> And if you can not express your opinion in a way that does not offend, chances are that you should reconsider your opinion.
This is the crux of the problem. Suppose you believe that Blacks tend to commit more crimes than Whites. This fact itself may be offensive to some people regardless of how you say it. However, this offense has no bearing on the truth value of the claim. Saying that you should "reconsider your opinion" here causes these offensive possibilities to be considered far less seriously, and causes people to speak them far less clearly.
This is not just some abstract problem. I have been to several conversations about race and discrimination. By far the best one started with the instructions "nothing that is said in this room leaves this room". Some very "offensive" things were said, even to the point where a couple of people had to walk out of the room for a few minutes. However, everyone I talked to (including those who walked out) said that it was one of the best such conversations they had attended.
>In the unlikely case that a opinion is both offensive and reasonable, you will have to live with people calling you insensitive.
The problem is that someone may rationally decide that it is in their best interest not to voice their opinion because of this, in which case we all loose.
This is the crux of the problem. Suppose you believe that Blacks tend to commit more crimes than Whites. This fact itself may be offensive to some people regardless of how you say it. However, this offense has no bearing on the truth value of the claim. Saying that you should "reconsider your opinion" here causes these offensive possibilities to be considered far less seriously, and causes people to speak them far less clearly.
This is not just some abstract problem. I have been to several conversations about race and discrimination. By far the best one started with the instructions "nothing that is said in this room leaves this room". Some very "offensive" things were said, even to the point where a couple of people had to walk out of the room for a few minutes. However, everyone I talked to (including those who walked out) said that it was one of the best such conversations they had attended.
>In the unlikely case that a opinion is both offensive and reasonable, you will have to live with people calling you insensitive.
The problem is that someone may rationally decide that it is in their best interest not to voice their opinion because of this, in which case we all loose.