Freedom of Speech?

When I was younger I considered becoming a journalist. My two role models were the late Katharine Graham,publisher of the Washington Post, and Helen Thomas, White House reporter. I admire both of these women because they both worked in very male dominated fields at the time and were quite successful.
Helen Thomas has come under fire for a comment she made about Israel a week or so ago. When asked for a comment about Israel she said that she felt the Isrealis should leave Palestine. This is not an exact quote.
Ever since she made that comment which has been bouncing around on the Internet she has been taking heat from everyone. Sarah Palin,Rep Anthony Weiner of New York and Ari Fleischer have all roundly denounced her and demanded that she be fired immediately. She has been dropped by the bureau that represents her as a speaker, asked not to give a commencement address that she was scheduled to give and has now lost her job as a columnist for Hearst Newspapers.
She has apologised several times and in several venues for her remarks.
I'm not going to debate the wrongness or rightness of what she said. What bothers me is that this is a part of a disturbing trend. Public figures that make remarks or express opinions that are unpopular or mildly offensive to certain groups of people find themselves in the midst of a firestorm of anger. Then they have to retract their statements and apologise over and over again. Sometimes jobs and reputations are lost or damaged beyond repair.
In the United States we have freedom of speech. That means that anyone can say what they want without fear of retribution from the law. That means that people who say things that are offensive to you have the right to say it. There is nothing in the Bill of Rights that says we have the right to not be offended. Whether you agree with Ms Thomas or not she has the right to express her opinion and if you don't like it, don't read her columns and don't pay attention to her or express your opinion on how you think she is wrong. Don't call her names, don't demand that she be silenced. This is called discourse, a skill sorely lacking in society today.
A lot of the fire is coming from people who are Jewish who consider her remarks to be offensive. I can understand that. As a person of Italian and German descent I am constantly offended by the depictions of Italians as Mafia thugs and depictions of Germans as Nazis or wandering around in lederhosen swilling beer and singing out of tune drinking songs. What do I do about it? I don't demand that the producers of "The Sopranos" apologise for their show or undergo sensitivity training to learn how they are offending those of Italian descent. I simply don't support it. I don't watch the show, or buy the movies or spend any of my time or money to support those things. I do support those movies, books or shows that give a more balanced view.
In our efforts to be "politically correct" we are slowly, maybe not so slowly eroding freedom of speech. This is not good for our society. As a society need to be able to express opinions and ideas and to do so in a civil ,respectful manner, maybe now more than ever. We also need to learn how to handle those who disagree better. If we don't the next step is censorship.