New Yorkers Speak Out: Frustrated With Easily Offended Reactions

Offensive speech and how people react to it have been causing quite a stir all across the United States, and New York is definitely not immune to the debate!

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that six in ten U.S. adults think that "people getting offended too easily by what others say" is a big problem in our country today. And here in New York, a good chunk of the population feels the same way. But, as the survey points out, there are some interesting differences in how Republicans and Democrats see things.

In New York, a 80% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents think that people being easily offended is a major problem. On the other hand, only 45% of Democrats and Democratic leaners share that view. It just goes to show why there's such a divide on social and cultural issues in our state.

Interestingly, the survey also reveals that Democrats in New York are more inclined to view offensive speech itself as a major problem, with 59% expressing this concern compared to 34% of Republicans.

Taking a closer look at the survey data, about a third of respondents believe that both people being too easily offended and people saying really offensive things are major problems. And another 30% feel that people being too easily offended is a big issue, but not offensive speech itself.

In both political parties, a good number of people are worried about both issues. For instance, 30% of Republicans and 32% of Democrats see the combo of people getting easily offended and offensive speech as big problems. But there are some interesting differences between the parties too.

Half of Republicans think that people being too easily offended is a major issue, while offensive speech isn't. Contrastingly, only 12% of Democrats agree with this perspective. Also, 26% of Democrats, including a third of liberal Democrats, consider offensive speech a major issue without thinking that people being easily offended is a big deal.

The survey also revealed that folks of all races and ethnicities are concerned about people being too easily offended. However, white adults are more likely (65%) to be worried about that compared to black (50%), Hispanic (59%), and Asian (59%) adults. On the flip side, black, Asian, and Hispanic adults are more inclined to see offensive speech as a major problem compared to white adults.

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Gender also plays a part in shaping attitudes here in New York. Both men and women see people being too easily offended as a big issue, but women are more likely to view offensive speech itself as a major concern.