Work sent me overseas to a Latin American country and some of my co-workers called all men Pedro. It was a joke and nobody really cared. But that got me thinking, if they did that at home in the US, people would be offended, even if there were not Latinos. This got me wondering, is the effort to not offend anybody going too far, to the point of being silly? Are we so vulnerable that anything can hurt us?
In my friend’s child soccer team, there are no goalies; no body wins or loses. I understand and agree that the game is supposed to be fun, and that US society tends to be extremely competitive, but trying to shield children from the experience of loosing a game may give them a false sense of entitlement and deny them the opportunity of learning how to lose; which frankly is as important as learning how to win.
We walk around on egg shells trying so hard not to hurt anybody’s feelings. Could it be that by not being exposed to disappointment and pain that we are creating children and adults with no empathy? Do you think a bully would do what they do if they had gone through something similar?
I see kids videotaping themselves hitting others, doing flash mobs of theft and other unimaginable things with no regard for consequences. If you don’t learn early on the consequences for your actions, than you may think there are none.
Can we be honest with each other and just let somebody know when their behavior crossed the line. How about if we have the conversations instead of trying so hard that we don’t say anything meaningful anymore.
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My life as an Alien 
Your post raises really good questions. First thing that comes to my mind is my own experience of coming to USA six years ago. I found everyone really sweet in talking…using words like “honey” or sweetie to strangers which was a cultural shock to me. From where I come these words are used not so freely…and one uses them when they actually meant that! After some stay in US I did feel that first there was too much of sugar coating and second that people were not verbalising their real opinions yet in their actions their real intentions were quite apparent. So actually it creates a conflict…your words and actions aren’t same. Even to this day I am still not accustomed to this style and so may be one reason why I don’t have American friends…I think I will always be an alien in this country albeit a legal alien!
I never thought of the question you bring up in this way, but I think perhaps you have a point.