Diaw, Y'all

America has quite an epidemic of DIAW Syndrome. Too many people have the disease, and every day there is a new victim….but the victim is not the one with the disease! I think I may be exhibiting a few symptoms of it myself! Why? Because I’m offended at the offended!


Yes, this…this worm…seems to be taking America by storm! Actually, to call it a worm insults the worm. We'll stick with fungus.



Not very much is safe from this pesky wedgie. From the Starbucks cup to the Washington Redskins; from a Target Christmas sweater to a racist Halloween! How about banned words like bossy, or “sorry not sorry,” because apologizing for not apologizing makes so much sense. Even pronouns are not safe! It may be offensive to be called “she” if one if female, or “he” if one is male.


And words! They can be so offensive! Here are a few examples for you to run by your offended meter to see if you have DIAW symptoms because you feel personally insulted:

• If someone says “black sheep” instead of “outcast.”
• If someone says “guys” instead of “friends” or “folks”
• If someone says “girls” instead of “women”
• “Failure” instead of “non-traditional success”
• “Manhole” instead of “utility hole.”
• “Fat” instead of “person of substance” or “horizontally challenged.”

If I were get to the real nitty-gritty, I’d throw this out there:

• If someone suggests “adoption” instead of “abortion.”
• If someone believes “creation” instead of “evolution.”
• If someone is “conservative” instead of “liberal.”

But I won’t go there. That might bring some seriousness into my post.



People who have DIAW waste a huge amount of precious time carefully watching and listening for the next offense, and too many want a piece of Offended Pie. The First Amendment doesn’t mean you will like everything you hear others say, but it does mean they get to say it. And when they say it, and you don’t like it, that doesn’t always make them racist, discriminatory, or prejudicial. Tolerance doesn’t mean you have to bring them around to your way of thinking. That, my friends, is pseudo-tolerance.



Is it more acceptable for a person to act like an idiot than it is for someone to point out that they are idiotic? (And then be left to wonder if it’s really just an act.) My first instinct for them is to help them in their offense, because if someone whines about some silly word like “bossy,” I find I want to toss it into my conversation as much as possible. I don’t always act on my first thoughts, thankfully.

What should we do when confronted with someone who is in obvious throes of DIAW? Rise above it. Ignore them if you can. If not, treat them with respect, or just take them to Starbucks because, as we all know, those 2500 refugees they are hiring need you to buy some $5 coffee.