The changing nature of offence and why it causes pain

People today aren’t any more sensitive than previous generations. They just takes offence at different things. Andrew Gold on why words hurt us

Today, the most offensive words and images are those that contravene identity lines. It’s why trans issues and BLM are front and centre (Getty)

The team is like musical chairs. Someone gets in for a game, does well but then has a Holocaust.” These are the words Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton used to describe his team’s poor performance earlier this season. He was being interviewed after losing 3-1 to Newport and, while searching for a word strong enough to convey just how bad his club had played, found on the tip of his tongue a reference to the Shoah.

Despite the furore caused by Barton’s comments, pundit and ex-footballer Carlton Cole did the same thing just a month later. Discussing West Ham’s upcoming games, he said: “You’ve got to give Man City some respect […]. Otherwise it will be a Holocaust and you don’t want that.”

Both former players activated the modern “sorry if I offended anybody” get-out clause, suggesting that either they couldn’t quite remember what they said, or that the feelings of the Jewish people – six million of whom were murdered in said Holocaust – could only be considered in the conditional. The Jewish community might reply in kind with: would that “if” were “that”.