Why do Americans say “no offense”?

I’ve been living in Los Angeles for the past six months, and this is something that I find really funny coming from a Western European background (let’s just say “we speak our mind). <br><br>No offense, but…<br><br>-in a conversation or debate, when someone says something clearly offending.<br><br>No offense, but… <br><br>-when giving a feedback.<br><br>No offense , but…<br><br>-when the sentence you’re about to say is clearly offending.<br><br>I understand the concept of not wanting to offend and why it’s important to be mindful of your words, but I don’t see the point of saying “no offense” when the following sentence is offending anyway. <br><br>I think that if you say something offensive, it’s clearly offending. “No offense” won’t make it less offending. Sometimes people seem to find comfort in saying “no offense” before saying something offending, as if adding “no offense” would make their sentence less offending or make it OK to say something offending. I have the feeling that it’s meant to put the blame on the other person and is sometimes used to offend or provoke a reaction. <br><br>Are we more direct in Europe?