Offensive? I'll tell you what's offensive ...

It’s time for the “Big Game,” which means it’s time to debut brand new, entertaining (for the most part) commercials. But, wait! There’s more!

This year, advertisers for the “Big Game” have been giving sneak peeks of their commercials and, lo and behold, some folks already have taken offense at them. Seriously?

Coca-Cola has a spot featuring a race among cowboys, Mad Max-like marauders and a busload of showgirls across a desert toward a giant Coke. Ah, but it also has a nomad with a camel in the opening, and now folks of nomadic persuasion are bent out of shape. Complainers say it’s stereotyping, demeaning and, more importantly, he’s left out of the race with no chance to win the Real Thing. They say it’s offensive.

Really? Since the whole commercial hasn’t aired, how do they know there’s not a twist and the nomad and his camel get the Coke in the end? Besides, there are desert countries known for nomads. And camels. Get over it, folks.

Then, there’s a Volkswagen commercial featuring a guy from Minnesota who, in a twist, speaks with a Jamaican accent and always is happy. Some folks were offended and said it was racist. Really? Would they have preferred he have a German accent? Or the stereotypical Minnesota accent? When I first saw it, I thought the complaint was about the little Asian fellow in the backseat (I think he’s been in Snapple commercials, too) but, no, it was because of the guy with the Jamaican accent. I think their complaint is nullified, however, when a representative of Jamaica said it reflected the happy nature of the island’s citizens and actually thought it was fun and positive. Once again, get over it, folks.

But, the craziest complaint has to be about a Taco Bell commercial, and it has nothing to do with what you might think. It’s because at the start of the spot a guest at a “Big Game” party hands the hostess a carton of veggies and the voiceover says, basically, anyone who brings vegetables to a “Big Game” party is a loser. No, it was vegetable people who took offense. It offended the sensibility of vegetable lovers Are you kidding me? No, they weren’t. And more than that, Taco Bell pulled the spot because veggie lovers were offended.

However, as one wag pointed out, there was lettuce on the tacos.

What’s next? Lactose-intolerant folks offended by cheese commercials? Poor people offended by Cadillac commercials? Bald people offended by shampoo ads?

It’s gotten so anyone can take offense to anything, and do. We live in a society where people have gotten so thin-skinned it’s a wonder they can get out of bed in the morning without being offended by the sun rising. “How dare that ball of fire in the sky ruin my sleep!” I’m surprised we haven’t heard from aliens offended at their depiction of being mostly blood-thirsty, war-mongering creatures from other worlds. Of course, they generally tend to show themselves only out in the hinterlands to Bubba and LeRoy who have quaffed enough Busch Light to float their bass boat, so when we do hear from them they may, indeed, have been offended.

These days, it doesn’t take much to offend people, just look at the veggie thing. Yet, at the same time, we have an abundance of TV programs that “celebrate diversity” that tend to perpetuate stereotypes. There’s a new one, that I haven’t seen yet, called “Southies,” about people in South Boston. Guess what? They all talk in that South Boston accent and say “wicked” a lot, at least according to the promos. I wonder if they’ll have subtitles like the makers of the Honey BooBoo show did so viewers could understand what they heck they’re saying.

“Jersey Shore” offended New Jersey residents. “Buck Wild” offended West Virginia residents. I haven’t heard of any if the shows set in Louisiana have offended folks down there. (I have to admit I’m a big “Duck Dynasty” fan, although I’m sure its connection to hunting has offended PETA, which seems offended by humans in general.)

I’ll admit I’m offended by some things.

I find beauty pageants for spoiled, tarted-up 3-year-olds offensive, just as I’m offended by parents trying to relive their lives through their children.

I’m offended by old men who never had to go sending young men and women to war, then not keeping promises made to them.

I find making big deals out of Beyonce lip synching, Lindsay Lohan constantly in trouble, Rhianna and Chris Brown’s relationship, the Kardashians doing anything and 99 percent of celebrity “news” offensive.

I’m offended by million-dollar bonuses for top-tier executives while those who work in the trenches struggle take care of their families.

I’m offended by extremists being the squeakiest wheels getting the most attention and obscuring serious issues.

I’m offended by politicians.

I’m not sure if I’m offended by or just tired of all the obnoxiously precocious youngsters in commercials and TV shows.

I’m offended by men telling women what they can or cannot do with their own bodies.

I’m offended by huge corporations swallowing up local, mom-and-pop businesses.

I’m offended by people who think everything is owed to them.

It offends me when people today are held accountable for what happened centuries ago, things they neither had anything to do with nor can do anything about now.

I’m offended by people telling me how to live my life, how I need to look, what size I should be.

I’m offended by people taking offense at every little thing.

So, for all those offended by depictions of nomads, accents and veggies, grow up, get over it and find something meaningful to that truly is offensive.

Sonny Garrett is opinion page editor of The Baxter Bulletin and author of “Just Another Day in Paradise.”