Is Sarcasm Rude and Disrespectful?
Sarcasm is very polarizing.
Some people love it.
Others hate it.
I’m of the latter group.
I hate sarcasm.
But I won’t say that it’s a bad thing, yet.
Did you ever see two different sarcastic people get together?
They are engaging in one dry joke after another.
Slowly, they are building rapport with one another.
In this article, I’m going to break down sarcasm and the ins and outs of it.
I’ll explain why some love it, why others hate it, and why others are confused by it.
What is Sarcasm?
Sarcasm is creating a hyperbolic statement, concept and/or joke.
Sometimes, it is funny.
Other times, it is rude.
‘What’s an example of sarcasm?’
One time, I went to Philadelphia.
I called for an Uber.
It took some time and the driver eventually came.
I saw the car but the license plate was covered in frost.
I ask the driver:
‘Hey, are you Tom?’
And he was like:
‘No, I’m the Prince of England.’
I look back at him confused.
‘Huh?’
Then he begins laughing and says:
‘Yea, I’m Tom. Get in.’
At first, I thought he was being disrespectful.
Why is he being extra?
What’s up with the hyperbole, homie?
But later on, I saw that a bunch of Philadelphia Uber drivers were like that.
It was very hard to get them to laugh when I was telling a joke.
Other times, I wasn’t telling a joke.
Instead, I was making a dry observation.
That’s when they busted out laughing.
My Floridian self felt more out of place than ever…
Why Sarcasm Feels Disrespectful
Sarcasm is like a roller coaster.
Some love the idea of putting themselves in a machine and going up, down, and in circles.
While others find rollercoasters to be overrated.
There is very rarely a middle-ground territory.
The reason that sarcasm seems disrespectful is because:
It’s hard to tell when the sarcastic person is serious and when they are joking.
Especially because sarcastic people have a deadpan delivery.
There is not much emotion.
They have this matter-of-fact style to their delivery.
With the hyperbole, plus the deadpan delivery, this comedy style seems ruder than it really is.
Is Sarcasm Disrespectful?
‘So Armani, would you say sarcasm is disrespectful?’
No, and yes.
It’s not disrespectful if the person is sarcastic to the core.
That’s their personality type.
They aren’t just sarcastic with you.
They are like that with a lot of people.
At first, they seem chill.
But once they get close to you, they start becoming more sarcastic.
They aren’t acting brand new.
Instead, they are showcasing their authentic personality.
Often, that means they are warming up to you.
While on the other hand, there are situational sarcastic types.
They normally are not sarcastic.
But out of nowhere, they start feeling like a joker.
This is how a lot of sneak haters hate.
The feel like a comedian when you win.
‘Oh yea, that must’ve been so difficult. What do you do all day again? Play with excel sheets, right?’
This is a person who is masking their hate as jokes.
‘People do that?’
Yea, people do that a lot!
A lot of snake-like people have great charm.
They know that being confrontational is not the way to go.
Therefore, they mask their ill intent with a warm delivery of sarcasm.
Deep inside, their ‘humor’ masks hate, jealousy, and deceit.
Should You Hang with Sarcastic People?
Here’s something strange that I’ve noticed.
People who love sarcasm love people who hate sarcasm.
This is one of those situations where it’s a peanut butter and jelly mix.
I wonder if I’m the only person who noticed that.
There have been a few times when I was like:
‘Person X was so annoying. They were way too sarcastic. I never want to see Person X again!’
Then the next day, someone will be like:
‘Hey Armani, Person X thought you were so cool. They wanted me to hit you up to hang with us again.’
I’m like:
‘What?!’
I wonder if people who I like hate me.
Eh, let’s not talk about that for the time being lol.
The point is, not all form of sarcasm is disrespectful.
A lot of times, it’s perfectly normal.
It’s up to you, the human with agency, to decide who you want to deal with and who you don’t want to deal with.
But avoid viewing all types of a personality trait as one thing.
Sometimes, a sarcastic person is behaving that way because they are letting their guard down around you.
Dealing with Different Personality Traits
You don’t have to always hang out with people you disagree with.
I do have a philosophy though:
With close friends, I like them to be like me.
This is the nucleus of a social circle.
Most of my friends have a humor type where it’s easy to tell they are joking.
I don’t have any close sarcastic friends.
But do I mind if my plumber is sarcastic?
Not at all.
Because they are a service-related acquaintance.
A lot of my acquaintances are sarcastic.
That doesn’t bother me one bit.
Having acquaintances with different personalities keeps your social muscles strong.
It’s easier to adapt when you’re exposed to someone you’re not used to dealing with.
Therefore, when dealing with personalities, assess the intention.
Is this a personality-based sarcastic person?
Or is this person normally not sarcastic and feeling like a joker out of nowhere?
Some people use humor to show their personality.
While others use it to mask hate.
Learn to spot the difference between the 2.
For more practical tips to improve social skills, be sure to check out my book:
This book will teach you more about:
- Dealing with different personality traits.
- Listening better.
- Creating effortless small talk.
- Remembering names better.
- Building a strong circle.
- Leveling up your humor.
Along with plenty of other topics.
GRAB A COPY HERE!
– ArmaniTalks 
