if you find something offensive, do you tend to?

Question

lash back in reaction and try to re-offend the souce of your defensiveness, or are you able to control yourself and respond with an open mind and clarity?

Answer 1

Being petty is not an option, in my opinion. I don't like being offended, but neither does anyone else, and I try to treat others like I would want to be treated. . .(golden rule plug!)

I like to have an open mind.

Answer 2

I prefer my spiritual mind to be a sponge. I take in all the information, retaining some, and letting the other drip out. I draw my conclusions after soaking in the information given to me. I consider myself a very perceptive person. My spirituality is also very perceptive. I am omnidenominational. In other words, my religion is all encompassing. I will gladly express my opinions, but I don't expect anyone to adopt them. I believe everyone has to find their own opinion, otherwise it isn't really a true belief, just something adopted.
To get back to the question, if I find something totally offensive, like satanism, I probably would either express my concern in aligning yourself with such a negative energy force, or not respond. Since I don't expect others to adopt my beliefs, I don't like being expected to adopt someone else's beliefs. However, if I was in a situation where someone was trying to impose them, I would probably respectfully decline.

Answer 3

I keep an open mind and answer with honesty. I think there is a way to disagree without being offensive or rude to the person asking a question that has different views.

Then again, if I find it personally offensive, most likely I won't even validate you with an answer...kind of like- if you don't like what you see on tv, you turn it off or change the channel. :) Some times it's best to keep silent.

Answer 4

I control myself, of course. And if something really offends me, I often just choose to walk away from it (or change the channel, leave the meeting, or do whatever other appropriate action needs to be taken). Standing there and whining about it accomplishes nothing. Or, if the opportunity presents itself, I could also offer a calm, rational and well-prepared rebuttal to the offending party.

Answer 5

I use to feel that I was defeated if I couldn't offend back. But I could never offend as well as the offensive. But I eventually found that acting like you are totally unfazed is what has the biggest affect.

Answer 6

I listen in disbelief, and simply decide whether it is worth the effort to respond. Often times when someone is trying to be offensive, they are not open-minded enough to listen to your point of view without accusing you of being "hateful" or "unchristian"---it is all just to incite argument. I often just keep my words to myself, and save them for more productive communication.

Answer 7

Depends on my mood. In my most beautiful of moments I can remain calm and handle the situation with poise and grace, but I have had my moments when I just reacted to quickly and I do regret that.

Answer 8

Depends on the nature of the offensiveness......I will react quite differently to tripping over a dead body then if somebody called me a name I didn't like.

Answer 9

I respond with open-mindedness and clarity, because I have no irrational belief to fervently defend.

Answer 10

I try to be open minded but I'm not perfect and I fail at times.