I’ve spent a while trying to decide if people do really get offended more these days, or if it’s just an act, or perhaps a misperception on my part.

I think it’s a bit of the first two.  People really do get offended more now, and as there is a larger audience they make a much bigger show of it.

Also, as effective civic coalitions collapse, as political systems corrode and no longer serve their constituents, as incomes fall and social services deteriorate, this causes most people feel a sense of helplessness and despair.

Therefore it comes to be that there is little else to do but skirmish with what should be allies in attritional internecine conflicts that distract and prevent any sort of coalition building. It’s better that than fight an unwinnable war against unassailable elites.

If you read comments — and you never should — you’ll be astounded by the level of offence-taking. People aren’t just bridling, they’re breaking and tearing their own heads off. Childless pet owners are the most sensitive to possible insult even though pets are never offended by humans. The smaller the difference between people, the greater the narcissism. The more tinted the car window, the more easily offended the driver.

I wrote a column recently praising grand arching trees on Toronto front lawns and got hissing emails from people with tall slender trees. Write a column mocking Stephen Harper’s hair and you will hear from three kinds of people: underfed young white men with hunting rifles, the “anti-urban elitist” Angry Pajamas, and a weird new cohort, elderly women — thankfully they are never violent — calling me a “stupid stupid girl.”

The thing is, people in power love offense. It means nothing will get done. It’s a way of blowing off steam, of releasing anger harmlessly. Despite the fact that I like a lot of it and it’s great place for voices that rarely get heard to do so, the offense culture of Tumblr and the like is the definition of ineffectual. It will never achieve anything at all. Ever.

Relatedly, the reason why shows like Jon Stewart’s receive very little political pushback is that just like offense, humor is a tool to defuse anger, to defuse political action, to prevent opposition and to forestall the fomenting of political movements averse to the elites. Shows like Stewart’s are often found in countries with the most authoritarian regimes for that very reason.

In other words,  Jon Stewart – as funny as he may be – is a tool and also a member of the elites just as much as Karl Rove or George W. Bush.

But back to the offense culture.

Getting offended isn’t even a first step to change. It’s just a momentary emotion that puffs off into the wind like smoke from a match. Getting angry and then building something from that anger is how change occurs.

Most people though only care about showing how offended they are to demonstrate the right qualities to their in group, and that’s all. Out of such trifles a new world cannot be built.

Note: I am not talking about stalking, harassment or other behavior. Those are crimes and should be prosecuted in a sane world.