The Right To Be Offended
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Politics and Activism

The Right To Be Offended

On America's laughably thin skin.

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The Right To Be Offended
the1janitor

Conservative icon, film actor and director Clint Eastwood made some very controversial comments when he raced to the defense of Donald Trump during a recent interview with Esquire.

In the interview, he criticized millennials and Democrats alike, calling them a “pussy generation” and nudging for them to “f*cking get over it.” Obviously, many mainstream Democrats took offense to the comments, but the question is whether or not Eastwood’s criticisms are true. Because of recent events, I have to say that I agree with Eastwood’s comments -- but probably in a different way.

I’ve never been a fan of Clint Eastwood, and I would say we’re almost constantly on opposing sides of the political spectrum. That said, sometimes Republicans say true things with wrong motivations.

I agree with Eastwood’s criticisms of the Democratic Party, millennials, and mainstream media in general. Hear me out. We currently live in a time where many stand-up comedians (such as Bill Maher and Chris Rock) will not perform their comedy at college campuses out of fear they will offend somebody. Millennials! Listen up: you have the right to be offended. But they also have the right to freedom of speech, and they can go out and say whatever the hell they want to because of that freedom. Besides, it’s a joke.

We currently live in a backwards world where people are expected to walk on eggshells to protect the feelings of others. While that is a nice gesture, we are not children anymore, and it is time we all start acting like adults. Since when did elementary school rules become law in terms of what someone can or cannot say?

Democrats and Republicans alike tend to be the biggest hypocrites when it comes to this. For example, a proud, Confederate Flag-flying racist conservative could say something extremely racist, and then the regressive left would all condemn him for it (and rightly so). But then they'd go to great lengths to silence him. That is a violation of freedom of speech, and I will rush to protect the freedom of speech of someone I agree with politically as well as someone I hate politically. It is a fundamental right.

In addition, I despise when a white person tells a racist joke at a black person’s expense and the media attacks and slanders that person, but they don’t say anything when Chris Rock tells a racist joke at the expense of white people (for the record, I’m not at all offended by the comedy of Chris Rock, because I know that it is nothing more than a joke). The same goes male and female comedians. If a man makes a joke or sings about the female gender, he is misogynistic and sexist, but when a woman makes a joke or sings bad about the male gender, nobody gives it a second glance. Again, I’m not offended any of this, but so many Americans are. It is extremely sad to see how thin the skin of the American public has become.

So, yes! I agree with Clint Eastwood’s recent comments, though probably for very different reasons. America needs to gain a backbone and just get over it. You have the right to be offended. You also have the right to say whatever you want (as long as you are not advocating for violence). Let’s leave it at that and grow some thicker skin so we can all act like adults.

Peace, love and logic! Have a nice day!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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