I'm not being sarcastic, I'm enhancing your ability for creative problem solving

[kestrell]

Kes: See? That's me: always with the shiny lining.
The Science of Sarcasm
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Science-of-Sarcasm-Yeah-Right.html

Comments

[capri0mni]

LOL! Now that I've got ink and paper for my printer again, I can go back to making Zazzle designs (speaking of sarcasm). So:

Would you give permission for me to make the title of this post into a tee-shirt design?

Oh, and a way that I use sarcasm, that this article did not mention (And yes, I was raised a New Yorker, so I'm more likely to find sarcasm funny): Specifically when the person talking to me tries to infantilize me, because of my visible disability -- it's a way to prove to them that I can, indeed, understand the world in a deeper-than-superficial way. Of course, often, when said stranger is that deep into their own ableist attitudes that they feel the urge to infantilize me, in the first place, their brain fails to pick up on the sarcasm that they would clearly detect coming from any body else.

*sigh*

Oh, and how's this for a tee-shirt slogan: "I use sarcasm so that I don't have to kill you."?

[kestrell]

Note: this reply is sarcasm-free, as I have not yet consumed my decaf coffee.

Yes, you totaly have my permission to use this subject title for DIY projects.

Re using sarcasm to communicate with patronizing ableist individuals: I do this too, but in the last couple of years it has gotten to a point where I kind of scare myself, because I find myself saying things which are beyond sarcastic, into a level of such flatly-delivered irony that sometimes I ask myself, was I just being ironic? I don't even do it consciously and I'm pretty certain that there aren't any behavioral flags--my tone is conversational, I'm looking right at the person, and my facial expression doesn't change at all.

I think that this sort of sarcasm may still fall into the "dealing with an imperfect world" category, though, as it allows me to vent, to experimentally prove that the target is so certain of his/her own superiority that nothing I say could possibly be criticism, and also to reveal the sort of people who really are people I want to hang out with, namely, those who get the power of uber-sarcasm. I was raised by Italians in upstate NY, so I long ago realized that there are levels of profieciency of sarcasm: my family used sarcasm, but often didn't get the higherlevel of sarcasm which tinges into irony. Anyway, I definitely need to read the book mentioned in the article.

[capri0mni]

to reveal the sort of people who really are people I want to hang out with, namely, those who get the power of uber-sarcasm

I almost came back last night to edit my reply to add something just to that effect: That if you're angry enough to (going back to the Greek root) "turn pitbull and tear someone a new one" over an issue, then there's a good chance a fight is brewing. And if a fight is brewing, then it's a survival tactic to know who in the crowd is going to be your allies, and who, exactly, you are going to be fighting.

Since laughter and smirks are automatic reflexes, you'll get a more honest answer by telling a joke than asking people to raise their hands.

Also, a well crafted, and elaborate, verbal joke is a kind of bonus reward for your allies for sticking it out with you. There's a community on LJ called dot_gimp_snark, which has this line in its user profile: Cattiness is extremely important - if you just want to bitch without style, there are other places to do it. Whining is not snarking. Because sarcasm is style, and fun. Listening to someone whine without art gets boring.

Also, I want to agree with the hypothesis that the reason you see more sarcasm online than in real life is because you have time to think about and compose a good comeback in writing than you do in conversation. The experience of "Oh! Man! That's what I should have said" half-an-hour after an encounter is pretty much universal. But on the Internet, the blog post or video will still be there in the morning. The idiot in line at the grocery store won't be.

[kestrell]

Thank you for the link to the GimpSnark LJ, these are so my people! I have definitley grown weary of what many people call "snark" and which to me seems nothing more than petulant and humorless whining, so it's nice to see some people trying to revive the art.

Oddly, I don't see all sarcasm as a manifestation of anger; as a matter of fact, I think sarcasm/irony can often help turn something that makes you angry into something you can laugh at. Most of the people who make me really angry are both incredibly clueless and incredibly complacent in their belief that what they are doing is not prejudice. Many fo them will explain how they are trying to help me, and my attitude is what is the problem. When I mention that it's a cute little attitude and I've named it Fluffy, I can feel the blankness of their expression. Granted, I don't always know when I'm going to get infernally pissed off and when I am going to be able to laugh it off, but sometimes I start feeling angry and then I just click into "this is so ridiculous" mode and then I can laugh it off.

I guess what I am trying to explore is how sarcasm is often the final outcome of this incredibly complex series of emotional and intellectual reactions and, to me, it is neither entirely an expression of anger nor entirely an expression of humor, but instead something like blues music, which is what you create when you are kind of beyond just being uselessly angry and you need to make some kind of art out an experience just to feel as if there is a point to it.

[capri0mni]

but instead something like blues music, which is what you create when you are kind of beyond just being uselessly angry and you need to make some kind of art out an experience just to feel as if there is a point to it.

This. So much this. Because, even if you can't go back an tell that willful ignoramus where he/she/ou can put it, then at least you can create something that helps you look back on the memory and laugh instead of swearing to make a sailor blush.

Oh, and after my last post, I realized that "idiot" was once a medical term for a specific sort of mental disability. So I've decided to use "Willful Ignoramus," instead, from now on-- because it's the willful ignorance that makes people obnoxious, not a lack of intellectual gymnastics.