This has been an interesting and thought-provoking thread to read through.

I will chime in as follows: Virtually anything anyone does anywhere can be perceived to be offensive. You listen to loud music when driving? That offends me because I feel it makes you a distracted driver... You wear Nike shoes? That offends me because a child-slave in Taiwan was forced to make those... You subscribe to the theory of evolution? That offends me because the bible says differently... (I'm not actually offended by any of the statements above, just using them as examples).

I truly feel that those who take offense to the minute nuances of those they share society with are better left unacknowledged. There are things that others do that I, personally, take offense to. I do not expect them to change per my suggestions or variance in opinion. I do my best to remain open-minded to the opinions and decisions of others and I sincerely hope the rest of society can do the same. Empathy is a difficult skill to hone, but when judging others based on how they differ from you, a tall glass of empathetic "shut the hell up" is sometimes all it takes to realize that we are all human beings living complex lives that are connected in more ways than we care to realize.