Opinion vs. Fact... I cannot change facts to avoid offending someone; why is society to sensitive?

Question

Why is it that the answers that contain nothing but facts offend people more than the answers containing opinions? Not just in my answers, but other answers as well. Same is true in everyday conversation. When did reality become taboo?

Andrew - You don't really need to inform me that my question is an opinion. If I wasn't aware of that I wouldn't have posted it as a question. I want other people's opinions. And yeah, I agree with you that the way it is said is just as important as what is said.

Answer 1

the odd thing is this: the more rationally and calmly reasoned the facts are presented, the angrier the offended party becomes. i don't know if they perceive an intelligent, informed opinionated person as 'smug' and that's where the resentment lies, but the quickest way to anger someone is to (correctly) point out the flaws in their 'opinions', and patch them with corrected 'facts'.

come to think of it, i guess that's EXACTLY why they get offended. be careful.

Answer 2

I agree with you - it does seem that reality has become taboo to a lot of people. Sometimes the medicine is bitter and hard to swallow - but, in my opinion - it's still right to give people the medicine. A fact is a undeniable and should be used to generate a good opinion.

A lot of people ask questions with the intention that they want to hear a certain answer, some kind of answer to placate them or soothe them.

But I guess if we are going to give people the honest answer that might be painful, then we should try to be polite if we can. I know that oftentimes some of my answers have been a bit edgy or annoyed-sounding, and sometimes that turns off the asker right away. So I guess I would say a calm but still honest answer would be best. And the facts shouldn't offend anybody - instead it should make them satisfied to know the truth about it.

Answer 3

There *is* a very unusual sensitivity in society today.

There seems to be a hyper-complex etiquette in operation now, so that if you are not up on it, you may inadvertently offend someone, even if what you said was quite innocent.


You could unknowingly be offending rules of speech, behaviour and other things.

It is not that you have done anything wrong, but what you have done is violate a construct that is highly arbitrary in nature, as if it were designed as a form of social control by someone.


When this is the case, there is no longer any real freedom in society, as expressions of authentic personality are quashed, as say legitimate humour could be construed as inappropriate behaviour when that is in fact not the case, or if there is a hyper sense of order in play, you could give offence by not putting something exactly back in the right place, when such inexactness or approximation would be seen as understandably human in any normal context.




.

Answer 4

Well I have been on Yahoo Answers over a year, and the one thing I have learned and seen to be true is, that when an asker asks a question, they are more or less looking for someone to agree with them 100%...
They want to be confirmed that their way of thinking is right in another's eyes...
I have lost many best answer awards where I tell the truth cause I do not agree with the asker...
Then ironically if I do agree with what is said, I seem to "win"...
Now I don't care about the points myself as being on level 7 is as far as I can go anyway so that is immaterial...
I only notice that unless you agree with the info in the askers question, you don't get selected as best answer...

Answer 5

Society is very sensitive. Ask any of the people whose careers have been ruined because of a word. Like Michael Richards or Mel Gibson or Isiah Washington. I'm not defending what they said, I just know they would have got away with saying them 20 years ago. Now, words are bombs, words are becoming letters (the "n" word, the "l" word), and everyone is self-censoring because to do otherwise is social and possibly career suicide. That is just the way it is right now. Censorship is pervasive, whether we recognize it or not. That's fine as far as it goes, but I wonder where it's leading.

Answer 6

We have evolved to a place that does not allow for the truth to be used as a learning tool. Truth is now looked on as being insensitive or even cruel at some levels.
We start this with the children. When they play a sport EVERYONE gets an award. What's up with that?.. it certainly is not truthful.. not all are people are good athletes, nor good workers or good people.
Don't use the truth to be mean or hateful, only to help.
Good Question...

Answer 7

I don't know if it is the facts or the way some people present them. Some people are so arrogant and self-rightous when they speak of facts. Everyone sees"fact" with a different light, someone's "fact" is just another person's opinion.

Answer 8

Your last sentence indicates the problem with your understanding of the situation. It does not matter how many things are said, vs what is said. If what you said were true, then many scientists would be discounted in what they said, because the bluntly or crudely said it. You can beat people down with the truth, but however it is delivered, the truth is always important irrespective of delivery.

Answer 9

In one of my high school classes one of my teachers taught us to state a lot of facts as opinions because if your fact doesn't go with someone's opinion, it puts them on the defensive. It's best just to state most things as opinion and then it stays open for people to state what they believe and then you can help them understand your view. It's a more open way to say "you're wrong and let me tell you why" haha. It's more communication friendly to state things as opinion. Peace.

Answer 10

People like to believe in their opinions more than others. Some people are afraid of the truth, so they'll stick to what they WANT to believe rather than what is actually true.