Oh, Come On!
Posted on | October 3, 2007 at 9:03 am | 7 Comments
Sarcasm. Do we really need it? Am I really that much of a smartass? It’s so hard to avoid in every day life. I’ve been making something of a conscious effort to curtail it lately, due to some dust-ups with the people I love. But it’s a really hard thing to cut out altogether, because it seems to be such a big part of who I am (inherited from my father and my family environment, no doubt) and what I consider amusing. I can’t just let things lie. I need to point out inconsistencies and logical/common sense fallacies, and the way I do it is jokingly passive aggressive. People are full of absurdities, just like life, and I revel in that. I prefer to think that my brand of sarcasm, is a kinder, gentler type that doesn’t totally invalidate the target. It’s not like I really mean it, people! But maybe I’m just full of bull, as usual. Hey, just because I make fun of the way you stupidly said something doesn’t mean I think you’re a lesser person. Except for you, Pilto.
My question for you 5 loyal readers: Do you think you’re a sarcastic person? If so, would it be hard for you to give it up? (Comments that attempt to be ironically sarcastic will be deleted.)
Pet Peeve Of The Day: Sputnik Nostalgia.
Latre.
Comments
7 Responses to “Oh, Come On!”
October 3rd, 2007 @ 9:56 am
I don’t think of you as sarcastic, but rather as someone who does not easily tolerate fools (one in particular). My own sarcasm was beaten out of me at an early age.
How many *disloyal* readers do you have?
October 3rd, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
if you think you’re sarcastic, you got a lot of work to do PAL. tom servo and THE KID.
October 3rd, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
Whenever my son gets sarcastic, my wife asks “Where do you think he got THAT from?” proving it could have been either of us.
October 3rd, 2007 @ 11:03 pm
I am a disloyal reader. I read Flasshe entirely in hopes of one day grasping the power, obtainable solely through careful study, that will allow me to overthrow him utterly.
I’m not sure if that was ironically sarcastic, sarcastically ironic, or just bizarre.
Anyway, if I said I wasn’t sarcastic, I’d be a complete liar. It would certainly be hard for me to give it up – but I see no reason to do so, given that it’s one mode among many by which humans communicate. Now certainly, there are times when either it’s inappropriate or it backfires: I’d like to be aware of the former and able to anticipate the latter.
But I’m also arrogant enough to believe that sometimes, when sarcasm backfires, that’s not my fault at all. It is you, O Dumb Reader, who is solely to blame. In some cases, not all.
I do worry that people think I’m a mean old bastard, rather than the grinning idiot, dorkily looning about, that I actually am. I’m very humble, in fact – more humble than almost everyone I know.
October 4th, 2007 @ 12:06 am
Sarcasm is like any other form of expression, it can be done well or not. Giving it up isn’t necessarily the best answer if the real problem is just that you’re doing it poorly. Know your audience – and be honest with yourself about whether you’re really trying to point something out, or just being negative and bitchy.
I don’t know if “sarcastic” is the FIRST term other people would use to describe me but it’s certainly part of how I roll… I often use various forms of humor in situations that bystanders may think is inappropriate, but my targets rarely take things the wrong way because I’m careful.
For example, I’ve been known for making jokes around clients which make my supervisors cringe, but the client got a good laugh – breaks the ice at meetings, PLUS I get invited to fewer meetings in the future! I call that a win-win.
October 4th, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
I consider myself a hopeless smart-a**! But, I remember way back (the good ol’ days, circa 2000 or so) when I used to actually wonder if you were being sarcastic or crabby – it wasn’t until Mike M. came along that by comparison, your sarcasm was rendered inert.
October 6th, 2007 @ 8:33 am
It’s like my mama always told me, it’s better to be a smart-ass than a dumb-ass.