Sarcasm


Connie
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First let me say, i have no wish to offend anyone. I have learned so much from so many good people on this site. But i wish to offer some advice about sarcasm.

I grew up in a family that did not use sarcasm very much. We said what we meant and we meant what we said. Sarcasm was pretty much lost on me for a long time. My husband, however, grew up with a main diet of sarcasm, so when i married him i gained an appreciation of sorts for it.

Sarcasm, IMO, is very much over used today. Glenn Beck is a good example. While i really appreciate his social commentary and loved his first book, his sarcasm is a huge turn off for me. He takes it too far.

Now i know a lot of people on this site use sarcasm. I get a huge laugh out of some of those comments, a lot of them are great. But i see it being over used more and more. At its worst, sarcasm conveys anger and bitterness, and this is why i offer this caution. Please be very careful how you use sarcasm. Know that there are thick-headed people out there (like me) on whom sarcasm is lost, and they will take you seriously. Sarcasm is one of those things that IMO should be used sparingly.

God bless! I know i will probably get a lot of sarcastic remarks for this post, so i'll do my laughing now, hahahahaha! :rolleyes:

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i never in my life ever posted a comment for anything in this sites message board.

but sarcasm is an art that i enjoyed and so i must say that i had to say something in this topic. in my opiinon, if sarcasm is used not just properly, but wisley and in the proper situations, with enough humor, then its always a good thing.

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natrually it works better in real life then online, its because sarcasm requires emotion aswell, you cant hear or see emotion online, so its sometimes best to not use.

I'm going to disagree with you in an agreeable way.

We read and see emotion online... but it's OUR OWN emotion that we're reading into the posts, not the poster or possibly the poster's intent behind the posting.

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Good reminder, connerific.

When I first started teaching, Bob Thomas (later became Robert K. Thomas, Academic VP or something of BYU) took me aside as a friend and told me straight out NEVER to be sarcastic to a student in class (he knew my natural tendencies). "You may get some students to laugh, but most of them will see it as picking on the student and eventually you'll lose their sympathy."

I kept that with me all of my teaching life (not that long, however).

Naturally,

R.O.

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It is a lovely reminder from a lovely person. :) But I must admit that I love well crafted sarcasm. It is certainly an art and can be quite entertaining if used properly. But it is a two edged sword and sometimes the sword is quite sharp and can hurt..... So...I welcome the reminder. But I am secretly glad you did say "sparingly" and not "never". ;)

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Thanks everyone. I agree that when used in the proper way it's great. That's a really great point, skippy, we read our own emotion into the posts. I like that, and it is true in so many cases.

But when someone is sincerely asking a question they want answers to, answering with sarcasm makes light of their question. It says, "boy what a dumb question, it doesn't deserve a kind answer." In my opinion anyway. And when you disagree with someone's post, answering with sarcasm conveys anger and bitterness, as i said before.

I have a hard time imagining Christ using sarcasm at all and especially in these situations. I can't think of a single recorded instance of Him using it. I don't see sarcasm as a very Christ-like way to talk. It can be fun in some situations, but it's not in the situations i mentioned fun at all. If we are truly trying to be like Christ and follow Him, we will be careful about when and how we use sarcasm.

Hope i'm not belaboring the point, i'll shutup now.

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I have to admit, I tend to see sarcasm as a "blow below the belt" and a response attempting to elicit humor thru embarrassment. It attempts to deflect attention away from the argument. It is almost never directed at us but to others, which lead me to believe it is not noble.

I have no affinity or ready use for sarcasm, I admit. Perhaps I have an atrophied sense of humor?

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I agree that in person we can watch for clues in the persons face here we can use the "smiles" to the right.:D:D:D The only thing about those is you are limited to eight per post.:lol:

I also think it's fair to say that some of us who have been here awhile know how some people are and when things are meant as a joke or meant to offend. I always say that if you are unsure you need to ask and maybe in a PM would be best. Some of the people I thought were so rude have actually become some of my better friends after we had gotten past a misunderstanding. :):):):)

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There are two arguments I've heard at university with regards to sarcasm:

The first, Professor Reigel, said "Sarcasm is resulting in the downfall of thought in western civilization. It is the lowest form of humor often called "The poor cousin to irony." Rather than requiring thought to point out flaws it expects that the argument has already been made. It is simply the stating of opposite of its intent. It has dulled the senses of the modern mind, swept reason by the wayside and been used as a crutch by the weak minded."

His opponent, the honorable Professor Laraty, replied "You're completely right. Sarcasm is destroying the world. Oh, no! Not sarcasm! Help! Sarcasm is coming to destroy the world. It's so terrible! SARCASM MUST BE STOPPED! You are a complete genius, Professor. Thank you for showing us that it is sarcasm that is to blame for our current state of affairs. Genius."

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There are two arguments I've heard at university with regards to sarcasm:

The first, Professor Reigel, said "Sarcasm is resulting in the downfall of thought in western civilization. It is the lowest form of humor often called "The poor cousin to irony." Rather than requiring thought to point out flaws it expects that the argument has already been made. It is simply the stating of opposite of its intent. It has dulled the senses of the modern mind, swept reason by the wayside and been used as a crutch by the weak minded."

His opponent, the honorable Professor Laraty, replied "You're completely right. Sarcasm is destroying the world. Oh, no! Not sarcasm! Help! Sarcasm is coming to destroy the world. It's so terrible! SARCASM MUST BE STOPPED! You are a complete genius, Professor. Thank you for showing us that it is sarcasm that is to blame for our current state of affairs. Genius."

Interesting. While i don't consider sarcasm the downfall of thought, i think the rest of the description is fairly accurate. Mr. Laraty's comment is exactly what i'm referring to. It was a completely inappropriate response. Christ would never had said such a thing. We need to respond in more Christ-like ways if we want to be called His followers

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