I recently wrote a few jokes for The Gooner which were placed online. One in particularly caused a bit of a stir amongst some of my family. Seeing that what I had written had been placed on the website I sent a text to a few Arsenal supporting mates and family to basically say take a look.

My Dad didn't get back to me straight away, so when I saw him later that week I asked what he'd thought. He said he'd been shocked and a little disappointed at the Phil Brown joke. Now as everyone knows when your parents say they're disappointed in you that hurts so much more than when you've just annoyed them.

It got me thinking though, the word that I'd alluded to in the joke was a word I would never use in any kind of company. The ''c'' word is one that when I hear people use it makes me cringe, especially when I hear it shouted out at games, a geezer who sits a few rows behind me at home games uses it at full volume at least five times a game, without any regard for whether there are any kids around.

There's been loads of talk about people being offended by things on TV, radio or in the press recently. It’s become a new national pastime for people for look for things to be offended about. How many times have there been reports saying things like ''the number of people that have complained has now reached 2000'' when originally it was only two or three. The Daily Mail brigade get wind of something that they never actually saw but as it’s been reported on they suddenly decide ''you know what, I never actually saw it, but if I had it would of offended me''.

Of course really if the papers are reporting things that they know are offensive surely it’s they who are in the wrong. When Paul McCartney was asked whether or not he'd taken drugs, he said yes, but if you don't want that to influence kids, you don't print it. The point I'm trying to make is if you know something has offended a few people that have seen it, why then publish it so as to offend even more people?

The other reason I'm witting this is whilst thinking about how people find the ''c'' word offensive, I got thinking about the ''y'' word with the game against the Spuds still fresh in the mind. It’s a subject which has been talked about for years. I have to admit it’s a word I have used in reference to our neighbours in the past, but never with any kind derogatory feelings towards anybody’s religion. I rather foolishly only ever thought of it as a nickname for Spuds fans. I knew it was a word which wasn't very pleasant when used in relation to Jewish people but rather naively thought it didn't matter because the only people I wanted to cause offense to were the Spuds.

The thing is though, when does something become offensive? When it offends one person or thousands? When it’s one person saying it or thousands? I heard a comedian the other day (his name escapes me) say that no ones ever died of being offended. I feel however if it offends one person then that's one too many, as long as it’s genuine offence. As I said earlier a lot of people seem to have made a hobby out of it. It’s got to the stage where some would be offended if the chicken that crossed the road wasn't an organic one.

The ''c'' word and the ''y'' word are disgusting words. I now make a conscious effort to never use them. The fact that Spuds fans might use the latter one to describe themselves is no argument. They're such a joke of a football club that there are ample words which can describe them, without having to use one which causes offence to people that support our own great club.

So finally sorry Dad and sorry Uncle... (when I sent that text, without thinking, I'd sent it to my thirteen year old cousin!) I felt ashamed of myself, but in a way it’s proved to be a useful lesson.

And as for Phil Brown he is a joke, but in future I'll just let him prove that himself... he does a much better job of it.