to protest was a sign of weakness on the offended’s part. And frankly, they were too embarrassed to
protest because they knew society would see them for what they were, weak.
Things changed. In
the mid to late 20th century, and early 21st century,
American society began to celebrate weakness in individuals. Whole organizations sprang up to serve the
chronically offended. (And while they
were doing that…. milk them of all their ready cash, as well!)
How could this have happened? Political Correctness, that’s how. Marxism by another name. As of today in America,
the weak, and the minorities, have more power than the strong majority. The tables have turned. Natural law has been turned on its head.
When I was growing up one of the signs that you were,
indeed, growing into adulthood was the skill at which you were able to handle
disappointment… and… being offended.
Stoicism is no easy thing for me. I am Scot-Irish, Dutch, German, and a healthy
dose of Native American. So you can see
the how the fiery temperament of the Irish, and the combativeness of the Scots,
and the dogged determination of the Germans, and stoicism of the Native
Americans was, and is, always at war in my mind.
However, after a few bloody noses and split lips, and broken
teeth, I managed to get a grip on myself and I learned a valuable lesson. It is better to keep your mouth shut and not
whine when you are offended! The main thing to remember is… do not whine! Strike, if you must, but do not whine! What I forgot was… my size disadvantage. Quite often the attacked was physically
larger than me and I got the tar beaten out of me!
So what did I learn for these confrontations? Not a whole lot… if you ask those who know me
personally. I STILL tend to attack
windmills! I love lost causes. But, it
did build character. It gave me understanding into the mind of the chronically
offended.
I have learned that the chronically offended are sad,
lonely, people. They perceive themselves as without power and influence and
they crave recognition, by anybody, for any reason. It is a form of inferiority complex.
To get that recognition, if only to force someone, anyone,
into confirming their existence, they will cause a commotion about the smallest
of things they may deem an infraction, or an abuse, or an offense to their
sensibilities. No matter that society
might accept that which offends them, that fact has no value to the Chronically
Offended. Their self-centered nature
rules out any pleas for common sense from the un-offended. .
And now THEY are in charge!
Well, maybe not directly… with hands-on control… but they certainly have
the power to browbeat the remainder of society like water torture.
If man had not fiddled with Mother Nature’s Natural
Selection, these people would not be among us.
But we did, and they are here.
And… they are a royal pain in the butt to all of society.
Political Correctness has empowered them. And now WE are powerless to dis-empower THEM!
J. D. Longstreet
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