No offence, but you'd have to be stupid to read this blog.

Why do people think that saying "no offence" immediately before or after saying something offensive somehow negates the offensiveness of what they're saying? It seems to be treated as some sort of get out of jail free card - you can say whatever you like because you've played the "no offence" card first. And if the recipient is offended then they're just being a bad sport, I guess. It seems to me that it's really just a way to insult people and feel like you're getting away with it. I reckon the rule should be if you feel the need to start a sentence with "No offence, but..." then it's probably safe to assume that you shouldn't be saying it at all. And if you've thought about it enough to preface it with the "no offence" tag, then you have no excuse. I understand speaking without thinking, I do it a lot more than I'd care to admit, but if you know before hand that it's going to be offensive, insulting or hurtful, then you should know not to say it all. Unless of course you actually intend to cause offence, in which case I would say don't make excuses for yourself. Stand proud in your offensiveness instead of cowering behind an insincere "no offence" defence.

There is also a smaller sub-group of people closely related to the "no offence" types, but much worse in my opinion. The "I just have to say what I think" people. Or maybe they're "I'm just being honest" people. Or "I have a right to speak my mind" people. Man, I hate all those people! I've known a few of them in my time, and they never cease to offend and insult as often as possible. It's quite a gift, I reckon. And they have an opinion on everything, whether it affects them or not. They don't like your shirt. Or your haircut. They'll tell you what your "problem" is when you didn't even know you had one. It's like they never grew out of that childhood phase of saying the first thing that comes to mind, and being seemingly oblivious to the hurt they cause along the way. As much as we might say we appreciate honesty, I think most people know when it's appropriate to be completely honest and when it's kinder to keep an opinion to yourself, so it's always a bit of a surprise when you meet those brutally "honest" types who insist on constantly giving their opinion, whether it's appreciated or not. And they continually get away with it because people like me won't call them out on their insults because I don't want to offend them by pointing out that they're being offensive.

Perhaps I'm being too harsh. Maybe these people just lack the ability to filter what comes out of their mouths, so don't get why some things are okay to say and some things aren't. Maybe not everyone is as stupidly introspective as I am, therefore do the majority of their thinking out loud. I'm tired of pretending it's okay to be insulted by people who obviously know they're being insulting, but I also kind of pity their inability to stop themselves being offensive. I'd like to think I'll be brave enough to tell them that next time someone tries to “no offence“ me. I just hope they don't take offence.