Taking Offense

I was in a social situation the other day with a group of people I mostly knew. One of the guests, whom I didn’t know, was wearing a T-shirt that had a picture of an American flag. Above the flag it said, “Welcome to America.” Below the flag it said,”NOW SPEAK ENGLISH.”

This shirt offended me then and still does as I write about it now. It is wrong on so many levels: 1. It is a direct, slap in the face, insult to any immigrant or visitor to our country who may see it, 2. It shows no compassion, patience, or understanding of a non-English speaking person’s life experience, 3. It indicates an ignorance of American history and the fact that we have no official language, 4. It is a crude display of arrogance on the part of the wearer, 5. It is, at it’s root, a racist statement.

Talk it out privately

According to the scriptures, if I am offended by someone, I should talk to the person privately about it.

And if thy brother or sister offend thee, thou shalt take him or her between him or her and thee alone;

Doctrine and Covenants 42:88

This option was not really available to me that day. We were in a large group and I had no social reason to interact with this person I didn’t know. Besides, telling a stranger that his shirt is offensive is highly likely to be received as an insult (especially if I use the word “racist”). In other words, if I said anything I would only be escalating the offense. Like any bully, he was daring the world to challenge him. I did not take the bait.

Feeling superior

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

Matthew 24:10

Matthew 24 records that in the last days those who feel “offended” will betray and hate one another . I had no connection with the man that I could “betray,” and “hate” is too strong a word to describe how I felt, but I certainly looked down on him and considered him to be both bigoted and ignorant (as compared, of course, to my own supposed superior tolerance and intelligence!).

The puzzle is: How can we fight bigotry and ignorance, which are real and dangerous evils in the world, without becoming judgemental and intolerant ourselves?

Profiting from polarization

I tracked down the source of the shirt (or at least one of the sources). You can find the shirt here. This large online site, Cafe Press, claims to be creating “a more connected and engaged world that supports and celebrates everyone’s unique identity and passions” by printing slogans on T-shirts, mugs, and etc. By encouraging everyone to publicly flaunt their self-centered, and often ignorant, “passions,” Cafe Press (and other companies like them) is contributing to the polarization of our society.

While looking at the site, it occurred to me to search for the phrase “Impeach Trump.” Sure enough, this company also sells anti-Trump buttons, stickers, mugs, magnets, and T-shirts. In other words, whatever your opinion, or bias, or prejudice, this company stands ready make a profit from you. It reminds me of the capitalists who sold war materiel to both sides during World War 2. The destruction they caused didn’t matter to them as long as they were making money.

The Gospel solution

The Gospel solution to the world’s problems is repentance. Certainly the world’s ignorant bigots need to repent, but so do the world’s self-righteous know-it-alls. Obviously, though perhaps sometimes sadly, we cannot repent for anyone but ourselves.

Those of us who want to change the world need to not be judgemental of those we hope to help enlighten lest we give offense and push them away. We can only try to set a good example, point out the truth, and invite them into the light “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:41).