I just got the message below in an e-mail.  I’ve written before about Why I Call The Assholes.   But I don’t think this guy would be swayed by my answer.   I am, however, glad that he is offended. One of my philosophies is that I WANT to offend some of the people some of the time; otherwise, I am doing something wrong.  After all, when people squirm, complain, and criticize, it is a sign I’ve touched a nerve and they are actually thinking.  Plus emotionally-laden language — rather than dull words that people can’t hear — is more likely to be remembered and thus has a better chance to bring about change.  I believe that if my book was called "The No Harassment Rule," it not only would have had less impact,  I would also have written a less interesting book.  The word "harasser" just couldn’t have produced the same emotions and and wouldn’t have reminded me of the vivid stories that resulted in The No Asshole Rule.   And I think the same is true for the now hundreds of people who have sent me their stories from all over the world.  No other word quite does the trick, at least for me.

The header in the message was "Comment on your book, The No A@#&*$ Rule."  Here is the rest, with only the writer’s name removed:

" I find it a bit sad that you couldn’t get your idea
across without being offensive to some of us. Your book had many great ideas in it such that it helped spur our organization into pushing for a
"No Harrassment" policy from management. However, taking joy in the fact that the book uses a "dirty word" that I find offensive seems
a form of bullying itself. I would
imagine the response would be that if I find it offensive then I should just pass up the book, but that
seems akin to telling an African-American that he is free to plug his
ears when people in the office want to tell a racist joke."

I find his last line to be an unfair comparison, but I guess that is the way he feels.