The difference between being offensive & being hateful

When I call people out for making sexist/homophobic/racist/ableist remarks, the response is often "I didn't mean to offend you." This annoys me for two reasons - 1) I haven't reacted inappropriately, they said something wrong, and 2) it's not offensive, it's hateful.

On his blog Fineness & Accuracy, Scott Madin wrote an excellent post about the difference that struck a chord with me.

Check it out here.