Read dammit!!!

[DrFaroohk]

I hate people who can't read or listen properly, and then infer their own private meaning from a post and make up a bunch of bullshit to support their theory.

for example...I might post something like "Oh man the baby is sick, been up all night with a fever. I'm so exhausted!"

And then someone else will ignore what I said, and read "bitch bitch bitch baby bitch bitch bitch wife bitch bitch bitch".

And then I get a response like "God man why do you hate your kids so much you need to stop beating them and quit doing heroin!"

or I might say "Man I wish my kid was ready for a nap so I could play wow". And then someone says "OMG you need to stop playing wow there's more to life than wow you shouldn't ignore your kids all day to play wow you rapist!"

when really, I said NONE of those things. I didn't say I want to play all day, or that I was ignoring my kids all day, or that I'm a rapist, but people just toss that in there because they can't read.

When really I said nothing like that. I realize there's a such thing as reading between the lines, but in an online world, y'all know nothing about me or my life. The ONLY information you have to go on is whats written in my posts, and I'm of the opinion that one should either take it or leave it. Don't believe me, then don't read it and stay the hell out of it.

Or sometimes its like "with all due respect sir, you're wrong." And there's nothing wrong with that statement. The "WADR" statement is perfectly acceptable, and it's there to clarify that while you may choose to twist the statement into something disrespectful, it's there to remind you that it's not. And then they still get all like "YOU NEED TO RESPECT ME!" And if you knew how to read instead of being an obnoxious little fucktard, we wouldn't be having this problem.

Even now, someone is reading this thinking "OMG you're one of those people who thinks that WADR is a get out of jail free card" or something similar, when in fact I have not said, implied, inferred, or even thought anything even remotely similar to that.

I get that my posts are long sometimes, but if you're not interested in reading ALL of it why bother? Why skim and pick out the six words you want to mix up to try and support some bullshit argument?

[Fryk]

I notice that you didn't say you were NOT a rapist, you rapist!!!!!!!!

[Amanita]

I got this on a costuming forum I am on- I mentioned in passing that I had once contemplated doing a costume that was a tribute to the WTC towers. I also said that as impressive as the costumes would look, I likely would never do it. Why? Financially it would be very expensive to pull off. Multi-layered angel's robes and massive, fully feathered prop wings don't come cheap. Especially when everything needs to be done twice. Not to mention the difficulty of finding a second person who was a close match for me in size. The only friend I could think of who would be a good fit is an email pal from New Jersey!

Well..you would think I had proposed a visit to the WTC site to pee all over it, spit everywhere, and then a fun round of kicking puppies and slapping babies all the way home.
Almost NOBODY even bothered to read the part where I said I would most likely never actually do it. Or where I said that even if I did, these would not be public cosplay outfits- most likely restricted to Samhain use. (Pagan day of honouring the dead)

Only a couple of people actually bothered to read past the "Angel Towers" part, let alone possess the reading comprehension to understand the "I will probably never actually do it" part.

[KellyHabersham]

I used to have similiar issues on a music-related messageboard - some of the other female posters frequently misinterpreted things I said, and either assumed I was confused about something, or they'd get really snarky with comments.

[Bloodsoul]

Purple monkey dishwasher.

[Hobbs]

To the WADR statement, I'd like to quote Boondock Saints II:

"With all due respect. I hate that phrase. You know why? Because whenever that phrase is used, it is often followed by a disrespectful statement."

[Wingates_Hellsing]

To the WADR statement, I'd like to quote Boondock Saints II:

"With all due respect. I hate that phrase. You know why? Because whenever that phrase is used, it is often followed by a disrespectful statement."

"Here's an example: With all due respect, detective, this case is under whatever fucking jurisdiction I fucking say it does"

Head of State comes to mind:

"Gilliam didn't attend this year's anti-cancer rally, is he for or against cancer?
Mays Gilliam... He's for cancer."

[DrFaroohk]

To the WADR statement, I'd like to quote Boondock Saints II:

"With all due respect. I hate that phrase. You know why? Because whenever that phrase is used, it is often followed by a disrespectful statement."

Great quote. My opinion on the phrase, however, has always been "It's not disrespectful. Weren't you listening? I just said it wasn't. If you'd been listening instead of being a douchebag, you'd have understood that."

[Rageaholic]

Even worse is when you spefically state something as an example to seperate something from an extreme example. Like everytime when I complain about grammer nazi's, someone always has to mention l33t speak. Even when it was made perfectly clear that I was talking about people who harp on a few minor errors as opposed to ppl tlking lik this. No, I am not talking about those people, I am talking about those who think that pointing out a few spelling or grammer errors somehow makes their arguement moot. There's a difference between those who take twice as long to read and those who miss a few errors.

[Hobbs]

Great quote. My opinion on the phrase, however, has always been "It's not disrespectful. Weren't you listening? I just said it wasn't. If you'd been listening instead of being a douchebag, you'd have understood that."

My take on WADR is that it gives people the assumed right of "Oh, I can say whatever I want and they can't get mad." It's like a free ticket to be an asshole (pardon my words).

[Rageaholic]

My take on WADR is that it gives people the assumed right of "Oh, I can say whatever I want and they can't get mad." It's like a free ticket to be an asshole (pardon my words).

So are the "but" statements.

"I'm not saying this to insult you, but"

"You may not want to hear this, but"

"I know we have this rule in place, but"

"This may be an unpopular opinion, but"

"I'm not saying that's what happened, but" (see this one here all the time)

Perfectly good people use these sheilds when saying something they know isn't going to go over well. I used to fall for this trick, but after years on the internet, I know that people who use those things are about to say something that's going to piss me off. I may be lessed shocked by it, but I still find myself pissed.

The worst is when they say they aren't meaning to insult or look down on me, but they do anyway. "With all due respect" can also fit into that category because a lot of the time, it's just a cop out to make one self look better when saying something mean.

[Wingates_Hellsing]

Then again there's value in admitting that you know something will come of negatively but want it heard anyway because you feel that it's important. The problem is people who are just hiding behind it / just assholes.

[Lachrymose]

I think everyone should now make it a point to use "With all due respect" with a positive spin:

"With all due respect, here is some cake!"

[DrFaroohk]

I look at those "but" statements as sort of a disclaimer and also a way to help keep things on track. "I know that this is an unpopular opinion, but..." is a way of saying "Let's focus on the issue here instead of what an asshole I am for thinking of it."

Same as WADR. I know that some people can abuse it, and I don't include them in my definition of it. Its primary use would be for someone who is some sort of a superior but has made a mistake and needs to be called out on it (or something similar to that.) It's a condensed way of saying "I understand that it's not my place to criticize you, and this statement is going to sound at first like its disrespectful, but I assure you I mean it with no disrespect. It just needs to be said. So lets focus on the issue at hand."

Obviously statements like "With all due respect, go fuck yourself." or "I'm not racist, but I can't stand mexicans" don't really apply here. That's like saying someone has good manners for saying "Please bite me" instead of just "Bite me".