Please don't snark me.

[danuv]

Over the past few months I've been trying to understand my own feelings about snark communities. I've followed a few and enjoyed them for a time but something about them kept bothering me. I've followed a couple of discussions that put forth various view points that I think are related to this. One was a conversation about the saying, "If you don't have anything good to say don't say it at all." which the poster claimed had been used for many years to silence the dispossessed, as a tool of repression. I can see their point. There has been a grand tradition of politeness in the South that has covered many a sin. It allowed sexual abuse of children to go on for generations in a few families I've known of. Some things just aren't discussed.

Now I also know of people who claim that brutal honesty is always the best policy and often pride themselves in finding the most painful or humiliating way of sharing that honesty. My generation has on more than one occasion been accused of being very self absorbed. My feelings! It's all about MY feelings!!! And MY feelings are far more important than YOUR feelings.

Consideration, politeness, compassion and humility don't seem to be highly prized these days. Wit, sarcasm and elitism do. Wrap all that up in the anonymity of the internet and you get snark communities.
Is there some basic level of respect and consideration that ought to be owed to another person just for being another person regardless of how reprehensible you find their opinions, tastes or level of intelligence?

I've laughed at snark communities. Stupid people are easy to make fun of. My pathetic self image has on many occasions benefited from an injection of smug superiority, but I'm starting to get sad at how much more highly prized the ability to cut someone down verbally is over anything that smacks of politeness. Criticism can be framed with consideration and is so much more likely to actually then be heard by the other person. Now if only people were really concerned about making the world a slightly better place rather than boosting their own reputation for being Wittier than Thou.

Comments

[scottopic.livejournal.com]

I completely agree!

[macaholic.livejournal.com]

you know my feelings on this...

as to that 'good ole southern tradition' you mention... it is most definitely not unique to the south.

[lightgirlfx.livejournal.com]

i enjoyed reading this post ~ ..."Now if only people were really concerned about making the world a slightly better place rather than boosting their own reputation for being Wittier than Thou"

so true