Sorry!

I'm really tired of people having to apologize. It's not that I think people are saying bad things too often, I could care less what people say, publicly or otherwise. It is that we live in a free country and therefore, people have a right to say what they want, publicly or otherwise. That is what freedom of speech is all about. So...should someone call for an apology when they've been offended? Absolutely, why not. If something offends you, you have the right to say you've been offended. However, you do not have the right to EXPECT an apology. People in the public eye generally will apologize for whatever perceived slight they've made to whatever community claims offense. I don't buy this. Do you really think people are "sorry" or that they are just saying they're sorry because they don't want to lose dollars through some sort of protest or boycott? Hmm... No, all these public apologies are as empty as the public organizations calling for them. For instance, if someone offends a group, do you ever hear people from that group come forward in mass and say "we are offended"? No, you don't. Some public organization comes out and says so and so must apologize. I'd actually be impressed enough to think an apology is necessary if an entire community did come out on something, but they don't. I don't actually think so and so must apologize anyway. They said something, perhaps offensive, but last time I checked freedom of speech meant that we are able to shout at the top of our lungs that which our neighbor would shout at the top of their lungs against. The ability to stand there and take it and then get up and make a good counter argument is what freedom of speech is about. Listening to a statement or an argument and then screaming that you are offended and the other must apologize isn't freedom of speech, it is oppression of speech. Don't believe me? Try this scenario: A man stands up and says that he thinks a woman's place is in the kitchen. He comes off as a pretty offensive bigot and today people would recognize that. However, instead of the next man/woman getting up and saying that this is not true because ...(myriad of reasons why it isn't), we tend to just shout that it was offensive and he needs to apologize. So, his opinion is suppressed while another opinion is upheld, but it is upheld without any thought or discussion, which isn't how freedom of speech works. Freedom of speech works because the ideas that are clearly false get weeded out by people who see them as clearly false through discussion and argument rather than through the claim that someone is offended. I can choose to take offense at something virtually every day of my life, yet I CHOOSE not to take offense because I can see the ignorance of the person. So, instead of shouting for an apology with the insistance that someone has been offensive or insensitive or any number of negative words used to shut people down, just point out that the statement is obviously flawed because ... and GET OVER IT. If you live long enough, you'll be offended, that's the nature of things. If you are never offended, then perhaps you've managed to freely associate with only like minded persons. That's your choice, but I think you are missing out.