I think often when I hear those words, they come out sounding different from "I'm offended". They might sound like, "I disagree ..." or "I can't believe...." or "I heard that...."
Let me give you a more tangible example. Have you seen this video? It's a Job Interview for the World's Toughest Job.
It's a sweet video that was created before Mother's Day to thank moms for the hard work that they do. I'll add my personal disclaimer that many of the qualifications are exaggerated from my personal mommy-ing experience (such as - no sleep. My kids are *usually* good sleepers.) However, it's not necessary to nit pick the video to match your exact experience. The idea is that moms do a hard and often thankless job, and it can be quite tough.
After this video went crazy on my Facebook feed I finally decided to watch it. It was sweet and touching. Then I saw some comments from "non-moms". Comments such as "I'm sick of being told I'm not good enough because I'm not a mom". Comments like, "Oh please, no mom does all of those things". Comments such as, "My job is stressful and pressing, too. Seriously? Toughest job in the world?" And on and on.
No where in this video did it say you are not good enough if you are not a mom. That is the fear of the individual commenter. Granted, I would agree that probably most moms don't do everything in the video ALL the time - however, there are probably seasons in their mothering where they do those things.
Can you guys see what I see? People are SO selfish. If you are not a mom then this video isn't intended for you. It is a perfectly sweet video for moms. There is absolutely no reason to get offended over this video. I could understand how it may make you sad if you wanted to be a mom and are not. But even then, those are the feelings of the individual, and doesn't mean the video is worthless just because you are not a mom.
I feel like every time I turn around people are posting videos or articles about a "cause" they are for or against. For example: breastfeeding in public. The few times that I am out during the time I need to breastfeed, I use a nursing cover. My opinion is that there are times that it probably is not appropriate to sit in a group of people and nurse your baby. To me, it can feel awkward to have a serious conversation while hearing slurping noises coming out from under the nursing cover. But if it makes me uncomfortable it is my problem, not the mother who is nursing her baby.
The ONLY time I have ever seen a mother breastfeed her baby in public without a cover was at the mall in the play place. It was an Amish lady who just opened the front of her dress and started feeding her baby. I'll be honest to say I was surprised, but I didn't quick hide my kids eyes or act like the sky was falling. In fact, that seemed more appropriate than the aforementioned setting.
Plus, do people really care that much? Maybe I'm just sheltered and don't go into many public places, but I really don't even see why this is an issue.
All that to say, can we all just please stop being so selfish? The more I talk to friends and listen to friends the more often I see selfishness creeping into our lives. We may try to justify it, but lets be honest with ourselves and see it for what it is.
Another day, I'll speak more on selfishness, but in the meantime, let's take a hard look at ourselves and try to get that plank out of our own eye before picking the speck out of our neighbor's eye.
