Offensive... or Just Different?

No matter how carefully we choose our words, it's hard not to see people who still find our words offensive. This time, I see people becoming more conscious of what is said and how it is being said, and if care is not taken, it will be recorded silently and might be used negatively against you.

This is why I feel that some people nowadays are beginning to find it so difficult to express themselves. But then, there is a difference between someone being offensive intentionally and someone who is simply having a different viewpoint. I also had an experience that made me give a deeper reflection on this subject matter which I will explain below .

Sometimes ago, I wrote a comment on Facebook where the topic of parenting was discussed. The discussion was about whether it's fair to correct children in the public when they behave badly. And then I air my view by saying that while I don't like making kids feel less of themselves by correcting them in the public, there are instances where I don't wait until we get home, but I do so immediately when it's necessary to curb further bad behavior from them.

My comment didn't insult any parent or attack anyone but trust social media and it's drama ; I politely shared my viewpoint over the topic of discussion based on my personal experience as a mom of three, but to my surprise, someone replied to me, attacking me over my innocent comment. She went further to accuse me of supporting child abuse. Can you imagine that? It didn't stop there; another replied, telling me that I am one of the people that makes children grow with trauma.

I was totally shocked by these replies and couldn't place them. An innocent opinion attracted an ugly attack on my life. People felt offended by my words, and I had to revisit the comment, reading it again and again to actually know where I got it wrong, but then the problem wasn't my comment but simply that people have different opinions.

That very experience made me realize that people can choose to interpret words anyhow and feel offended. This day, I double-think before speaking to avoid being misunderstood.

In fact, something happened today, and while I knew what to say, I was afraid of expressing my view to avoid women attacking me, so yeah, I forgot about contributing to the case, which may have been beneficial, but then is silence the answer?

No, the solution is in balance; just be intentional before speaking, and those hearing should also be good listeners to avoid unnecessary attacks.

Everybody's voice matters, and when we come together to share our opinion, learning and growth take place. We can learn to speak respectfully and disagree with maturity. Silencing our voices to avoid being offensive isn't the answer.

This post is in response to the Hive Learners community prompt on the topic titled GET OFFENSIVE.

Thanks for reading through !!!

image is mine!!!