The Internet is one of those gray areas in life that isn’t really good or bad (or is both simultaneously). On the one hand, people can express their creativity and let their voices be heard. On the other, people hide behind usernames to say mean things and quite honestly, some of the “creativity” produced is downright disturbing. What the Internet allows is the ability to connect with people you may have never met and for dumb things to spread like wildfire across the world wide web -- things like memes, scandals and gossip.
Back in 2013, a meme appeared called “I’m X and I find this offensive.” Born from the ever growing number of people who were voicing what they found offensive (which was basically anything and everything), this meme pokes fun at the typical people on the Internet: The easily offended, too politically correct, never-satisfied people. To this day, you can see variants of this meme littered throughout different social media content, particularly on possibly controversial posts. To be honest, I find this funny at times. I enjoy witty versions of it.
However, I do have a slight problem with it. I know; it’s ironic that I would be offended by a joke that makes fun of offended people. At the same time, while the joke is funny, it has a major flaw: It does not allow for people to ever be upset. It takes away people’s ability to speak out against true injustice because many people on the Internet become angry—you might even say offended—when someone expresses that he or she is offended. Taking offense is a joke now, not something to be taken seriously, regardless of whether the offense is legitimate or not.
I completely understand that people are so easily offended that it is nearly impossible to find something that one person will not find offensive. I understand that a lot of people who are offended tend to be people who almost want to be offended and look specifically for offensive things. I get it. At the same time, there is no safe environment for people to speak up when something truly offensive appears and when people do, they are often heckled or not taken seriously. Look at comments on Facebook posts, YouTube videos, or replies to tweets. People are so good at making things ironic, sarcastic, or cynical that true problems are buried.
When people post about racism, sexism, or any other forms of injustice and oppression, you can be sure to find comments ridiculing people who take the issue seriously (and not all of them are trolls). It’s a shame that the Internet has provided a forum for people’s voices to be heard worldwide and yet, the Internet has also turned into a place where people who do speak out have little impact.
Well, that’s all for now. I hope this didn’t offend you.
