Laura, I love how you welcome discussion. It takes maturity and intelligence to be able to welcome opposing viewpoints. When I read other's articles, I ask myself, "what could be informing this person's point of view?" You have clearly provided readers with your background, and using that information, I try to see things through your eyes. When reviewing my own articles before hitting "publish", I ask myself if I can see anger or intolerance in my words that may mask the true message I am trying to give. With all that in mind, none of us can fully understand another human being. When I think about what someone may find "offensive", I am reminded of the time that my work placed banned the use of the word "flip charts" (those big poster boards with flippable pages that we used to use when giving presentations), as the word "flip" was insulting to Filipinos. My friends from the Philippines found that hilarious! It is the often the context of the word that is problematic, not the word itself. Although, there are certain words that definitely connote hatred, and those words should be avoided.