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Alejandro1 comments on [Link] Offense 101 - Less Wrong
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How about Offending People 101?
No, not what you think; rather ...
It seems to me that some folks highly value a self-image of not offending others — to the extent that when they are informed that they have offended someone, they respond as if a scandalous accusation has been made against their honor, for which they are entitled to demand satisfaction. And so they react by complaining about being censored, and political correctness, and "you're wrong, that word isn't offensive because so-and-so says it isn't!" as if offense were a one-place function — when all the offended party wanted was to explain that they feel unsafe and unhappy when someone tells rape jokes at a party, and would you please stop?
Just as it might be worthwhile to teach people to respond usefully to things that offend them, it might also be worthwhile to teach people to respond usefully to being informed that they have offended others.
Excellent points. However, many people when saying "That is offensive" don't just mean they are offended; they are implying that all decent people would be similarly offended, that what the other party said was beyond the pale. So it is used, in these cases, as a sort of one-place function and an attack (sometimes personal) against the speaker.
It is still true that escalating with complaints of censorship, PC thought police, etc, is not a good strategy for making the situation better and more conducive to a reasoned discussion (though it might be a good one for the purpose of rallying one's side against the Enemy).
Or for the purposes of not giving one's opponents veto power over what one can say.