I hate sarcasm

I hate sarcasm.

This re-frame was inspired by a Pinterest post that said. “I love sarcasm. It is like punching people in the face but with words.” as if that was a good or acceptable thing to do.

What if you didn’t love sarcasm either?

• If you thought about sarcastic comments as punching someone in the face would you use sarcasm as much?
• If you wouldn’t punch your child in the face why would you hurt their trust in you by being sarcastic to them?  If you would punch your child in the face send me your contact details so I can forward them on to child protection.
• If you want your partners love and trust why would you use sarcasm to mock them or convey contempt. That is what you are doing when you use sarcasm.

What is sarcasm?

Sarcasm is making an apparently positive statement but the real meaning of the statement is actually negative and putting someone down.

Sarcasm is a form of irony. A person using sarcasm to abuse others often deny that their words were intended to hurt and claim they were only joking if challenged.

It’s a nasty, passive aggressive way of communicating and one we encourage our students to not allow during mediation.

That can be difficult for some people. The are not used to saying what they mean and meaning what they say.

For some people they have had so much sarcasm and distorted language used against them that they think it is normal and OK to speak that way. It is the way that they were spoken to during their childhoods, early working life or in relationships and at some point have decided that using sarcasm is an OK thing for them to do.  Perhaps you’re one of them and rather than saying what you think and feel you hide behind sarcasm, using it to lash out at others in a deniable way.

What do you think?

Is sarcasm over used and a form of abuse or a perfectly fun way to communicate?