These days, it seems like "Getting Offended" is the newest worldwide pastime.

Maybe I'm being silly here, but it often seems like people wander around actively monitoring their surroundings for Things To Be Offended By.

Often these "things" seem to follow no particular pattern... and you're probably offended now because you've seen me write about this topic here, before. So I'll try to not offend you further my duplicating myself...

Room for different perspectives at this table...

I'm not entirely sure why I ended up down this particular "rabbit hole," aside from the fact that I came to the realization — just this afternoon — that within our "extended circle" I have often been characterized as annoying and even "arrogant" because I tend to be the voice of reason and the person who strives to pull everyone back from their little "trips."

Why am I even writing about this?

As much as anything, because I have recently been exploring the many ways people get addicted to getting their "dopamine fixes."

Here, have some spring blossoms...

"Addicted?" What the....???

I'm not going to write a long essay on dopamine. Very very short version: It's the neurotransmitter in our brains that gives us a "feel good" vibe for a moment; the little "shot of juice" we get when someone "likes" our content or we get a $5 upvote. It's what makes social media so addictive, for example.

But you can also be addicted to "negative attention."

And that's where "getting offended" comes in.

You can also get your small dopamine fixes from "that moment of self-righteousness" you experience as you point to someone else being "wrong," or "stupid," and you get offended by it.

Sunset silhouette...

And the Voice of Reason...

... is annoying and unwelcome, because it threatens the "supply."

I become an "arrogant bastard" when I come onto the scene with logic and reason because my doing so might take away the momentary good feels that went with getting all worked up and offended.

The dynamic is not all that different from those couples I have met along the way who seemed almost "addicted" to having a big fight, a couple of times a day. As relationship dynamics go, toxic as hell, and yet it was where they would get their fuel.

Of course... this begs the further question of what my "fix" is, in this equation. Why persist in trying to be "the voice of reason?"

"Self-preservation," I suppose. The vain hope that early intervention will allow me to NOT have to deal with the potential fallout resulting from people being patronizingly offended and causing a shitstorm of conflict... particularly in situations where I don't necessarily have the option to just walk away.

How about YOU? Have you noticed more and more people in the world "looking for things" to be offended by? What do you think is causing this trend? Or is there no trend at all? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

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Created at 180914 00:56 PDT