i know the feeling - years ago, when i just came to the US and the some of the old habits were still fresh, i opened a door for a young lady, without even thinking about it (it was instilled in our brains from the moment we went to schools, boys were thought chivalry and how to use a hammer and screwdriver, girls were thought how to cook and saw, in addition to regular academics), and that girl flew off the handle!!! literally, it felt as she were a witch who misplaced her broom... so, it seems that one can offend just about anyone else by doing or not doing just about anything...

considering the fact that I was born and raised in a politically incorrect country, i do rather often find myself being politically incorrect... nevertheless, i think that any word can be offensive, if it is uttered in an offensive manner - say, there is an almost 100 year old tension between Armenians and Azeris (even though Turks were the ones who committed genocide against armenians), and a normal, common word in Armenian, Turk (meaning a Turk and Azerbaijanis at the same time), has a super negative connatation... Accordingly, the word in Azeri, Armenian (Ermani) has a very bad meaning... Let me note, that there are no alternatives in either languages...

Living first 30 years of my life with my grandmother, who lost both of her legs in WWII, I know first hand how hard it is for those folks - nothing is really adopted around them to help them out, even though some attempts are made (in the US the ADA legislation). I drove my first car that was equipped with manual gears and levers, so I know a little bit about this environment, even though each case is totally unique...

I sure hope that the 2die4 did not get upset with my choice of words