Has society become TOO sensitive?

Question

You call a black person "black", and people "get offended". You express your (non)faith publicly and people "get offended". You MENTION the holocaust/hitler, and jews "get offended". You don't relate to/care about the starving kids in africa, people "Get offended". You call a 6,000 pound man "fat", he gets offended.

There are endless more examples of this, and in my opinion, society has become WAY too sensitive. Its my theory that, in an attempt to "shelter" our kids, we've actually made them so sensitive and psychologically weak, prone to breakdowns at any second. Honestly, unless someone DIRECTLY and INTENTIONALLY hurts YOU, NOT your great great grandfathers, why should you take offense?

All you parents out there should STOP sheltering your kids, STOP letting them live in this fantasy unrealistic world of unicorns and cotton candy, and expose them to what the world REALLY is.

Let me know what you think, leave an answer. :O

Answer 1

my parents shelter me so much and i hate it and once i was just randomly talking to this guy i sorta know and he even told me that they did that and he was like, 'you're so naive.'

and he was right.

Answer 2

agreed.  white people don't get offended when you call them white - and isn't it called  "black history month"?  i also believe that "live and let live" has gone out the window.  now, it seems to be that if someone disagrees with you, then they are wrong and you should do everything in your power to correct them.  it's absurd.  i get truly offended by very little, but it amazes me still how much racism and sexism is out there.  those that don't care about being PC still don't care and take their hatred and prejudice to an extreme in opposition of it; on the flip side, those who do care about being PC have taken that to the extreme, like they are overcompensating for the people who don't care.  it's all messed up, and the people that exist in the middle get criticized by both extreme groups.

i just have to add that out here in arizona, there is a certain group that takes sheltering their kids to the extreme.  a new mall opened last year and there is a victoria's secret in it.  well, they had a big, beautiful ad with a woman in a bra and bikini panties, with the angel wings.  a HUGE group of people got offended by this ad (which showed as much skin as a bathing suit might and just advertised what the store sells), saying that they didn't want their kids exposed to such sexually explicit material, and how their innocent 17-year-old boys were being corrupted by the indecency.  victoria's secret changed the ad.  i still can't believe stuff like this happens out here, but i read about it all the time.

Answer 3

i totally agree.

Omg i wish you had asked this ages ago!

like last year!

i could of done my sociology coursework on it!

:(

wow this is really interesting.

Answer 4

Yes, we probably have leaned over too far trying to be politically correct. But, then on the other hand, after all the torture and abuse I understand that the N word shouldn't be used, or a SWASSTICKER displayed, etc.

Answer 5

Yes I agree with you. At least here in the U.S. people will not tell you the truth because they're afraid you'll get offended. It's very annoying for people like me who would rather just know the truth instead of being told "what I'd want to hear".

Answer 6

agreed.  Political correction has made people way too sensitive and end up with a stick up their ***.

I call a spade a spade, if people get offended then I tell them that I'm sorry they can't handle something that's the truth.  Kids are getting dumber and dumber and its the fault of their parents (#1) and society for bombarding them with a whole lot of garbage.  Kids get pregnant too soon cause their parents are too embarrassed to talk about it and instead we show them images that glorify s*x in not a very nice way.  But god forbid you actually show a t*t on television.  But you blow someone away with a grenade launcher and you're OK.

Kids need to understand that s*x is OK in certain situations, they need to understand that if you shoot a gun at someone they'll bleed and won't come back in the next episode.  Kids need to be taught ETHICS, something that this country and society has completely forgotten.

Answer 7

yes in the United States we have become too politically correct, and hypersensitive.

Answer 8

I used to be a high school teacher, and yes, people nowadays get offended waaaaayyyyy too easily.  What's worse is people hate hearing the truth.  I struggled with this as a teacher.  In order to set someone on the right track, they need to hear the truth about themselves.  As a teacher I had to make students always feel better about themselves instead of giving them a reality check.  I couldn't prepare kids for the real world.  Many of my students were in the workforce already, yet they acted immature and were coddled at every moment.  I had so many students who had their punishments lifted by the school board or by the principal because the child was offended or acted improperly because they were offended. However, sometimes this wasn't the case.  For example;

I had a student who was absolutely spoiled and incredibly arrogant.  She took things off my desk and kept them for herself quite often because she was used to that.  Every time she did something good she expected a reward of some sort.  On her birthday she went into my desk and grabbed some candy.  She said I "owed it to her" because it was her birthday.  I told her "Put it back.  I owe you nothing other than an education and the right to feel safe in my classroom.  That' it.  The world does not revolve around you or anyone else in this class.  Thinking the world owes you will only lead to failure in today's world.  Rewards only come to those who work hard and I haven't seen you ever do anything worthy of a reward in my class.  I'm not telling you this because I hate you, but because I love everyone in this classroom.  I don't want you to end up failures in life and I want you ready for the world.  I want to read in the paper about how you made a success out of yourself and are a productive part of our society.  I became a teacher because I want you to be the best, not so you can scrounge around for scraps and think the world owes you.  Many in our country and history have done much to make sure you can have a happy, safe, and successful life.  If anything, you owe them and owe it to yourself to stop acting like you are owed anything from those around you."  

