Sometimes people are intentionally malicious. They say awful things and other people get offended; those people have every right to be.
Other times, people are kind and say or do something completely ordinary that offends other people. The first time my brother made scrambled eggs for me (I used to be the one to cook), I added some black pepper.
My brother did a great job with the eggs, but I liked the food a little spicier than he did. The pepper was just for my own taste; it had nothing to do with his cooking skills. However, he got offended, thinking I was commenting on his lack of proper seasoning skills.
Redditors have faced similar situations, in which they did or said something completely inoffensive, but the people they were with got offended anyway. As per the norm with Reddit, some of their stories elicit an “Are you kidding me?” reaction!
It all started when Redditor Givemeanameb*tch asked:
“What is the most inoffensive thing you’ve seen someone get offended by?”
Seriously?
"My 7 month old was wearing a shirt that had a rocket ship and the ‘NASA’ logo and some middle aged woman in the shop said “he shouldn’t be wearing that because he’s clearly not an astronaut”"
"I was dumbfounded."
– ubbidubbi55
"That’s when you pretend to be offended that this lady thinks your baby couldn’t possibly be an astronaut. She doesn’t know him, she doesn’t know his qualifications."
– Deleted User
Poor Kid!
"I still remember in kindergarten when my friend and I were reading all the colors out loud on one of those crayola super packs. I got straight up yelled at and sent to the principal's office for saying "orange pizzazz" because the teacher said I called someone a "p*ss a**" and would not listen despite having the crayon as evidence."
"After a 30min scolding and waiting for my mom to leave work to pick me up for my suspension, she came in all apologetic. When I explained to her the whole situation, not the school's side, Ma went apesh*t. I'd heard her say "sh*t" once, that's the only swear I ever heard from her, and we had just been rear-ended in traffic."
"I got un-suspended on the spot, but she pulled me out of school for the day anyway. We had a lovely day and she explained very well how I shouldn't swear like that unless absolutely necessary and I've exhausted all civility. "When being civil simply isn't working, sometimes you might have to call someone a p*ssa**.""
"The next day at school, I learned that I now had the stigma of being the kid who got the crayola super pack taken away :("
– BlottomanTurk
"That is ridiculous to punish such a young child so harshly, even if you had actually said "p*ssa**". And to take away the whole pack of crayons? Jesus, just take out orange pizzazz."
"Reminds me of the time a babysitter misheard me say "Santa Claus is a peanut" (don't ask) and yelled at me for calling Santa a p*nis. I was 5 and it made me cry."
– H0lyThr0wawayBatman
Privacy, Anyone?
"A surprising amount of people get very offended when you tell them they can’t sit and stare at your v*gina while you give birth"
– chewquietly
"My mother took a damn picture of my child coming out of my v*gina with her head up to her chin sticking out and sent it around to family and then wonders why I'm so upset with her because "it is the miracle of birth and it's beautiful.""
– Thatdeathlessdeath
Mind Your Own Business!
"Using a walking stick. I was in a car accident a few years ago and it f*cked my leg up. Since then i've been using a walking stick. I was walking to shop (pre-pandemic) and an old bloke gave me the dirtiest look i've ever seen."
""What do you need a cane for? you're only a kid...""
"He actually got quite pi*sy just seeing me using a stick. Like, my dude, i'm just out trying to buy some milk, i don't need your sh*t today. (i didn't say that out loud, i just said it to myself after i got home)"
– Ace-Of-Shovels
Um...Isn't That Normal?
"Maybe 22 years ago, I had a phone interview with a baking company. I didn’t care to have my peers know what I was up to so I took the call on my cell phone in my car. The call was crystal clear and no technical issues."
"At one point, they had mentioned the weather and asked how it was where I was. I told him that I was sitting in my car and I could see that it was actively snowing and what not. The interviewer asked me, “are you taking this call on a cell phone?”
