I’ve long joked about people who must wake up in the morning just waiting to be offended by something. Now, I don’t necessary think there are people who truly do, but I bet you there are some who are offended most days before they get out of bed in the morning.
I can only speak for myself when I say that not only was I never offended by the Muppets, I couldn’t have imagined anyone else being offended by them either. But now, thanks to especially offended crowd at Disney having disclaimed 18 of the Muppets shows on the Disney+, we know we should be offended. Part of what’s instructive in this exercise is that evidently the offended types literally watched the shows looking for moments to possibly be offended and they found them.
The disclaimer reads, "This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together."
Face palm material for sure. And because I can’t specifically recall anything questionable in the Muppets, I’m not sure if we’re being saved from racism, bigotry, homophobia or all of them.
So, do you think people are too easily offended? There’s a pretty good chance. A 2016 survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center on the topic. On the question as to if “Too many people are easily offended” most said, yes. By a 59%-39% margin. This included a majority of both men and women. But there was one grouping of people who did answer, “People need to be more careful with language to avoid offending people”. Democrats.
All roads do seemingly lead back to politics these days and this is no exception. While 78% of Republicans and 68% of Independents said too many people are too easily offended, only 37% of Democrats thought that was the case.
If you’re offended by the Muppets, what in society aren’t you offended by? And it’s not my intent to be crass, simply to be real. If by chance the Muppets do offended you, you better get a job for Disney or else life will surely kick your a**, or Miss Piggy as the case may be.
Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Vulture Festival