[Zelphyr]

I know two people who have been fired for saying things that are offensive but were innocently said. Meaning, they genuinely didn't understand that what they were saying was offensive to someone.

In one case, that person was upset and ashamed of themselves for having possibly caused distress of people they respected.

In another case, it caused them to dig their heels in to the opposite side of the debate.

In both cases, I can't help but think those were great opportunities to educate those people. Pull them to the side and patiently say, "Hey, what you said was offensive and hurtful and here is why...". I'm certain that the one who dug in their heels would've received that conversation in a more constructive way. As it was, firing that person for such a relatively minor offense created a new Republican.

[natestemen]

to me, action matters more than intent.

i understand sometimes people make mistakes, but sometimes those mistakes could've been avoided if they spent any time learning about current issues. in not spending time learning about these things they are putting themselves up to say some dumb shit.

obviously its hard to say what should happen in these cases, and i do think we should try and educate people when they want, but its also not the job of marginalized people to educate others on how what they said was offensive.

[Zelphyr]

And that's fine. People should be held responsible for their actions. But my point is this; when the default is to use a machete when a scalpel would have sufficed then the net result is not going to pleasant.