I told him I was. Then he asked me if I thought that was appropriate. I asked him what he meant by that. He said he thought it was kind of rude to take a formal call on a cell phone."
"I told him I would be more than happy to conclude the interview if talking on a cell phone was an issue. If he was interested, I’d be happy to continue it the next day when I’d be at a desk. He again repeated how rude he thought it was that I had called from a cell phone and that there was no need to continue the interview process. I disagreed with the first point but did agree with the second."
"To this day, I wonder what the hell he was talking about and where he was coming from."
– Deleted User
"Wow, way to stamp "I am an aging worker who refuses to keep up with technology" on his forehead."
"Only thing I can guess is the possibility of a dropped call, but like you said - it was completely clear."
– Terpsichorean_Wombat
"Probably just got over the fact that telephones exist, and wasn't ready to accept the fact that mobile phones aren't a thing made by the devil"
– vmangamer64
Well That's...Disturbing
"We used an app at work called Bonfyre. One person refused to use it because bonfires are for witchcraft and pagans."
– dixiedoo48
"Or for, you know, people who are camping. I don't think all campers are pagans but I could be wrong"
– Givemeanameb*tch
Meow?
"I was at the vet with my cat and he sneezed. This was apperently very offensive to an elder woman (she was there with a corgi) and she started screaming at me for about 30 minutes about pet hygiene."
– Deleted User
""Sorry, I've been trying to teach him to sneeze into his hanky but you know how cats are.""
– elegant_pun
Beggars Can't Be Choosers
"At school someone didn’t have a calculator and asked if anyone had one they could borrow. Someone offered them a pink calculator and they refused saying that they were offended they’d try and give them something girly."
– HeWhoEatsBaens
Expand Your Vocabulary
"I once listened to my boss try to lecture the Fire Marshall because he was talking about something being flame retardant (her reasoning was you should just call it fireproof because retardant was an awful word.). It was one of those times where I really should have tried to stop her but instead I just stood off to the side probably making a surprised pikachu face."
– AbortRetryImplode
"I got an angry call from a client at the vet hospital I used to work at. She was angry that the doctor had written in her dog’s chart something along the lines of “chemotherapy has retarded the growth of the tumor”. She was deeply offended that the vet called her dog retarded."
– wine_n_mrbean
You Can't OWN Tragedy
"Someone posted a video about 9/11 and someone commented “Please take this down .... your not from New York. YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND THIS PAIN.” she said this as if only people from New York were in the “World Trade Center.""
– cringe_queen10
"as someone who was born post 9/11 and is from the NYC area, this mentality is very common. We were taught that 9/11 was “our” tragedy and people who weren’t from the area would never understand how it affected us. A lot of people romanticize the idea of being so close to the tragedy."
– Deleted User
Yikes!
"When I was a child, my mum paid for something with a cheque. The cashier remarked that my mum had nice hand writing My mum flew off the handle, and we had to storm out of the shop in outrage. To this day, I have no idea what happened."
– mozgw4
"I will not be able to sleep tonight until I know what this is about."
– CombOverDownThere
I Mean, Come On!
"Someone once got offended because I used the word black in conversation.....I was talking about an article of clothing/the color black. They tried to make in to something about race, and that I shouldn't use the term black anymore, and should say African American, I said that makes no sense I'm literally talking about the color black, am I supposed to say I'm wearing an African American colored shirt?! Maybe I'm crazy but I think that's actually offensive lol"
– ShrimpSandwichYYC
"Don't worry, I myself have African-American eyes"
– ABcedary
The Nerve!
"One time someone got offended when I put on my seatbelt, thought I was commenting on her ability to drive."
– SnooPaintings2137
"Same thing happened to me, the uber driver said “Do you wear your seatbelt when you’re with your dad?” I said “Yes”"
– EMPlRES
"How dare you want to survive should someone else drive into you irrespective of her driving ability"
– SwordTaster
Abiding by the law. How completely insulting!
Do you have any experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
