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FanIn80 · 02-07-2011, 04:20 PM

"You're a knob."
"Stop acting like a knob."

Am I the only one that sees the difference in these two statements? What about...

"Giordano is an all-star."
"Giordano plays like an all-star."

Those are two distinctly different statements.

"This lime is a lemon."
"This lime tastes like a lemon."

Why is it so obvious to see the difference between statements like that, but when someone says "You're acting like a prick" they act like you just called them a prick?

If someone is actually acting like a prick, how on earth are you supposed to tell them that? Personally, I think telling them they're acting like a prick is actually a fairly constructive way of dealing with the situation. I also don't think it's insulting at all. Obviously, feelings will be hurt, but that's usually just a symptom of the truth is it not? If someone told me I was acting like a chair, I wouldn't take offence to that... if I was acting like a prick and they called me on it, it would sting at first, but I'd appreciate it later.

Anyway, sometimes I wonder if I live in my own little world when it comes to this stuff. It's like a couple weeks back, an old friend from high school is messaging me on Facebook, and before I know it, she's going on about this dbag she's dating. I pointed out that she has a history of dating guys like that, and perhaps the first step to not being miserable would be to stop dating guys like that. All of a sudden, it's like I'm on an episode of Jerry Springer, and I'm suddenly the biggest prick on the planet. I don't get it. Was I supposed to just tell her everything was going to be okay, and that if she hangs in there, she'll find the right dbag someday and they'll go on to have lots of little dbag children? I didn't insult her. I didn't call her a dbag. I just said what was probably the first bit of honesty she's heard in a long time.

Sometimes I suspect a lack of social empathy may be in the cards, but that's probably a different discussion altogether.

02-07-2011, 04:20 PM	#1
FanIn80 GOAT! Join Date: Jun 2006 Exp:	So what constitutes an insult? "You're a knob." "Stop acting like a knob." Am I the only one that sees the difference in these two statements? What about... "Giordano is an all-star." "Giordano plays like an all-star." Those are two distinctly different statements. "This lime is a lemon." "This lime tastes like a lemon." Why is it so obvious to see the difference between statements like that, but when someone says "You're acting like a prick" they act like you just called them a prick? If someone is actually acting like a prick, how on earth are you supposed to tell them that? Personally, I think telling them they're acting like a prick is actually a fairly constructive way of dealing with the situation. I also don't think it's insulting at all. Obviously, feelings will be hurt, but that's usually just a symptom of the truth is it not? If someone told me I was acting like a chair, I wouldn't take offence to that... if I was acting like a prick and they called me on it, it would sting at first, but I'd appreciate it later. Anyway, sometimes I wonder if I live in my own little world when it comes to this stuff. It's like a couple weeks back, an old friend from high school is messaging me on Facebook, and before I know it, she's going on about this dbag she's dating. I pointed out that she has a history of dating guys like that, and perhaps the first step to not being miserable would be to stop dating guys like that. All of a sudden, it's like I'm on an episode of Jerry Springer, and I'm suddenly the biggest prick on the planet. I don't get it. Was I supposed to just tell her everything was going to be okay, and that if she hangs in there, she'll find the right dbag someday and they'll go on to have lots of little dbag children? I didn't insult her. I didn't call her a dbag. I just said what was probably the first bit of honesty she's heard in a long time. Sometimes I suspect a lack of social empathy may be in the cards, but that's probably a different discussion altogether.