like being told to “move my fat ass” or just plain annoying and then telling me they were joking.
Schrödinger’s asshole. It’s testing boundaries. If you say something, they’ll claim it was just a joke. If you don’t they’ll keep going and likely get worse.
This is how assholes test your boundaries to see how far they can push you. It wasn’t a joke until you pushed back.
It’s called bullying.
They’re bullying you.
Depends. Sometimes they take a bad swing at a joke and realize they fucked it up… sometimes though they’re just assholes they are trying to cover being an ass.
It’s usually a matter of context to tell which is which.
Oh yeah that’s generally true, but something like calling a person fat just sounds like someone’s being an asshole and then when they get called out they turn it into your problem for being “too sensitive” because it was “just a joke” – ie. continuing to be an asshole
The correct thing to do with a swing and a miss like that is to apologize. If there’s no apology, it’s the asshole thinking they have an actual excuse.
If your neighbour’s donkey is eating your flowers you’re entitled to ask them to move their fat ass.
this happens to me all the time
tfkirp issthty
Most of the times I swing and miss with a joke, the other person just doesn’t connect with my humor. Instead of being offended, I find they’re just confused by what just happened.
For example, I had a joke I found funny, but apperently I’m the only one who finds it funny.
See, what you do is…you go to a place that wouldn’t have mustard, like a bus stop. And you ask
Uhhhh…where’s the mustard?
And they say something that indicates they don’t know, or there isn’t any. And you say
Oh, ok. Sorry.
I find that joke hilarious. Nobody else gets it. But they aren’t offended…
Over time, you start seeing a pattern. If the (superficially) rude things mostly make you laugh, it’s the former, if they mostly make you feel bad, it’s the latter.
this is known as schrodinger’s asshole. they are serious or kidding depending on the results they get
There is this strange belief that humor is exempt from consequences.
In the book “Jam” by “Yahtzee Croshaw” there is a post-apocalyptic sect formed by a group of people from an internet forum. They are not stupid of course; they form a sect ironically. Then they worship a rambling drunk old man called Bob ironically and have ironic sermons and ironically imprison nonbelievers at the ironic orders of the High Priest.
If you point out that this is stupid and evil, they will roll their eyes and go “Duh!”, then ironically execute you for heresy.
lol that sounds great. Is it a comedy?
Ugh, I have a friend whose humour often involves mean-spirited jibes and put-downs. I was in a low mood one day and told him I didn’t like the tone of his “jokes”, that they sometimes stung. He really dialled back after that.
You’re fortunate. I had a friend who was similar, but rather than verbal, his jokes generally involved intentionally acting in a way he knew you found annoying. I once told him that being annoying was, in fact, annoying and not amusing. He said “sorry I upset you. I’ll probably keep doing it though.” I said that that wasn’t what sorry meant … He didn’t respond and did, indeed, keep doing it.
He and I have both grown up a lot since then. I don’t see him often, but I don’t think he’s intentionally annoying anymore.
Most of the time they’re just assholes.
In the terms of the cliche, they’re trying to have their cake and eat it too.
They want the immediate gratification of being rude assholes, so they do it just long enough for that initial rush, then they back away to try to avoid the consequences.
Maybe they’re republican
Let’s make this about politics too because we simply can’t have a thread without someone bringing up politics. Thanks for your contribution on making this place worse for everyone.
Is it politics, or is it diagnosing someone with a mental condition? I can’t keep track anymore.
Because the last thing some people want to do is be accountable
They really think everything is ok as long as it’s just a joke
Because punch them in the face. That’s how you stop that behavior.
Oh, did I punch you in the face? It was just a joke!
And suddenly they think twice about being an asshole.
Using their logic against them never works.
Oh, it’s not the logic that works. It’s the punch in the face.
“I was an asshole…and that guy punched me. I want to be an asshole…but I don’t want to get punched again…”
Thats a simplified version of it. The extended version is multiple punches to the face.
That’s terrible advice. Use words not your fists, unless you want to be arrested.
Hit them with a bigger insult and call it a joke. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t hear you as I was overwhelmed by the horror of your hideous face. Just a joke.’ Or ‘I’m fat because your (insert family member here) feeds me when I fuck them.’
I think that some people are just assholes. And other people are too sensitive.
Sometimes its a bit of both. Sometimes its one or the other.
I enjoy mercilessly shit talking people who mercilessly shit talk me back. But I have the social awareness to recognize when this isn’t appropriate, and to treat people the way they want to be treated, not how I want to be treated.
The difference between a joke and bullying is entirely down to the victim. They are allowed to be as sensitive as they want. “Its just a joke” tries to turn it back on them. The only reasonable response is along the lines of "I intended it as a joke, but obviously screwed up. I’m sorry. "
The only grey area are those who are happy to dish it out, but not receive. You should expect people to wind you up to the same level you wind them/others to.
Along with assholes testing boundaries that others have said. It can also be someone trying to be witty and speaking before they processed the implications of what they said. I know I have done that but I also showed regret when telling someone I meant it in jest.
Your examples are clearly not that though they were just an ass and didn’t want to deal with the consequences of being such.
