‘Stop Using Absolutes?’
Clever Counters to Colloquial Quips, pt. 2
“Stop using absolutes.” they said, throwing their shoulders back and getting in my face.
“Why?” I asked, slumping my shoulders, trying to not engage.
“There’s no way to prove absolutes.” they responded, obviously enveloped in frustration and fury.
“Well, isn’t saying that absolutes can’t be proven an absolute certainty?”
“Why do you have to make things so difficult and not listen what I’m trying to say?”
“Don't worry, I get it, but I’m a contrarian and a satirist. Hyperbole is one hundred percent a part of my seemingly foreign language.”
Anti-absolutists can’t seem to grasp the caveat of my nonverbal communication in, well… verbal communication. Sometimes people start arguments with my perspective because they are so sure that they are right. Our opinionated arguments could come to an end if they were to listen to the context of my contrarian dialog or the possible loss in translation.
Understanding context seems to be a lost art now that one can just write their feelings on electronic devices. There’s absolutely no way to know how people feel from a stupid ****ing text message, right? 😊 There really isn’t an absolute way to tell how people honestly feel in any situation unless one listens to what isn’t being said.
Listening to context and subtext is complex, but it’s much easier to do when one isn’t reacting to the defense mechanisms dictated by the frontal lobe. Narrow pupils, a furrowed brow, and the use of expletives are easy ways to tell the frontal lobe has taken over, and that subconscious has lost control. It’s a little harder to tell the emotions being conveyed in text messages even with emotes and appropriate punctuation.
No matter what emote is being used, all I see is a wall of insecurity and a mote when others use electronic emotions. Emotes seem to be a way to explain what’s not being said when making jokes that might be offensive, but why use them when the reader understands the writer’s intentions. I have to admit that I use emotes, but ironically. If I can’t write what I mean, I can trust the ones who read my messages to fill in the details.
If others can’t fill in the details or understand my intentions, they should ask questions rather than come to absolute conclusions. If I hear or see my friends using absolutes in excess, I imagine that there’s something bothering them. A quick check in is all I need to understand where to steer the conversation. Irrational reactions aren’t well thought out, nor are conclusions that marginalize humans. If one can’t understand another’s emotions because they don’t know them, try not to demand emotes to ease the tension. Be curious first and ask questions rather than assume that their offensive words are definitions.
Be smarter than your brain!
