re: What's the silliest reason you've seen someone get offended?

quote:

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women getting offended when you call them "ma'am"

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"Black women getting offended when you call them "ma'am".
FIFY!

I ran a section in a large IT group. Programmers had to submit their programs thru my group with proper documentation for proper tracking.

Late in the day, one lady tried to get us to accept her program without any documentation. I wasn't going to lose my job over her request and insisted on the documentation.

She got very upset and was going back to her office to complete the paperwork. She made a comment as she was leaving and I said "Yes ma'am", showing respect for her.

She turned around and said "Don't ever call me that again because ma'am is short for madam and I am no madam".

I stood up and turned to face her and said "I still address my mother with "Yes ma'am" and "No ma'am" and if it is good enough for her it is good enough for you.

She opened her mouth to respond and then realized that if she responded that she would be talking about "my mama".

She decided to shut up.