Why do some people get offended by the truth

Because their truth is not necessarily your truth. If anyone calls you by those terms more than likely there is some truth to it

 

In case one is truly argumenting fairly, honestly, sensitively and with respect to the other party not trying to prove the other party wrong and yet the other party goes into the attack mode and gets emotional, then it probably means that the other party feels insecure about their approach. They are fighting back, motivated by their fear. They do not want to face the truth. They're scared that they were wrong all along and that the house of cards might go down. The bigger the topic is, the more emotional response follows. But basically it's about ego and fear.

 

I can relate to that. It's something I've gone through a couple of times just this year. I try to only talk about things that I have my facts sorted out on, such that if someone really questions my stance, I can tell them to look up what I am speaking on. That way, if the person has enough care to follow up they'd see truth to what I was speaking on. otherwise, if it's all just my opinion, or I've heard so and so speak about it but haven't researched it myself, I tread lightly. At the end of the day, people who don't want to hear something from you are not going to hear it, whether or not it's true.

As an aside, from what I have seen from people generally, they are incredibly socially biased creatures. By that I mean if the other person associates you with "bad people" they'll be less likely to believe you on every other issue, whether or not it even is related to the stances of those "bad people". For example, say they think Elon Musk is a bad guy, and you openly support him, so now everything else you say they'll be less likely believe because of that. More often than not, when someone puts you mentally in the "foe" list, they don't think very deeply or at all about what you say. They have their wall up, and they'll disagree without ever actually hearing what you have said.

 

A lot of people don't really understand what they believe or why they believe it. So if you question what they believe, they may get very uncomfortable or aggressive.

Your belief system defines your values, determines what you pursue and avoid, tells you what is acceptable or unacceptable in yourself and others. It provides a restricted framework that allows you to function within an infinitely complex universe full of the unknown. It provides the illusion of stability, safety and predictability.

 

Because they cannot handle the freedom of opinion and subjective perspective

 

The podcast Better Than Happy did an episode on this. People have their identity in their beliefs so when you criticise their beliefs they think you're attacking them. People think if they are wrong about something it must mean they are wrong as a person.

I used to be like that but now I feel like I'm getting better at hearing from people who disagree with me. At the end of the day, you can't make people change and the only person you can change is yourself. I think it's important to remember that you don't know everything and you could be wrong. Be open to changing your mind if someone gives a convincing argument.