Aaaaaargh!! I can't stand it anymore!!

[Karin M Fichtner]

I think I'm going to completely lose it if I hear one more example of "political correctness" that make no sense whatsoever!!  Real estate brokers here in the DC area are now referring to the "master bedroom" as the "Owner's bedroom"......for fear of offending someone with a Master/Slave connotation.  Can you believe thatI

Ok....first of all.....this has absolutely NOTHING to do with politics.  It has to do with people.....and when they're going to grow up.  If I hear the word "offended" one more time, I'm going to climb on my roof and scream.  Who.......in this world......at this stage in his/her life....no matter how old you are......has not been "offended"??  I've been offended by teachers....classmates....parents/family members........neighbors......coworkers......things I have observed on tv and in movies......read in books......and guess what?   I'm still here.....whole, undamaged and still standing.  Are we getting so super sensitive nowadays that we can't stand to get our itsy-bitsy feelings hurt?  I've been bullied and picked on......looked down on.....disrespected......and it made me stand a little taller.....gave me "backbone", as my mother used to call it.  Besides.....what offends one person doesn't necessarily offend another.....so how the heck are you supposed to know who's going to be offended and who's not?  If you found a joke really funny, and you tell it at a party......what are the odds somebody in the room is going to take that joke the wrong way and get his/her nose out of joint?  Are we supposed to take a survey in advance of everyone in attendance so that we know what we can and cannot say beforehand? 

Now....I'm not defending the loudmouth sarcastic idiot you work with who just can't say a word without belittling someone for some reason or another.  We all know people like that.  But what do we do with him......now that I mentioned it?  Sue him??  Fire him??  Unless he's a salesman who is constantly pissing off perspective customers, or insulting upper management.....you really don't have grounds.  (sexual harassment not included)  Everyone has known or lives near (or, God forbid, is related to) someone like that.  Just a real jerk.  Ok.  Leave him alone.  Don't associate with him.  If you see him coming, go the other way.  If he's on your radio or tv......well, that's what the remote is for.....turn the channel.  If he writes a column in your newspaper.....don't read it.  If it is an issue in a group or organization.....PTA, BSA, what have you......bring it up with him/her and discuss it.  Ask him/her to be more polite when addressing the group, or you'll have to ask him/her not to attend any more meetings.  But to sue.....organize protests......force changes in the way other people live their lives or speak their mind......that I find juvenile.  If a person is speaking to you and he says something rude and insulting, tell him so.  If he's decent, he'll apologize.  If not.....walk away.  He's not worth it. 

We are trying to create a world where we are tripping through the daisies, the sun is shining, and all is wonderful.  We are always happy, and no one ever does anything to upset anyone.  Who are we kidding??  People are going to piss you off.  Live with it.  People are going to be "insensitive".  Get over it.  Learn to rise above it and teach your children to do the same.  Life isn't a rose garden.  And even a rose garden has its thorns.  You have to "man up" and get on with your life. 

Ok.  I said my piece.  You can attack me now.  I'm sure I offended someone. 

[Wayne Goodwin]

Welcome to my world . I'm not offended to anything you said . But i understand where ya coming from . Until i got out of the work environment and not getting out much . I feel free . It wasn't that way before , it was hell being put down all the time . It seemed that i couldn't get anything right to suet them . I am offended when i read something in the paper that may effect me and others in our living and struggle to have enough money to live on in an ever rising prices ...

[Karin M Fichtner]

Sure, Wayne.....my point precisely.  You're offended......but life goes on.  We don't have the power to create a world where no one's ever offended.  That's a Utopia we will never have. 

[Wayne Goodwin]

Yes I'm offended but not by You ...You are stating the facts as they are in our world ...

[Lifesighs]

I never understood where all this is coming from anyway. The only part I would like to emphasize is that words do have power when it comes to children, I really hate to see kids talked to as if they were worthless possessions. 

I also don't like the racial stuff but please don't go back and change the classic books, those things were said in those days.

I don't care if someone calls me a broad or a lady or mam or girl but if you refer to me as a vagina you'll be sorry.

the owner's bedroom thing is stupid.

[Shadowman]

The Owner designation may have to do with changes in demographics. I don't know the exact percentages but now more than ever more homes and as a result bedrooms belong to the mistress as more and more people live alone or have women as the head of household. And I'm guessing more and more of the real estate market is female compared to 30-40 years back when it was rare news for a woman to be able to get a home loan on her own. The Real Estate Associations may have had one of those focus groups at one of their conventions. And in that some timeframe the role of same sex marriages has grown. I don't know what two married women or for that matter guys call their bedroom. I will leave that to more intrepid Dramadites to research.

Master can mean many things:  http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=master

[blithe spirit]

Had no idea about the master/slave connotation...seems those realtors are kinda behind the times if they are trying not to offend black people. They've been buying houses for years and years. I actually thought maybe they were trying to be a little more with it since many more women are buying houses without men these days... live and learn.

I call my private rooms a boudoir and an ensuite bath... French connotations are nice I think...sound so intimate and cozy.

 I think sometimes the anonymity of the internet and not knowing the person can give some folks the license to be rude and crude and deliberately ignorant. I can't imagine anyone speaking to people in person the way some do on the internet. Even though I am not out to offend,  I have found a sincere apology goes a long way towards ruffling sensitive feathers. 

[frenchy]

whats wrong with callin a bedroom a master bedroom anyway ?? i always call it that .. especially when i bring a date over and tie her up .. 

[P.A.]

I agree with Perry.

[Lilrain]

I agree!

[Kim]

OMG, Karin, you have GOT to be kidding!! What is going to happen to a baby born "today" in 25 years when he/she is living fully in the adult world and someone "disrespects" them in the tiniest way?! I am on Facebook and I have a "friend" who is frankly a pain in the a$$. She is  friend's sister I grew up with and well...back when I "friended" her she DID warn me that she was very radical on her ideas..political, religious and otherwise. I "keep" her because first of all, I LIKE hearing how the OTHER side thinks and SOME of her assinine craziness occassionally makes sense.  Her "LATEST" rant was that her daughter would "HAVE TO" attend a sort of 21st century "etiquette" class...basically a class teaching kids how to treat other kids, not to bully, being respectful, how to handle conflict, etc. I NEVER heard of it but I thought it wasnt a bad idea for kids who seem to be totally INTO themselves these days. I asked her WHY she was so outraged at this (and yes, she was ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGED!!) and SHE said she was afraid the teachers may impose some of their "beliefs" on her "kid". I argued that doing the right thing should be EVERYONE'S BELIEF....am I WRONG?

And OH yeah....by the way, I say MAILMAN, POLICEMAN,  FIREMAN.... and if I need to describe him, I am NOT gonna say, HE was a height deprived, hairless, African American. I'm gonna say he was a short, bald, Black guy!! SO SUE ME!!!

[frenchy]

nahh.. we don't get offended around here .. not to worry ..