In Defense of Offense
Get into it or get over it; I’m here to keep the pace;
I stay real about it - see the look upon my face; Dead serious, mean looking and determined; I won’t leave this place until I win the human race;
FUCK YOU
Progress rarely - if ever - happens without some amount of discomfort.
Something I’m not exactly a fan of (…living in this reality, anyway) is the fact that pain, suffering, struggle and their ilk are not only an inevitable aspect of being alive, but are necessary components of what’s needed to become a strong human.
I think this is applicable to mental, physical and spiritual strength. Any strength comes from overcoming difficulty. The more difficulty one can overcome the stronger they become. Although I don’t entirely agree with the proverbial statement, What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger - otherwise there’d be a lot of gods amongst men with bullets in their heads - it’s not a false adage. Not entirely false, anyhow.
Lift heavy things, you get stronger, and can lift heavier things; undergo tremendous inner mental turmoil, and if you can figure out how to not let that destroy you from the inside, you’ll find yourself able to weather more cognitive strain than people who weren’t ever exposed to that mental turmoil; and many other things that anyone reading this should be able to think of on their own.
Physical strength being the result of stress on the muscles seems obvious enough.
Spiritual strength being the result of transcendening barriers between one’s self and one’s community is maybe less obvious, but that’s a topic for another time. Here, I’d like to deal with the concept of mental strength, and how being offended is what trains our mental resilience.
I don’t know how common it is for other people to think of offense this way. However, I hope I can at least convince someone, somehow, that offense is a good thing, and I think we should all give each other the right to offend.
Often.
Here’s the definition of Offense from Merriam-Webster:
The definition I want to bring attention to is 2.b, the state of being insulted or morally outraged.
Is this a useful thing? 🫠🤔
I think it is! 🤐
Now, is it a comfortable thing to go through?
Nope!
It’s usually something that literally causes insult and/ or outrage.
These things, these uncomfortable, ‘indecent’ things are exactly the things that inspire growth in people.
A common rebuttal I’ve heard more than once when I suggest this to people is:
Facey, c’mon you fuck wit. Have you seen the nonsense [instert-politican’s-name here] is posting on Twitter? It’s ignorant bull shit, no good is coming about from allowing that man/woman to say those hate-fueled bytes of ignorance. You’re just wrong all around, asshole.
Things politicians say don’t normally bother me, but they used to, so I can certainly relate. Generally, my stance on this is:
Although there’s plenty of “ignorant bull shit” all over the Internet, it’s better to have it out in the open, instead of festering in the back alleys of the Web, where susceptible (young or gullible) people are likely to cocoon themselves into hate-filled echo chambers.
The fact of the matter is people are on average very stupid, ignorant of their own stupidity, and convinced they aren’t stupid or ignorant. That’s almost certainly not going to change in my lifetime, but every time we come across people that fit this description, it’s an opportunity to learn more patience and compassion.
I don’t like it. I’d love for us to all get along easily, but until then, try to keep in mind that we’re all brothers and sisters, and some of your siblings just happen to be fucking wankers.