Nowadays it's pretty much impossible to be truly offensive or provocative since everything has been done already, so just write what's on your mind.
You might actually turn this whole question around and ask whether it would be more offensive not to make the point you intended, regardless of what anyone thought. On a very important level I think writing takes courage. If you have something vital to say then you cannot allow fear to hamper your message. A really good story is not an if/or proposition. It just is. If you were to go and author one of the many politically correct novels/stories/poems/songs/movie scripts out there (in every nook and cranny of the world), then I would say you are likely not being true to the message, or yourself, and that the chances of producing anything of worth in the future are slim. Think about the really great authors and their novels. Did any of them hold back when they produced their very best work? Many classic novels contain incredible violence and broach highly controversial subjects, but none of what they said in the end was ever gratuitous. Maybe that is the thing to strive for.
I don't know, but I've always been of the opinion that when it comes to writing, one should 'speak their mind and write their soul,' without worrying about how it's going to be received. Sure, there are social standards and belief systems in place that govern our behavior in public, within the contexts of society, and all of that sociological blah blah blah, which are valid and in place for a reason. But when it comes to writing, I think it's a free game. Do you think Hunter S. Thompson was afraid of offending people? What about Hemingway? Christ, he based his characters on people he knew and even admitted to those people that his representations were more or less critiques on them as persons (do keep in mind that he acknowledged there may be consequences for doing so, such as placing a strain on a relationship, or even ruining one, but the important thing is he didn't let it stop him from writing stories). Or what about Twain? Putting aside the obvious The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, he wrote a story called Cannibalism in the Cars about politicians stuck on a train during a blizzard who resort to cannibalism in order to stay alive, utilizing most of their core political processes to determine the order in which they eat everyone. Talk about a critique or something potentially offensive. What about his King Leopold's Soliloquy, which was (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong) banned for a decent period of time, during his career, and quite a rare piece. It is not included in most of the Mark Twain 'complete works,' that were published during, and after, his career. What about the slew of authors who have been accused of being insensitive? I don't think they were being insensitive. I think they were being real, and there's a huge difference, in my honest opinion. Now I'm not suggesting you should be an asshole for the sake of being an asshole. Of course there's a time and place, just like in public, but be an asshole when you should, not when you shouldn't. Offending someone shouldn't be a fear that reigns supreme and dictates how you should or shouldn't write. Fuck all that. Besides, “The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies," and, "The books are to remind us what asses and fools we are." -Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 ...and I totally agree.
