The National Sport for many nations is no longer on the sports field. For many, it is now Offendy.

This started in the USA where the national sport was Suendy – sueing people to make money and to avoid having to think for oneself.

This has spread – without the legal intervention – far and wide to people with a grudge against themselves, cheaply passing it on to others … Offendy.

As part of a local writing group, I contributed several Stories and helped to publish a book of our short stories. Six months later someone chose to be offended by four of the 70,000 words in the book. Despite the hundreds who have enjoyed these stories, some members want to discuss this because one person chooses to be offended, when a character describes someone as not the full quid, a common phrase.

I don’t know why we’re even discussing it and this is why I need to say that:

Several years ago, as a regular columnist for a national, monthly magazine, I wrote an article about men being abused by their spouses. I ran a men’s group at the time and I used true stories in the article, names changed, of course.

The magazine received three letters to the editor, offended and complaining that we should not be discussing this topic. Two weeks later I received a phone call from a man who was too afraid to speak publicly (letter, email etc.), telling me that, two weeks earlier, he was about to commit suicide as a result of abuse from his wife. However, he happened to read my article that day and it gave him both hope and a new perspective; he decided not to kill himself.

Now, forget the writer and the topic: the same article offended three people and saved the life of another.

As writers, it is impossible to know how readers will react to our words. Readers get to choose their reactions. We don’t.

If we think we have any control over reader reactions, we’re deluding ourselves.

If we try to dumb down our writing to avoid offence, it ceases to be art with integrity and becomes a contrivance.

Yes, we must respect our art and our stories. We must respect our readers. If we write to offend, we’re in politics, not art.

And, yes, some art is designed to provoke, to stir our little grey cells, to challenge current paradigms and to encourage change. However, deliberately provoking offence is not honest art and nor will it provoke constructive change.

So, if we have not the desire to offend, we’re free to write authentic stories with authentic characters who speak and behave authentically. If one among many chooses to be offended when others are not, what should be changed … the writing or the Offendy player’s choice of reaction?

Methinks the answer is very clear.