It's really telling and sad that we devolved into a thin-skinned society unable to process an inappropriate comment or a joke in bad taste. We now live in a world that every comment in poor taste or a bad joke escalates to "hate speech" and "despicable". Why the extreme reaction, which leads to calling for someones ouster and trying to wreck them by labeling them with toxic words intended to cause maximum reputation damage?

Civility is gone, not just from the joke tellers, but let's face it, they've been around for a long time. It now seems gone from the recipients of the jokes. What happened to teaching the next generation to toughen up with the old adage about "Sticks and Stones"? What happened to the value of a simple apology? Seems today that the reaction to being offended, regardless of how unintentional the insult may have been, leads to boycotts, bans, labels of bigotry and intolerance and social media flaming.

How about this...someone says something that offends you, then they apologize and finally, we move on? Kids on the playground act more mature than public officials facing scrutiny these days. The victim card is played again and again in our society and the bar continues to be set lower and lower.

If the word "victim" can be used to describe someone on the wrong end of a joke, we're in bigger trouble than I thought. Victims of violent crimes and serious intolerance where people are denied jobs, service healthcare, etc. constitute the appropriate use of the word. But to claim victim status because you're the focus of a joke? C'mon. When everyone and anyone can claim the label of a victim, then the value of the word itself is diminished.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

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