On resisting the lure of offense, a Stoic perspective

To get offended is to concede that another has succeeded in hurting you

It is a generally agreed to observation, these days, that our culture makes people more prone to take offense at other people’s opinions or speech than at any time in recent memory. The Right deplores this state of affairs, talking about “snowflake” liberals. The Left, by contrast, defends not only the right of people belonging to certain historically oppressed classes to feel offended, but considers the new trend a necessary step forward.

In contrast to all the above, the Stoics were pretty clear about what they thought of the notion of taking offense:

Remember that it is we who torment, we who make difficulties for ourselves — that is, our opinions do. What, for instance, does it mean to be insulted? Stand by a rock and insult it, and what have you accomplished? If someone responds to insult like a rock, what has the abuser gained with his invective? (Epictetus, Discourses I, 25.28–29)

So do I, a self professed liberal and a practicing Stoic, side with contemporary conservatives and deny the right of the oppressed to feel insulted? No, because Stoicism isn’t about telling other…