Why do we get offended by everything? Why is there always this need to be politically correct about everything? And worse... why do we tell others what they ought to find offensive? 
"Curse" Words
There are many words that are considered good or bad language. Some words that we just don't say. Then there are others that... we USED to never say. Language is a tricky thing and it develops in odd ways. Dumb referred to an inability to speak. Idiot referred to someone with a mental handicap. "Bloody" was a curse word, and bitch was simply a term for a female canine. And yet now... dumb means you're stupid, idiot means the same thing and neither have much to do with mental handicap or retardation. Bitch means seemingly anything from a coward to a strong independent woman skilled in the ways of sass. Phrases like mental retardation were once essentially medical terms for a specific condition and were the polite way of talking about someone who was mentally handicapped.
Words with NO negative connotations gained them, and words WITH negative connotations lost them. Now people say "that sucks" or "bloody" and it isn't some horribly offensive way of speaking. "Fart" is seen as humorous rather than "vulgar." But why is this? Why is it that words like "wicked" which once meant vile, evil and all things abhorrent to humanity now mean "really cool" or "awesome?"
Words Mean What We Mean
Anyone who spends a lot of time watching gaming content on youtube has probably heard the f-bomb countless times at this point, used in a very casual way, not in a harsh or really even offensive manner. This word has become more and more accepted as time has gone on, but why? I think the reason is simple. When someone is frustrated but they want to be polite, they may say something like "darn it!" It has a certain meaning. Does it refer to darning something the way one would darn their socks a couple hundred years ago? No, it emphasizes one's frustration. Likewise when people use the f word to emphasize their frustration, we begin to give it a meaning other than some "crude" term for sex. It starts meaning "darn it." It emphasizes frustration. When someone says "f you!" they don't necessarily mean "I hope you get raped!" Not to say there aren't some people who might mean it that way but you get the point. It means what we consider it to mean.
Mental retardation was once a term for a mental handicap. Now calling someone retarded is a blatant insult. That is the intent behind the word. It's gained a new definition which is commonly accepted. It means what we say it means.
Our Offence to Words
Now the simple fact of the matter is, most words deemed "offensive" have different meanings when used by different people. A youtuber may use the f-bomb to emphasize his frusteration at falling all the way down for the 20th time on "Getting Over It," while the old cranky man next door is just using it to say he's mad at you and hates you. We aren't bothered by one, but we may be bothered by the other. But what if it's a racial slur? 
If someone calls me a "cracker" that means something specific. As a racial slur it refers to white men cracking whips on the backs of slaves. It says that I am a racist -- a cruel and hateful person. On the other hand I could take it to mean I'm just really pale. Whether or not that makes sense, the point is this... I can choose to be offended by something, or choose not to be offended by something. I have the self control to not be offended.
Another example would be the term N*gger. I've had a guy call me his n*gger as a term of endearment the same way someone would say "bro" or "my man!" But it's a derogatory racial slur right? It's never okay to say it, and it must always be offensive.... If we let this kind of thinking be the prevalent way of thinking in our culture then racism can't die out. So long as we assume or connect some objectively racist meanings to things, they will always be racist. We give them the power to be just that. But what if we actually allowed words to be words and have the POSITIVE meanings we give them? If I have a black friend who calls me his n*gga am I gonna be offended? If he for whatever reason told me I could say it back to him then am I wrong for saying it to him? No... he has given the word a meaning. He has told me what it means to him and has told me how he will interpret it should I use it to address him. There are plenty of black guys who call other black guys their n*ggas and they aren't insulted when they call each other that...
So why should we/do we tell them to be?
If a person is okay with not being offended by something... why do we make it an issue? If a black guy isn't offended by the confederate flag because he does't consider it to be racist, is he wrong for doing that? Is he OBLIGATED to be offended? No of course not. While there are some very rare exceptions, words only have so much power as we give them, and the only ones requiring us to be offended are ourselves. This is true no matter how much we try and force a sense of offense on others.
Obviously we ought to be civil in our speech and we ought to try and be polite. There's no good reason to go out of our way to BE offensive. But as a personal choice, we can decide whether or not we let things offend us. And really, what reason is there to be offended? Do the opinions of others matter so much to us that we're going to go into a fit of hysteria if someone says we're "dumb?" No, so why should it be different if you replace "dumb" with some other word?
Letting ourselves be offended gains us nothing... I really hope I can say that truthfully. With the rise of feminism and so many political groups promoting political correctness and somehow getting their way I'm honestly not so sure any more. Either way I CAN truthfully say that it's not good for us. If we have no good reason to be offended, why let ourselves be offended? Why tell others to be offended because of how they've been insulted? So long as we propagate feelings of offense and tell people that things are "offensive" or "racist." We're never going to deal with those problems. The more we call things offensive, the more we're offended by them.
I sincerely hope none of this comes off the wrong way. We ought to respect our fellow man, and act in civility towards people as best we can. But part of that means putting up with the incivility of others and not giving them the satisfaction of offending us. I don't use racial slurs, or curse words in casual conversation, especially with people I don't know because I don't want to create unnecessary tension or go burning down bridges. I just want people to take the time to NOT be offended by every little thing. Can we wake up as a society and be civil? Is there any reason not to assume the best of others in that regard? And if we can't assume the best... is there any reason to give them the satisfaction of getting a rise out of us? These have just been some of my thoughts. Please feel free to tell me yours.
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