Recently we have seen multiple questions on various aspects of political correctness. They have sparked some measure of disagreement, which is what I wanted to examine here.
To what extent should we fear giving offense with what we write? To what extent should we, as writers, actively seek not to give offense?
Obviously, I do not argue here that we should deliberately hurt everyone in our path. Most of us don't want to offend people - that's as it should be.
But suppose I have a story element in mind. To what extent should I make sure it doesn't offend anyone? To what extent is it my responsibility? To what extent should it even be a priority - making it inoffensive? Suppose it does offend someone - does it mean I have to change that story element? Is there some sort of balance?
I have my own answer to this, but I'm curious what others think. For one thing, I'm not sure I fully understand the topic or have the right of it. Socrates, I believe, recommended hearing opposing arguments for the purpose of finding truth.
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