It's not hard to come across someone saying something like "PC culture is stupid," "everyone is a snowflake these days," "don't expect the world to be nice to you," and/or "everyone just sucked it up when their feelings were hurt when I was a kid" while you scroll through social media (or almost any place on the internet for that matter). Any time someone tries to make progress in making the world a better place or voicing their feelings, it's only a matter of time before comments like these start to flare up like a nasty rash.
Do you want to know why it seems like everyone is "offended" all of a sudden? Because times are changing and more people aren't finding racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and ageism to be funny and are having their voices amplified. People of color, people who identify as women, disabled people, members of the LGBTQ community, and older folks exist and for some reason just don't appreciate being made fun of when it comes to your lame "jokes."
"But Abby, you silly snowflake, I AM one of those people mentioned above and I don't mind other people making fun of me because I find it funny too! They should learn how to take a joke!" Congratulations on that, but please step back for a second to remember one crucial detail: many people have thoughts and feelings that differ from yours.
Marginalized people face enough violence, discrimination, and overall cruelty as it is. If you are not part of that group, you are privileged in life. This doesn't mean that your life isn't hard, but it means your life isn't made harder because you are in the minority. To make fun of and belittle their experiences is not the right thing to do.
It's not hard to respect someone's pronouns. It's not hard to learn how to pronounce their name correctly. It's not hard to do some research and see what kind of things they go through. It's not hard to show some basic human decency towards others.
Just because the world can be cruel does not mean you have an excuse to be awful because other people are acting that way. We should be fixing the problems in the world and making it better for the future.
