Comments on: Can’t be bothered to be offended

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:35:19 +0000

Thanks, Justin. Glad you enjoyed the post!

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:34:58 +0000

“See your part in solutions…” oh, I like that. I really do. I think that’s the seed of a future post. Thanks, Melissa!

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:34:12 +0000

I like the comparison between the high road (getting past being offended and doing what matters) and the high horse (getting hung up on being indignant).

“On the high road, there’s no room for your high horse.” There’s a nice quotable :)

You’re so right about freeing our minds. So many people don’t realize that, by fixating on how they’ve been wronged, they’re actually chaining themselves down!

By: Justin Dixon

Justin Dixon — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:02:43 +0000

Great post with great points Jefferey. I particularly like the emphasis on asking what we can do rather than focusing on what we can’t, and thus locking our minds into a negative cycle.

By: Melissa Gorzelanczyk

Melissa Gorzelanczyk — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:53:04 +0000

Hi Jeffrey – I’ve been thinking along the same lines lately – see your part in solutions, instead of making it someone else’s problem. Feeling offended happens, but I agree, its not productive.

Have a great day!

By: Sibyl - alternaview

Sibyl - alternaview — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:37:03 +0000

Jeffrey: Great point. It can be easy to fall into the trap of making a career out of being offended and counting all the ways and people who have done things we consider offensive. I think though we have to find a way to continually take the high road and respond accordingly. When we are able to free our minds from focusing on being offended and those other negative things, we really allow ourselves to focus on those things that really matter and are important to us.

By: bilyana

bilyana — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:37:29 +0000

Thank you! I love moments when i feel offended. Delicious presents i.e. opportunities for me to find out what is left of all this self-importance and deal with it, free chances for evolution and freedom from sidetracked ego. One can also use them strategically in dealing with petty tyrants, who assume offenses ‘work’. And then it can even become funny, offenders who can’t offend, that is a funny sight. Mandela’s story, f.ex., is a story about overcoming inside oneself over and over again not only offenses but even death and staying on track. With time his resolve and actions became impeccable and so were his negotiations.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:19:29 +0000

You’re right about righteous indignance and commentary, Jarred. But the problem is (as it is in much of the blogging community) that you can end up with an echo chamber, where everyone’s repeating the same thing but nothing actually gets done. Being righteously indignant isn’t bad in and of itself, it’s when it gets in the way of action that there’s an issue.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:16:58 +0000

I think many of the conflicts (ideological, emotional, and physical) in the world could be resolved much more quickly if people spent their time looking for objectively valid solutions, instead of engaging in posturing and trying to “win” the argument.

If you want to spread the truth, you have to do so by applying it, not just by preaching it – that’s what I believe. :)

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:14:39 +0000

The trap with righteous indignation is that it’s -right-. Many times, you have good reasons to be upset or angry, so it’s easy to hold on to that anger and forget about doing something constructive to rectify the situation.