I am offended ! It seems that now a days EVERYONE needs to be offended by something or you are not normal. (Normal being a very relative term.). I am offended that everyone is offended. It's a crazy crazy world we are living in.
I would like suggest that all of you people out there who are offended each and every day by the slightest things spend a week with my family. THAT would REALLY give you something to get your panties in a twist. You think you know what offensive behavior is ? HA !!!! You haven't lived in my world.
I grew up with a German immigrant grand father living in my house and he ruled the roost with an iron fist. His daughter, my mother, did not fall far from the Weiner Schnitzel tree. My mother knew who was in charge and God help you if you forgot that person was her. Not only was she a strict disciplinarian but when she spoke she had NO filters. (In case you're not familiar with "filters", that is the little voice inside your head that stops you from saying cruel or stupid things at inappropriate times.) I never knew what would come out of my mother's mouth when we were with people. She would say things like, "OH, You're not as fat as you used to be." (That was my all time favorite because it was said often.) or if it was raining out she might say, "Go on out, with your sour personality you won't melt." ( A take off from "go out in the rain, you're not made of sugar so you won't melt"). These offensive comments were made often and without malice. It was just how she spoke and everyone who knew her gave her a pass when she would say something like that.
Sadly this trait of speaking without thinking has taken root in most of my mother's family. The Helfrich side of the family hosts many a non-thinking but well meaning person. First and foremost of these is my oldest cousin who tells me that my intelligent and beautiful daughter must take after her father because she certainly doesn't take after me. (A direct quote and in complete seriousness.)
If I were an easily offended person, as it seems we are nurturing in our current society, I might never speak to the rest of my mothers family EVER again. But because I have had years and years of practice in developing a very thick skin, I just shake my head and write a blog about them. They are an endless source of entertainment.
Going along with all of this I would like to comment on the highly offensive questions that are now evident on every single form that you fill out when going to do anything medical. You know what I'm referring to . . . Go into any doctors office and you are asked to fill out a stack of papers asking about your medical history back to the day you were born. (Why does the podiatrist need to know what my maternal grandmother died from?) But before you get to all those medical history questions you have to fill out the page asking for your personal information. Name, address, phone number(s), e-mail address, insurance information, social security number etc. And then down at the end of that page are the questions asking about your race . . . "circle one" . . . African American, white, Hispanic, other . Other ??? As in Indian from India? Asian ? South American ? Central American ? Mid Eastern ? South Eastern. West Eastern ? North Eastern ? East South West North Eastern ????? REALLY ???? Why in God's name does any of this make any difference in how you're going to remove a mole from my butt ?????????
But it gets even better. The next line asks for your Ethnicity ?? And this is a joke because the two choices here are . . . Hispanic or Latino OR non Hispanic or Latino . . . WTF ????? It should ask "are you alive or not alive". But I guess it isn't necessary to ask that last question because if you are filling out these forms on your computer the VERY LAST question you need to answer is . . . (check the box)
I AM NOT A ROBOT
So after all this all I have to say is "Get over yourselves people ! Stop looking for things to be offended by and start being nice to others so you don't offend them !"
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