I try not to interpret people’s motives. I’ve found that we tend to read our own biases into what other people are saying or thinking, and that can be a hit or miss proposition. Sometimes we might be right about their intent, but other times completely off base.

People who are too easily offended need to ask themselves why another person has the power to affect them so adversely. It shows a lack of self confidence and a feeling that other people are “out to get them” whether true or not. So I’ve found it’s better to take things at face value and not try to devine intent. People are prone to say stupid things, often because they don’t know what to say or they’re not good conversationalists. If someone mentions my Native American granddaughter’s skin color, I prefer to take it as a compliment instead of an insult. If they try to figure out where I’m from because of my accent, I take is as interest rather than insult. We all need to lighten up a bit and not allow people to hold the power to offend us so easily. There are more important things in this world to dwell on. I don’t have the inclinination to try and figure out whether somebody is insulting me by asking where I’m from.