I never care whether anyone might be joking or not. I find that it doesn't make a bit of difference to how I ought to respond.
Consider: if someone says something insulting to me, and they are in fact (beknownst to themselves) only joking, then the funniest thing I could possibly do is "play along," by acting as though I'm taking them seriously. By responding as if they were in fact being perfectly serious. Right? Why not! It's a joke, right? Sure. You want to play along, keep the joke going. That's what I always assume. They must just be joking...so I should "play along."
Whereas, if by some bizarre chance the person is being serious...with that ridiculous crap they just said...well, that just makes my response even more appropriate. By "playing along," I've just given them a seemingly perfectly serious withering comeback to their idiotic remark. And yet, if I had laughed at them, they would have been insulted!
When doling out the seemingly perfectly serious comeback, it's important to keep it on the same level of humorousness. The trick is to avoid escalation. Otherwise, the entire exchange could become entirely too funny.
I've had to develop this method because I find that I tend to assume that everybody must be joking. I mean, they have to be, right? How could they not be?! I mean, damn.
5 comments:
I knew you would be. My deliberate intent with that post was to insult specifically you. That's just how accurate I am with these things.
Frighteningly. Frighteningly accurate.
Note that if anyone else was insulted, I apologize. Collateral damage, don't you know. Can't be helped.
I too am insulted. Or, if you were not including me, then in the alternative I am miffed at being left out.
...
The one comment for which I have no response. Curse you, sir. Curse you roundly!
Ka-ching!
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