I don't know if this is specifically a western thing. It's just different cultures are offended by different things. For example, in thailand everyone holds th

I don't know if this is specifically a western thing. It's just different cultures are offended by different things. For example, in thailand everyone holds the king in very high esteem. So if you were to be in thailand and make a joke about the king, even if it was extremely lighthearted and not very derogatory a thai person would likely take this as a much greater personal insult than something like a rape joke.