You said that Karen was "hyper-ventilating" again. Why do you consider your smart mouthing to be insulting??
Not to worry about me, Solon. I dodge, reinterpret, and slough off insults very, very smoothly. I have pretty thick skin and I expect others to have it, as well. Only a few types of insult get me exercised. I didn't "take" that one as an insult at all. <g>
Right up there at the tippy top of my list, though, is exclusion. I find that particularly cruel because it's so subtle and pervasive, so indirect and craven, so easily rationalized by the perpetrators. It is so pernicious because it doesn't offer the victim a clear way to get the pain off his chest so it wears on him over time. If you tell someone straight out that he's ugly, at least you're being honest and direct when you inflict pain and you know what you've done. And he can react to it and you can understand the reaction. The effects of exclusion are insidious. There is no direct insult as bad as overlooking someone, sending the message that he's not even worthy of an overt insult. And the perpetrator can stand there looking all innocent and say "who, me, what?" and go to church on Sunday feeling good about himself... |
