I’ve got a few of these myself, though one of my least favorites is “everything will be alright in the end.” By the time you finish this list, thoughtfully provided by the folks on AskReddit, my guess is that you’ll have tucked a few more away in your own jar of pet peeves!
#15. Thanks, baby boomer.
“Things have a way of working out”
Thanks baby boomer whose career took off during the 90s boom.”
#14. A terrible thing to say.
“Heaven got another angel” followed closely by “it was God’s plan.”
Even if you personally believe that, it’s a terrible thing to say to a grieving person.”
#13. It’s called being organized.
“People saying things such as “I’m so OCD!” because they organize their shirts by color or make sure they keep their backpack or purse nice and orderly. That is just called being organized, and it is trivializing people who actually suffer from OCD.
For it to be considered a Disorder, it needs to be maladaptive, or in other words, it needs to be so disruptive to your life that it can’t really be worked around. Organizing your clothing is not maladaptive, waking up hourly throughout the night so you can check to make sure that your door is locked is.
Organized does not mean OCD. If the lack of organization would cause significant distress and abnormally high anxiety, then yeah okay, but just liking your things neat? That’s not OCD.”
#12. My dad used to get very angry.
“Everything happens for a reason.” and similarly “They’re in a better place now” when referring to a death. Like, fuck no. My mom died of cancer when I was seven and my dad used to get very angry when people were telling me at her funeral that “she is in a better place.”
#11. No, it isn’t.
“It’s a miracle.”
No, it isn’t. It’s human ingenuity, skill and calm under pressure that saved your life, rescued you, ensured your survival. People will crap on about divine intervention like a team of highly skilled surgeons didn’t just spend 10 hours though the night to save someone’s life. Fuck off with that, thank the people who did the job.”
#10. Always an excuse.
“They’re just like that.”
Which is always used as an excuse, or a reason to let something slide. My response is “Yeah, and I’m the type of person who hates that. I’m just like that.”
#9. When facts don’t matter.
“We just have to agree to disagree.”
Yes, that’s sometimes a great way to get past an intractable dispute. But when it’s used (as usual) to mean that objective facts don’t matter because one party doesn’t happen to like the truth, it’s just a shitty cop-out.”
#8. No, they won’t.
“Just ignore them and they’ll leave you alone.’
First, no they WON’T. You know what happens when you refuse to give a bully the reaction they crave? You start a power struggle. A power struggle you can’t win, because while you’re being beat down emotionally/physically, the bully is energized by the hunt for a reaction.
Second, the only person that saying benefits is the teacher/school staff, because it gives them a perfect excuse to avoid doing their fucking job and fixing the bullying problem. Because if they stick to that as the golden solution, then the victim can’t report being bullied. Because saying you’re being bullied isn’t ignoring the bully. (I was literally told that by a teacher.) They can even tell the victim it’s their fault, they encouraged the bully by being upset.”
#7. I really don’t understand.
“That a wedding day is the best day of a girls life. I interpret that as it just goes down hill from there. I really don’t understand why people say this.
Edit: autocorrect goof.”
#6. Opinions ≠ being right.
“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion” used to insist that everyone is entitled to be right if they think they are. For a prime example, look at anti-vaxxers.
Insisting that you’re entitled to have an opinion doesn’t mean you’re entitled to be correct or to have a baseless and indefensible position respected as equal to that of educated experts.
Not all opinions carry equal weight.”
#5. No thanks.
“Just be yourself”.
No thanks. “Myself” is a guy who sits at the computer playing minecraft 12 hours a day, eating nothing but pizza and chocolate.
Instead of being myself, I try to spend my time becoming better than ‘myself’.”
#4. The worst advice.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”
The worst advice you can give to a bullying victim.”
#3. It doesn’t excuse them.
“Boys will be boys.”
That doesn’t excuse your boys from being violent with other children. It doesn’t excuse your boys being sexually inappropriate with girls their age, or older women. It doesn’t mean that they can be rude or bully other people.”
#2. You start dying inside.
‘God will only give you what you can handle’. Since suicide is seen as a sin, it doesn’t really leave anyone any choice than to keep on. You are doomed if you give up/can’t take anymore.
Also – ‘It makes you stronger’. No – it just really fucks you up and you start morphing into someone who doesn’t feel anything anymore. You start dying inside.”
#1. Something is wrong.
“Pain is weakness leaving the body.
No. If you are in pain, something is wrong. Maybe discomfort is weakness leaving the body.”
