So I took a chiding jab at this kid on Blue Beta, and he got super offended. I didn’t mean for him to interpret it so harshly, but I should have known better anyway. It got me thinking about taking offense.
How much of it is a choice? I can walk down a street, note that no one is looking me in the eye, and get offended because “all these Christians must care about nothing but themselves.” Or I could conclude differently that people are busy, shy, intimidated, or basically any other adjective in the book. No matter what I conclude, that conclusion is up to me as is my reaction.
On a more extreme side, say offense is intended. Say someone comes up to me, calls me a dirty man-whore, informs me that I have an ugly mother, spits in my face, and walks away. Once again, I could conclude, “all this guy cares about is himself and his self-righteous morals. Damn him for not knowing that selling my body is the only way to feed my family of 15 and that my mom has a genetic disorder*.” I could also conclude the guy is confused, deranged, intoxicated, or basically any other adjective in the book.
I guess I should put taking offense up there with worrying. One does it completely at his/her will consequentially gaining nothing but destructive feelings. That said, I should be more careful and remember that right or wrong, smart or stupid, some people should not be antagonized.
*I don't actually have 15 kids, and my mother is quite pretty.
3 comments:
He deserved it on BB. Props to you. I like what you speak :)
Sorry if it sounded like I was blaming you. Just wanted to smooth things over.
No not at all. I just didn't want you to feel like you needed to clean up my mess.
Post a Comment