tellhimfred.com

On February 27th, a radio host on WBLI-FM on Long Island received a call from a woman from Mastic, NY. The host asked the woman "Did your pipes freeze under the trailer?", implying that because she was from Mastic, she must live in a trailer. The woman was apparently "very angry" (every news story says this) and the host was subsequently suspended because of this extremely offensive comment.

Here’s what the station’s program director said:

"He had a chance yesterday to apologize but he refused, so in the 9 o clock hour he was pulled off the air by management."

In addition the president of the town’s school board decided that he needed to defend Mastic:

"At this point, a hollow apology and a mere suspension will not be appropriate," William Floyd School District Board President Bob Vecchio told the paper. He called for Randy to be fired and for area residents to boycott the station and its advertisers.

"You can’t get a free pass when you attack an entire community," Vecchio added.

It drives me insane.

I believe I missed a meeting. Perhaps I didn’t get a memo. When did our society pass a law that says "thou shalt not offend?" Is it now a crime to say something that could be deemed offensive? I totally disagree with the school board president turned "minister of morality." Why shouldn’t you get a free pass?

Why are people so offended?

When was the last time you were "offended?" Seriously- I want you to think about that. The last time someone offended you, how did that make you feel? Did you immediately want to find some kind of authority figure to punish the meanie that hurt your feelings? Or did you take your lumps and a) defend yourself b) shake it off c)  remember "sticks and stones may break my bones…"

It feels like we’ve turned into a society of hall monitors. We’re proactively looking for people to say something that- though it doesn’t offend us- may be construed as a negative statement against some group of people. We’re just waiting to send a letter to the FCC. Someone told a joke at work? Let’s all run to HR.

When I was a kid, we had a term for people that couldn’t fend for themselves and immediately ran to an authority figure. They were called "tattle tales." The act of "telling" was certainly not a virtue. Teachers would actually say "no one likes a tattle tale." Not today.

So what’s changed in our culture? Seriously, what caused us to shun any kind of personal responsibility for our own problems? I’m really asking. I just don’t understand.