Quote:
Originally Posted by Ki
Because I do understand what it means to be hurt by words, but then I also realized how silly it was to be hurt by someone who was just joking about a situation. If they're being serious and are out to hurt me, of course it will leave a thicker mark than a simple innocent joke. If joking about offensive behavior and someone whom i'm not even talking to takes offense, why should I feel obligated to care? I'm not making them listen to me. And yes, it happens in public more frequently than most think. Say you're on the bus and you're talking to your friend and you start making jokes that wouldn't seem offensive and somebody completely far away from you comes up to you and says the jokes are offensive. Of course, i'll stop making those jokes, but i'm not going to be made to feel bad about them prior to that situation.
Just fyi, I never said i'd continue to make the jokes if someone felt offended. If anything, i'll move somewhere else and continue to do so with the person i'm speaking with.
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Ok, but the example you gave was sitting in a break room with people you knew and people you didn't know well. In that context I don't find it acceptable to make a joke that runs the risk of offending someone within earshot. The same goes if you're on public transport or in a coffee shop. I think that we all have a social responsibility as thinking adults to err on the side of caution.
Also you said that you wouldn't feel bad if you're making jokes with a friend that
wouldn't seem offensive that did end up offending someone, but that's a different situation. I'm talking about jokes you know are offensive that you choose to make regardless of who is around to hear them, the situation in which you seemed to take the "that's their problem" approach.