Sarcasm

I'm getting really cranky over sarcasm. The more I hear it, the less I like it. Really, when you get down to it, it's not funny. It's mean. People try to explain it away "I didn't mean it"....um, but you SAID it, so you did think it. I just don't have the patience for that. It's like a passive/aggressive way to tell somebody what you think, and then hiding it behind your tone. If you don't like something, say it. I just don't like hearing it anymore. I used to use it a lot, in lots of situations. Now I see that it's just hostile, at least 90% of the time.

And you know what makes me even more upset? When people use sarcasm towards children. That is really mean. Kids don't get it. They can't tell the difference between sarcasm being "playing" and adults just being mean. It's not fair to do that to kids. Growing up, my dad used it a lot with my sister and I. I really remember how it made me feel. I doubted so much of what he told me, and HATED feeling like he was making fun of me. It was degrading, humiliating, and didn't make me feel good about myself. I bet if I told him that he would feel awful. Yes, our job as parents or other adults of influence in a child's life is to protect them, not always to make kids 'feel good' about themselves - you can't help hurting a child's feelings when you have to correct them sometimes. I'm not advocating treating a child with kid gloves to protect them from any "emotional harm", they will get their feelings hurt sometimes. But we should never put a child down for our own amusement. That's just cruel. To use a cliche, would Jesus do that to a child? I'm guessing that the answer would be no. So why do it to a child? Why do it to someone we love? For that matter, why do it to an adult?