OK...I've not been on the forum much lately due to other issues, but what happened recently that got everybody's panties in a bunch???
I thought the Paddock was designed for free expression without rules. Now rules are being discussed.
Mark and Tim don't want to baby sit adults... They shouldn't.
In fact I inherently disagree with any effort to be overly restrictive toward the actions of any other person. It is another incremental step that serves to reduce personal freedom and that includes freedom of expression.
And....Guess what...life is not fair. People get their feelings hurt...people in any society where values, lifestyle and background differ substantially... will get offended at some point in their lives. It is part of life. It is not something you can avoid. It is part of being able to observe contrary opinions and viewpoints...and learn to tolerate them. Not to accept them...but tolerate them. It is part of the human maturing process yet there is a substantial and growing portion of society that believe we should not have to deal with any conflicts in our lives . They are the poster children for the "Can't we all just get along" contingent. Life is full of conflict, from personal through international relations and as much as we might not like dealing with it. It is just another of life's challenges. As adults we learn to face it, tolerate it and go on. And when its' over your a better person for having addressed the challenge.
We seem to try so hard to prevent hurt feelings and avoid offending others. It seems as if political correctness has bled us of our true feelings, opinion and beliefs. That's wrong because it places severe restrictions on HONEST expressions of speech. Do you appreciate how dishonest we have become in our speech? We are so selective with our words in an effort not to offend this group or that group or this person... We have lost our ability to communicate using precise, accurate and honest dialog. We communicate today in watered down generalizations that are nothing more than mental Pablum. No expression of beliefs, of commitment to an idea or more importantly to voice opposition when it is not "mainstream".
I really believe we are making our society weaker as a whole by not teaching the younger generations how to deal with and resolve conflict. What results is new generations of Americans who are unwilling to stand up and fight for what they believe...if in fact they have any beliefs at all. More and more people are apathetic to the MANY challenges that face is as individuals and as a country. I think that many become fearful of facing these issues themselves. They rely on politicians to make decisions for them. They rely on law enforcement to protect them. They expect Government to take care of them. Any sense of personal responsibility is lost...all because they want to avoid conflict. "I just don't want to get involved"...
I will grant you that from a perspective of not wanting to be malicious or intentionally demeaning toward another person, good taste and common sense should keep a caring adult of intentionally trying to hurt someone else. However you can be tactful yet firm in defending your position on an issue without resorting to personal attacks and inflammatory rhetoric. However some individuals are thicker skinned than others and what one might consider normal aggressive banter...another person may misconstrue as being personally hurtful. Back to the previous observation... that in life... we all will be offended and hurt. Be an adult and as Don Hendley would say..."Get over it".
K&K