I got in trouble for saying that, until the students stuck up from me.  That class was the most vile, immature, and insensitive group of kids I ever had... until that day.  They turned around and became one of the most productive and loving classrooms ever.  That was my last year teaching, and it was the class that missed me the most and the class I missed the most.  

As far as race, I understand.  I refer to black people as black people.  When they get offended I tell them to get over it.  Just cuz you're black doesn't mean you're an African-American.  Not all black people are from Africa so I'm not going to call them that.  

Sometimes I wonder if we're the generation of denial.

Answer 9

Its PC gone mad !!

Answer 10

We are a nation of SNOBS!

Words that were once terms of endearment, simply descriptive and derivtitives of latin (negra) have been skewed beyond their original meanings by the hypersensitive.

It's no wonder a great deal of the world has little or no respect for the US. We do our best to change other cultures to our way of thinking, our diet and our sensitivity.

Please, open your children's eyes and when something appalls you, explain to your children that everybody doesn't live the way you do.

Tolerence isn't taught, it is learned by example.

Answer 11

people are hoping for compensation. when they don't get any, they will simmer down. but it's the age of lawsuits.

Answer 12

Well first off let me start by saying I agree with you 100% and then some. People in this country have had a tough time trying to cope with themselves recently. However this didn't start recently. It all started (mostly at least) after 9/11. After that, people began being separated into 2 areas. The strong willed that want nothing better than to help the fellow American, and the scared types that began taking offense to anything that was even closely closely related to them. This is where your great great great grandpas theory comes into play. After the towers fell and the smoke cleared everyone got cautious and almost went into hiding from everyone. Thats how bad it got. Small towns had more socializing that large ones. It got bad. In addition to this, and a as a direct affect because of it, parents got very protective of their children and who they were hanging out with. Although this lasted for only a few years after. Mothers are still very protective. Which is fine. However, society as a whole was shifting in fellowship. The whole Arab finger pointing began on airplanes, and then the government gave way. Setting up the NAS (National Alert System). Those colored warnings you always see. After that America changed. The public as a whole got much more alert in the way of language and over all tone of the fellow person. Almost robotic to be safely speaking to someone. Very bad. This lead to people having to control their emotions for others because we're a society of fellowship. When something happens, be it on CNN, or down the street, we can't help it but form an instant view or opinion on it. When that happens, and someone tells another, the gossip ring starts like wildfire. Even if its not right, or they don't have the right story, it keeps going. The closed mindedness is by-product of that "fear". Things like religion, weight, even hair color, can be an uneasy topic best left to someone you actually know. I agree though it has become ridiculous. And children need to have an open mind about things that aren't worth worrying about, that their parents are forcing them to believe something that they think will help them in the real world. Parents should be parents, not judges and lawmakers. Or if they are, then up to a healthy age and point in the child's life. In other words, build the road for them, don't drive their car for them. Just fuel that car with the right trust and intellect and everything will be fine. So we need to loosen up quite a bit. Most smart Americans have gotten past 9/11 national caution and are fine now. Personal attacks won't ever change from someone to someone else. However, that happens because of the person doing the name calling, either isn't mature enough to understand that it's childish, or they look drastically different (in shape persona calling an overweight person fat for example) That is something that won't go away. Or at least not for another 100 years or so. But in all actuality, it isn't that bad. There doesn't need to be a another massive shift or event to make us all Utopian or something. People just need to enjoy their lives and realize that petty things like name calling are even childish for grade school kids. However a big part of that is obviously understanding. Once the understanding is in place. Changes can be made. Simple as that.

And by the way. I don't offended when a black person calls me or a white person I know a cracker. It's a tasty treat. I don't care.  People just need to loosen up and take things less seriously.

Answer 13

Definitely. I saw on the news a while back that the first season of  Sesame Street, which was aired in 1969, would have been deemed inappropriate for today's kids. The reasons?

. The count was often seen with a cigar in his mouth

. Ernie and Bert were seen taking a bath together

. Cookies should be an "occasional treat" (referring to the Cookie Monster)

It's ridiculous! I watched Sesame Street as a child, and I remember it as only a positive show.

This just goes to show how OVERLY SENSITIZED the parents today are. They don't want anyone or anything to touch their precious little children.

Answer 14

this is an American trend. In Europe we dont get offended so easily although such labels exist. I think it has to do with the 'ill sue you!' craze in the states.