These days, the excuse "freedom of speech" is thrown around very loosely. People seem to be offended that they're offending others by, y'know, being offensive. Now, I'm not talking about cultural appropriation (though, to an extent I do agree that people take some things too far), or extremely minute topics that somehow stir up the masses, but rather topics of conversation and language that actually do and have caused harm.
It's a little ironic that, as I stated before, some people who claim their right to freedom of speech are often only doing so because they are so offended that someone disagrees with them that they must belittle the disagreeing party into submission.
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I want to clarify yet again that the category to whom I am referring are people who make offensive jokes and comments toward a group of people for any differing or sensitive aspect. Whether the topics are racial, religious, spreading rape culture, or blatantly making fun of people's physical and/or mental disabilities, it will never be "okay" to "just joke" about; these "jokes" create cultures and stigmas against communities that are often already struggling to feel accepted.
In my opinion, those who choose to dehumanize another portion of the human race for whatever reason do not get the privilege of claiming "freedom of speech" and crying out that it's "just an opinion, stop being so offended!" But, of course, that's just my opinion.
As an open minded person, I like to think that I will always listen to both sides of a story and form my beliefs from combining and analyzing what I see or hear. However, as soon as someone mentions that they believe the shooting in Orlando was God's message to the LGBTQ* community, and that they got what was coming to them, I have no reason to respect what they say. When someone goes off about how rape culture isn't real and that women need to stop being such crybabies, or even that someone (male or female) deserved the mistreatment, I have no reason to respect what they say.
As soon as an opinion or belief disrupts the life of another human being, I am not required to respect that opinion. Nor am I required to sit back and be quiet simply in order to keep your pride and ego in check. I will never respect an opinion that endangers lives and the well-being of anyone. I will not laugh at that rape joke, and I will get angry when you tell me it's "just a joke". I will never condone hate speech toward any group of people.
But I will continue to be offended when it is necessary. I will continue to be offended when a woman is raped and the rapist is just seen as a poor kid while the woman is completely and entirely criticized for every little detail. I will continue to be offended when people joke about mental illness and self-injury as though it is something to be mocked. I will continue to be offended when the media turns a legitimate issue into some sort of game.
Everyone has always been and will always be offended by something. It's not new. I agree that it can go too far sometimes, but I also agree that people have a right to their sense of safety. For as long as a group of people are worried for their lives in the land of the free because of their religion, I will continue to be angry.
Go ahead and call me a "cry baby" and make jokes about my generation being so "offended" and "triggered". But honestly, I think it's about time we all took a step back and realized that maybe telling offensive jokes and blatantly being crude and insensitive toward topics that should never be joked about is not right. I am all about freedom of speech, and I am thankful every day that I have the opportunities that I do, but maybe as a people, we should try to realize that in order to gain respect from others, we need to respect them as well.
