words only have the power we invest in them! Helen--bless you. You have a genuinely empathetic heart. We do all have our own boundaries, don't we? What offends some, others have no problem with. There are a couple of words that I simply will not say, although they are considered very mild today, because they were "bad" words when I was growing up. And yet, I do say some that are bad by today's standards--though of my board friends, only my sweet Maverick has heard the worst!
Honest ignorance can come into play here, too. I have recently learned that a certain nationality can be offended by certain nicknames; I had heard the names, yet it hadn't occurred to me that there might be negative associations with them, because I have had very little contact with this nationality. That alleged Maori word, for example--I had a "gut feeling" that it wasn't a real word, but certainly took no offense at it; whereas, a Maori, or anyone who has some knowledge of and feeling for them, might well have taken offense.
I don't think we can take offense at a word we have never heard before.
