what did he mean by this?
offense is extremely subjective and not at all cut and dry
there are many facts and statistics that are offensive to people on the left, just as there are those that offend the right
would you be ok with someone flagging a book where the main character commits partial-birth abortions? how about a Captain Planet-style book where the main villain pumps oil and denies climate change exists, and one where all the bad guy's minions are modeled after regular oil workers?
would you be okay with the author calling out a higher power in the book and that higher power in real life gets offended and the author has to apologize for offending someone?
some of the greatest books ever written are also some of the most offensive books ever
you're aware "The Great Gatsby" was banned from some schools for the scene in which Tom Buchanan slaps a woman across the face? of the tribal imagery in "To Kill a Mockingbird"? "Catcher in the Rye" was extremely loveual for its time
all three of these books are revered now
words that were not given taboo powers now have taboo powers
"gay" means several different things, and "friend" used to refer to women, not gay men
"cunt" is a really bad word here but not so much elsewhere in the world
and there's the whole "monday/brother" thing that you've debated so many times
the point is that offense is always changing, so hiring sensitivity readers is not only nonsensical but ineffective
what is offensive today will not be tomorrow, and vice versa, so it's really not worth it neutering and softening your work if you're trying to make something timeless
and as previously mentioned, you have the professional offense-takers and the professional trolls on both extremes of the political spectrum, both with totally differing ideas on what's offensive
