No Offense... But...

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No offense, but this post is about to get real offensive.

Hehe… I’m just kidding😂. There’s nothing offensive about what I’m about to say, except that I’ve always found certain words and phrases to be suspect. Especially when you feel the need to say it before you share whatever it is that you want to share. As if you’re telling the person one thing and want them to believe something else.

This happens a lot, and for many of us, we even do it without thinking. We just say the words, and even when many of us hear them from others, we don’t think much of it. It’s just ‘one of those things’ that people say. But not for me… because it’ll always be more.

One of such phrases is “No Offense”. As in, the only time you say something like that is when you’re about to say something remotely offensive. And it’s only designed to take the sting out of your words, especially if they were harsh to begin with. It’s kind of how you can use stickers and emojis to lighten your tone when chatting on WhatsApp. For instance, “I’ll kill you when I get home.” And “I’ll kill you when I get home🤣😂” are two different things. And can evoke two separate feelings. One can make you fear for your life, and the other will let you know that it’s just a cruise and jokes.

No offense falls into that category. You say it before or after you say something that may be deemed offensive. Of course, there are cases where it might be appropriate. Especially in cases where there was just no other way to make said statements, and it just had to be made. However, I’m saying this now, that saying “No Offense” to someone doesn’t make whatever you say afterwards any less offensive. It only makes them less inclined to act on it.

Another one I dislike (even though I also use it from time to time) is the phrase “to be honest”. For some reason, I don’t like it one bit. If I’m having a conversation with you, and you’re starting every sentence with “Honestly”, “To be honest”, “If I’m being honest”… like bro, what’s with you? If you don’t say it out loud, does it mean that you’re being dishonest? Is that how all this works?

So, if you’re someone who says such a thing every time, I won’t take you seriously at all. I know that for some, it just might be a way that they speak, and they might not have control over it. But then, I can’t ignore certain things. It’s just like when you ask me a question, and before I reply, I say that “I don’t want to lie to you, but…” It’s totally unnecessary, but then it also brings to mind the possibility that I could be lying to you.

All this is just clearing the way for what you want to do. But then, it’s all good. These are just my thoughts on the subject, and I could very well be wrong. After all, what do I know? I’m just a writer and a Data Analyst. What even inspired this conversation was that I reconnected with an old friend yesterday, and when we were catching up, he just couldn’t stop adding ‘honestly’ in everything he said. Honestly, at a point, I began to wonder if he was being honest with me.

But it’s all good, I’m sure we’ll be fine.

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_{Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to know what you’re thinking. Till we meet in the next post.}

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_{N.B: All images used in this post are mine. The thumbnail was designed using Canva.}

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