Not necessarily. It depends on what you're offended about. Being offended seems to be the butthurt du jour these days. Everybody's offended by everything and most often for no other reason than because it's what everybody's doing. Besides, if we give being offended the due consideration you think we should, then we also have to consider that the shop owners are offended by homosexuality and the idea of gay marriage. Had you even thought about that? If the gays do not give equal consideration to the shop owners for their being offended then the gays' righteous chest beating doesn't mean shit.
No, they were not. Being abusive, by definition, is berating the other person and insulting them. All they did was refuse their business to the couple.
According to the article at Huffpost, the shop owner was quoted as saying to the couple: "I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we’re Christian and we don’t believe in that; our faith doesn’t let us believe in that." After that, the gay couple simply left the shop and nothing else was said between them.
I'm sorry but that doesn't sound like abusiveness to me.
The problem with your sentence "Being offended seems to be the butthurt du jour these days." is you're being offended that people are being offended. Ironic, huh?
There's a difference between being irritated and being offended. Don't confuse the two. I'm not offended by all this, I just think it's stupid.
Yes, some people are offended simply for the sake of being offended, and yes, it's kind of annoying.
Other people are offended, or feign offence, because they want the society they live in to be a BETTER PLACE.
Then again, some people just want society to change to suit their special needs. "I'm twenty five years old and still don't know what gender I am so I am offended that I can't use the ladies' room today and the mens' room tomorrow."
I'd much rather live in a society where everyone gets along, rather than a society where everyone is going around treating each other badly and getting away with it with bullshit excuses like "this is what I believe".
Usually when someone says "believe", you know it's bullshit.
You may be right about that but the thing is, people of faith are not the only ones who say "I believe...".
Yes, the shop owners might be offended by the gay people. That's fine. However they have chosen to be shop owners. They could have chosen not be shop owners.
That's true. But in their eyes, the gay couple could have chosen not to be gay. I don't agree with that myself but it's what they honestly believe.
Well, refusing to serve someone because of how they were born is berating them.
No, it's not. Webster's defines "Berate" as: "To scold and condemn vehemently and at length". So no, the shop owner did not berate them.
Who wouldn't want society to suit their needs? Isn't that what voting is for?
I said "special needs" and I gave an example. I'm sorry, but I don't think society should be held hostage because some twit is confused about what gender he/she/it is.
Then there's the case of the black woman suing Wal-Mart because she was offended by the fact that the store had black hair care products in a locked case and then escorted her to the checkout like she was a criminal. Thing is, Wal-Mart and other stores put items that are often shoplifted in locked cases such as electronics and even razor blades as a loss prevention measure. What's more, she most likely knew this.
Then there was the case where someone took a picture of a vase that had cotton plants in it at Hobby Lobby, called it racist and posted it on social media.
The point is, while sometimes people are offended for legitimate reasons, a lot of times it's for stupid shit like this. Where does it end? Being offended has become a license to stop the world just because some powderpuff got his tender widdle feelings hurt.
No, they're not. Religious people are brought up to believe, rather than think. Other people just do it because society is trained towards this, rather than towards thinking.
Look at those on the right who see education as "indoctrination". In part education has to be indoctrination, you have to learn stuff, and when science is competing with made up religious stuff, then what?
It's all indoctrination if the truth is scorned.
Exactly. That's why people like myself have been pushing for more critical thinking skills for the last 15 - 20 years or so.
Well, whether the people in the bridal shop believe something or not is neither here nor there really. What they should KNOW is that there are laws. They don't have to like the laws, they don't even have to follow them, but they do have to suffer the consequences of their actions.
Yes, there are laws. But I'm not sure they apply in this case. The shop owner is bound by law not to discriminate against gays when hiring or employing but I'm not sure it applies in a case where they refuse service or sale because they feel it would be enabling the sinners. I guess we'll see how the case comes out.
As for berate, I disagree. I once got told by someone of the opposite sex that there were many different ways of communicating, because apparently I spoke to much. I stuck my middle finger up and said "like this?"
There are different ways of berating. Scolding can be done through hot water or through words. Therefore it can also be done in other ways. To tell someone "you're not welcome in shops in this country" is as scolding as throwing hot water over them.
I don't think you're aware that there are two different words to use here and they have different meanings. "Scold" is when you verbally discipline someone and "scald" is to burn with hot water or liquid. Therefore, if you throw hot water on someone you are just scalding them and scalding is not the same as berating.
But besides all that, this is what I'm talking about when it comes to people being offended: Some get so emotional they lose their objectivity and blow it all out of proportion. The shop owner did not say the couple was not welcome in the shop, she only told them that they didn't believe in gay marriage and therefore were bound by their beliefs not to sell them a wedding dress. That's it. She didn't tell them to leave or that they were not welcome.
