Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

When did it become a right of all people in the world to never be offended by anything? I'm not talking about being insensitive to other people. I don't think we need to be deliberately offensive, but what I'm asking is this: at what point did it become the government's responsibility to ensure that nobody ever gets offended?

I just heard about this bill in the State of Arizona (where I live): SB1331, "postsecondary instruction; offensive coursework alternatives" (you can read a news article that briefly discusses it here). This bill basically provides a way for students to opt out of some coursework if they find it offensive. This is absolutely baffling to me -- and it worries me.

To take a spin on Elanor Roosevelt's quote: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent," I say "No one can offend you without your consent." Most often, offense is not in the giving, but in the receiving. Let me give you some examples from my life. I blog. I write. I develop software. On any given day I receive dozens of comments or emails from people I don't know regarding my blogging, my writing or my software. Here are some:

About my Google Modules (which are completely free of charge):

It doesn't work.

Pathetic that you dint [sic] use PNG or GIF with transparent.

It is too slow.

About my writing:

Title needs work. The reasons you gave for reading your book barely grabbed my attention. It was like walking up to a stranger and saying,"I'm really charming and interesting." and expecting them to just trust you. Also, "the subject of a teen magazine article" does not make me want to read further. All of this did however prompt me to waste two seconds posting this rude comment.

You may think you are leaving me wondering so I'll read the book to find out, but to tell you the truth, my interest isn't peaked [sic] because I don't know what you're talking about. You can't get everybody to read it.

Am I offended? No. I have a realistic view of myself and what I do. When I am criticized, I learn from it. When something I believe is questioned or challenged, I learn from it.

To me the possibility of this law in Arizona sounds like a personal censorship initiative that makes it possible for any student or group of students to close their minds to much of the world. The bill was initiated (according to the news article) to prevent a student from reading a book containing scenes of sexuality and drug references. What if the offensive material were the Bible (offensive to non-Christians) or To Kill a Mockingbird (racially offensive)? If every individual is allowed to decide what is offensive to them, is there anything written that would be found completely inoffensive to everyone? At all times?

Life is life. There are so many ways to be offended on a daily basis. Let's grow up a little and deal with it. Let's apologize better when we do offend and let's learn from the past so we don't do it again.