by Ken Reetz

Created on: July 03, 2008

There are many ways to offend someone, just Google "most offensive people ever" and you could fill the interior of your offensive SUV with the 604,000 responses. It's impossible to make it through life without someone being offended because you're actually here, breathing precious air that might some day be needed for the endangered seahorse.

There is no "right" to offend, but we have it anyway if we live in a so called free society. It's too bad that one of the pharmaceutical giants couldn't invent a pill to prevent people from being offended, now that would be something. Let's consider some of the more infamous offences:

* The Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten almost started WWIII by posting offensive cartoons about Muhammad. The newspaper had a right to do that, everything is OK in Denmark, but was it wise? At least 100 dead because of the rioting.

* Chris Ofili's painting "The Holy Virgin Mary," proudly displayed in the Brooklyn Museum of Art. No rioting, none reported dead, but millions are offended.

* Barack Obama's campaign asked a delegate to step down after reports came out that she called the neighbor kids, "monkeys." She uses that term to describe her own grandchildren, but they are white and these kids were black. Humwell, at least nobody died.

* The National organization of Woman, and many other women (and men), I presume, are offended by the Dolce & Gabbana ad that shows a woman being constrained in a provocative pose by one man, while four other men stand by watching. Is this what they act like in Milan, Italy?

* Probably the biggest offenders of all offenders are music and movies and comedians. Smooth jazz offends the traditionalist jazz aficionado, synthesizers offend the orchestra lovers, and rappers offend almost everyone else. You cannot make a movie that won't offend someone, somewhere, even if it's Mary Poppins. And how many of you remember Don Rickles?

We haven't even touched the surface with these examples, because the sad truth is that we cannot avoid offending other people. OK, maybe this is taking it too far. Should we limit the debate over offensive behavior to only when it is intended to be offensive? Do we have the right to be that mean and ugly - on purpose?

We have that right unless it's directed against a protected minority or considered hate speech. Of course, we should always remember that whatever we do or say shows the world more about us than anything, or anyone else.

So be careful out there, and considerate to everyone.

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