During my HND days, there was a subject that happens to be one of my favorite, the name of the subject is critical thinking and critique. There were lot of underlining topics attached to this subject, but one special thing about this subject was the lecturer. Anytime we find ourselves debating about a topic and we form groups, each person going toe to toe with the other. She always make sure that, regardless of how willing we are to share our opinion, we should disrespect others in the process.
Which means, it is okay to criticize but you have to make sure it is constructed in a way that doesn't make the other person feel belittled. This is the whole idea of constructive criticism. In a society such as ours, we forget the importance of seeing things from others perspective, in so doing, it is very easy for someone to believe they are the only ones with the right ideas. Even if that was true, the other party being wrong doesn't mean their opinion is completely meaningless. There is always a way to manage a debate or conversation without offending people in the process.
It is not that people get offended easily these days, but the issue is the way we air our opinion. Most people start a conversation or debate with the whole idea of "We vs them" kind of mentality. By doing so, it becomes harder to share opinion or make people listen because the only thing they would perceive is; you are trying to pick a fight. One thing I have learned about people is that, once they feel offended, majority feel the need to retaliate in whichever way they consider to be appropriate.
The power and meaning our words carry is yet to be fully grasped by many, words shouldn't be used carelessly regardless of how genuine a person intention is. The impact of words on people varies, while some might choose not to react doesn't mean they are not offended. One of the reasons why the media is considered the fourth arm of government is because of its ability to use words to engineer people's thought and make us believe in an agenda. It is what form the basis of pen is mightier than sword.
I have come across people trying to air their opinion and you would wonder, who are you fighting with? must you be so rude about it? That is why we have literary terms like euphemism, even in the most unusual circumstances, we can still manage to table difficult conversations in the most pleasant way without offending anyone. People picking offences easily when opinions are aired, is not because of they are too sensitive, it is just that they have grown tired of being insulted to an extent they longer have what it takes to tolerate it anymore.
In a simple way, if we want people to listen to our opinion without picking offenses, we should mind the manner at which we speak to people. This present generation is plagued with lack of intentionality when it comes to usage of words, it is all about cruise. Forgetting that there are people who still care about the deeper meaning of words but, instead of them to see it as an issue with their usage of words when "cancelled", they suddenly feel they are being prevented from airing their opinion, which is not true.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Get offensive in hive learners community.
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