The word “offended” stems from the Latin offendere; meaning to “strike” “against”.
So does being offended feel like a material assault? I guess context matters, but, then again, it doesn’t when your physically hurt by something or someone – it just hurts.
Why then, are we obsessed with being offended? Is it because we lack empathy, so we need to inform each other when something feels like a punch? Or is it because we’re all a bit too self-centered to understand that a word is not the same stick or stone for everyone?
Offensive or not, someone’s words should never pierce deeper than you allow them to, because unlike a strike against your body, a word can’t actually hurt you.
If there’s anything we should be focusing on, it’s the significance of our actions, especially when we’re all constantly lost in translation.
