Degrees of Offense

I was thinking this morning during a dry if still chilly stroll with pooch about the degrees of tolerance around the world and their roots. My other half, who is a very private sort and somewhere between an Agnostic and an Atheist, asked me if I found the Hagadone Directory commercial offensive.

You know, the one that runs on Adelphia. Saint Peter is passing judgment. The lawyer who has purchased an ad is "in". Irma, the little old lady who runs a flower shop, is not "in" and gets dropped through a trap door. One can read a lot into that commercial. I've always thought it in rather poor taste but then it's what I've come to expect from the Hagadone bunch. Interestingly, it is not on their web site while others are.

The question is does anyone else find this little ditty offensive and to what degree? In this land of Evangelicals and Born Agains, my deep thinker is surprised that no one has picked up on this. It has made me wonder about my own mind set. I find it a daily irritant; an attempt at humor that falls short. That's what mute buttons are for.

Then I think about the Mohammad cartoons. You know, the ones we can't see. With no offense meant toward anybody, the one with Mohammad refusing entry into eternity to a group of obvious suicide bombers because they are out of virgins made me laugh.

I guess I've arrived at the point where if I can't laugh, without it offending someone, I WILL cry!