Is this book really offensive?

Use this forum to discuss the November Book of the month "If life stinks get your head outta your buts" by Mark L. Wdowiak
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Ferdinand_Otieno
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Re: Is this book really offensive?

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

I was honestly happy by the openness of the book and did not find any offensive statement whatsoever, but i also know that this opinion is solely mine and i cannot speak for any other reader.
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Post by Kister Bless »

I don't find this book offensive. It is straightforward and has no sugar-coated lies for instance when the author says "There is nothing wrong with being selfish and acting on your own best interest." The author is just being straightforward and not offensive in any way.
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Post by HRichards »

I didn't find any of the content of the book offensive. It was simply honest, and the author was trying to be helpful.
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Post by Storm+ »

Personally, there was nothing in this book that I found "offensive," although I could not help but feel the author's tone was somewhat pretentious; he assumed from nearly the beginning that readers were going to come into the book with a "victim's mentality." It seemed at though he was priming readers to be offended. Had I not been told from the beginning that this book was supposedly going to offend me, I doubt I would have felt so annoyed by some of the author's claims.
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Post by vectunchi »

I also did not find anything offensive in the book. I read it a few months ago as I was looking for a non-fiction read and it was written by a fellow Arizonian.

I enjoyed the straight talk of the book as a matter of fact. I have been a manager of people for over 20 years and found that most of it rang true with advice I would often give people who reported to me or even to my bosses.
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Post by PlanetHauth »

Sen_Suzumiya wrote: 02 Nov 2018, 06:47 I don't think the author had any plans to offend anyone. I think he wrote this "just in case". We live in a world, nowadays, that gets easily offended by the slightest thing. I can only imagine how a straightforward book like this one might displease some people. Personally, I've learned to respect other people's opinion and I always try to see things from their perspective, thus I didn't find this book offensive at all.
I agree, though I think it's also put in there, because people aren't necessarily used to people being forward with them. Perhaps the sugar-coating and side-stepping is due to people not wanting to offend the easily offended, though. :eusa-think: I personally prefer folks who are straight-forward and don't mince words. It gets tiring trying to read between the lines of some people's words.
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Post by Kendra M Parker »

I didn’t find anything personally offensive, but some of his phrasing was rather bold. Even the title could be offensive to those who think that all of their problems are someone else’s fault. I appreciated that the author made it very clear that we need to take responsibility for our actions (or inactions).
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Post by Ice dragon »

It's all meant constructively. If you feel your way of thinking and behavior needs changing then it's not offensive
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Post by divine kelly »

Offensive? Nah, if anything this book is straight forward.
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Post by McKadeemd »

I did not feel that this book was offensive. However, the author is very direct and tells it as he sees it, which I could see some being offended by. So I think it just depends on personality.
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Post by Gemma_15 »

Being offended really is a choice that people actively make. He gives many stories that show this. I don't get offended. Thus, this book wasn't in any way offensive to me. I can see how some would take offense though. A lot of the negative actions that he talks about could easily be applied to so many people. It points out a lot of flaws and so many people really can't handle their flaws being pointed out. Granted, those aren't usually the people who choose to read self-help books.
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Post by Fozia-Bajwa »

Swiftmover07 wrote: 01 Nov 2018, 23:48 I did not find any of the content offensive. I love how nothing was sugar-coated it makes the content relatable. One of my favorite examples is where the author says "There is nothing wrong with being selfish and acting on your own best interest"
it is so beautiful sentence you have chosen for commenting on the following post that there is nothing wrong wih being selfish Wow its great saying by author. I like your post.
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Post by Natalie_Taylor »

It was offensive, per se, but it was combative. It sounded more like he was being defensive.
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Post by dreamthewilderness »

Despite Wdowiak's best efforts, I was not at all offended reading the book - except maybe by the number of grammatical errors in the book. I've faced all of these lessons before on my own, and can recognize that they're best embraced with humility - humility is the best shield against butt-hurtedness.
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Post by Theresa Moffitt »

I didn’t find he book offensive at all. Some of the actions of the characters may have been offensive but i think that spoke to the type of character not the balm itself. I enjoyed the book
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