The tyranny of the perpetually offended ...

Every day there’s something new. 

The list of offensive objects, words, actions, or whatever keeps growing. Not because these are truly offensive to most people, but because some people have decided these upset them.

They can walk past a statue or building that’s been there more than 100 years and suddenly get the vapors.  They go to pieces because their college mascot is a cowboy. They have to run and hide because someone has a flag on their truck. They’re terrified by license plates and state flags from certain places.  They prevent “dangerous” speakers and comedians from performing, because what they might say might be hurtful to someone. 

They’re even trying to get rid of gender-specific pronouns and certain words because these might cause some people to feel uncomfortable. 

These self-appointed arbiters of what’s acceptable and what isn’t want everything they find offensive banned, or at least hidden from view.  It’s not enough that they no longer have to see or hear what offends them; no, they want to prevent everyone else from seeing or hearing anything they’ve decided is offensive to them or someone else.

They’ve become tyrants. And they enjoy their power. So they keep expanding their list of forbidden objects, words, actions and anything else they don’t like.  Because they can.  And because it makes them feel special and in control of everything.  And part of something bigger. 

The perpetually offended mob. 

They are now always offended by something.  Could be anything. They claim to suffer grievous psychological harm, and sometimes physical harm, merely by seeing or hearing something offensive.  They want to ban everything they don’t like to “protect” themselves.  

Just who are these modern-day censors?

They’re part of the “woke” generation.  The “woke” claim they’ve awakened to the “real” reality all around them.  They can now see things more clearly – widespread racial injustice, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, whatever – that’s been there all along but ignored by others. 

In short, they claim to see things we can’t.  They have a heightened awareness of the clues we might overlook that belie a pervasive problem. They are so sensitive that when they see these clues, it can trigger an immediate visceral response in them, making them fearful and panic-stricken and helpless in the face of such danger.

Which sounds suspiciously like schizophrenia, psychosis, and neurotic behavior to many of us. But to them, it’s what makes them “woke.” And they are proud of their new-found ability as seers of hidden messages and hidden plots most of us dismiss as absurd nonsense.    

I think all this stuff about “triggers” and “hidden” meanings is a load of crap. I think it’s all made up by the perpetrators to carve out special attention for themselves. Everybody wants to be a victim these days; it’s the new high honor to find something – anything – that offends them. 

I’m not denying that racial injustice, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia and other *.phobias exist, but not everything is proof that these are widespread. Nor that they are a danger to everyone.  There will always be jerks and bigots among us – yes, and even white supremacists – yet they are such a miniscule part of our population they are irrelevant. 

They are about as dangerous as a barking wiener dog. Annoying, sure; dangerous, no. 

Moreover, the things that set off these “woke” people are incredibly trivial, and often downright laughable – which they would realize if they had any sense of humor.  Which they clearly don’t. More’s the pity. Because some of their “triggers” are hilarious.

Recently the Betsy Ross flag – the original flag of our country – was designated as a “trigger’ and a symbol of racial injustice. Huh? Well it seems some white supremacist groups have been flying that flag, so, by association, it’s now a white supremacist symbol.  It’s such a powerful symbol of hate that Colin Kaepernick convinced Nike to cancel the launch of a Fourth of July sneaker with that flag on it because it represented racism. That’s the power of the perpetually offended.  

Hats are now triggers for the “woke,” too. MAGA hats set them off, because Trump supporters wear them. Trump is the “woke” generation’s personal bogeyman, antichrist, Hitler, whatever. 

Recently I read that some actress asked everyone to stop wearing any red hats, any, because these make people like her uncomfortable. That’s because MAGA hats are often red. I expect some of the “woke” eventually to demand a ban on the color red for the same reason. 

They are so, so serious about everything, to the point of distraction.  It must be exhausting to be them, because they’re so invested in always being angry, miserable, and fearful.

But they seem to enjoy it.  Go figure. 

I wonder: Do they ever laugh at anything?  I’m asking that sincerely.

I don’t think they do. I guess they’re not “woke” enough to see how silly they are.

Right now we just have to put up with these preening, whiney pussies who pee themselves and crap their pants whenever they see or hear something they don’t like.

Oops. I suddenly realized I’ve probably offended women, the transgendered, metrosexual males, the hearing and visually enabled, the incontinent, and God knows who else. 

Tough shit.  I suppose that was offensive, too, perhaps to the constipated.

Get over it.  I wish they would start acting like adults and grow a pair.

Well, there I go again …