’I am offended by that.’ Well, so what?

Everyone is offended by something. And some people are offended by everything.

If you’re easily and often offended, stop reading.

But if you’re feeling particularly self-masochistic, or one of those thrilling people that trawl through the internet in hope of finding something to get you really worked up, strap in.

Now, as everyone with access to a calendar, front door or societal awareness will know, Halloween has recently passed. What better opportunity to adorn oneself with a morally grey outfit and get away with it, right?

Apparently not. A certain unnamed group of people wanted to reach further into the immoral than the standard Jimmy Savillesque paedophile Halloween outfit.

There was a sense of “too soon” to their idea of dressing up as the Oscar Pistorious trial and of course given the current ‘offense guidelines’, it is easy to see the reasoning behind people taking offense; it is a pretty sensitive issue.

Alternatively however it is highly unlikely that anyone in the Leamington Spa area is directly affiliated with the case.

So why the fuck are you offended? In truth, it is none of your business.

If the fancy-dressee intended to offend no one, then why are you imposing your own moral values on them?

What if the reasoning for them dressing up in such a controversial manner was in fact to rise above the whole putrid affair.

Morally grey costumes and jokes can, and should, be used as a means of overcoming the issues addressed.

By tackling the issue in such a manner, an individual could indeed be seen to be, not only, aware and understanding that there are imperfections in society but also active in negating their hold over us.

By making a joke, you’re not letting anything or anyone to dictate your life choices.

Yes bad things happen, but if we can rise above them, if we can poke fun at them and turn them into something that people are not afraid to speak about and joke about then we destroy their importance.

This does not mean we can’t sympathise with someone affected by them, what it means is that we can express solidarity in alternate ways.

My outfit says: “Yes I am dressed as a paedophile and I am dressed as such because everyone knows and understands that it is wrong.”

Instead of ignoring these things we can approach them and deny them an impression over an entire society.

Even in these exaggerated opinions there are elements that could be taken to placate a society that has the ability to find offense in many places.