Crash Course: An Apology to the Transgender Community.
Phil does a good job of apologizing here, and explaining why it’s necessary to apologize to the reactionary trolls (probably of gamersgate derivation since they like to sling the “Social Justice Warrior” as if it were an insult,) so the apology also becomes a backhand to haters.
You’re wrong. First, it’s not up to you to decide what offends or does not offend a group of people you are not a part of. You may feel that this was not an offensive joke, and you are welcome to that opinion; certainly the joke wasn’t intended that way.
But what you don’t get to decide is what offends others, especially in a group you’re not a part of. You may think that offense is undeserved, or that they are overreacting. You have the right to think that, but you cannot dictate it to those others.
Even if there was no harm meant in the joke, people may still take offense at it, and that’s their right. In this case, I can easily see where transgender folks would be put off by it, even angered.
And here’s the important bit: Apologizing and changing it does no harm, and in fact does some good; it helps a group of people see that we can be sensitive to their needs.
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