It seems that the moment someone decides to embark on the great quest that is MBA, a certain sense of Hubris steps in. I am the center of the universe and the world revolves around me…OMG, you wont believe the number of solar systems we would have then. And with hubris comes in the all important ‘s for sarcasm’ word.
I don’t understand why people take a certain joy in being sarcastic when you can come to the point. First and foremost, it does not show superiority, it just makes you a certain male human anatomy. And in this day and age, people have enough attitude of their own, especially me. Take for example this scenario. I was alone in the class catching up on some stuff during the lunch break. Since no one was there, I was playing music at full volume and min ding my own business. Now a few people post lunch scrambled into the room to get their own thing done and in walks in this chap, who from day one seems to have specialized in straight faced sarcasm. Anyway, Mr. S could just ask me to put on headphones for which I would have humbly obliged. But then that manager in him kicks in and he blurts, “ Dude! Do you own a pair of headphones ?”
Well boy ! Please, I’ve seen too many people like you to honestly be impressed. And sarcasm works well on the unsuspecting. Not me. I used to be a d**k like you until recently, but I’ve realized, if everyone is sarcastic and arrogant, we’ll have a huge pool of mere managers and nothing else. I am looking for something far greater.
Back to the point before I digress into delusions of ‘changing the world’, I smile and reply, ‘ yeah dude….I do own headphones!’ Well, you cant blame me, I did answer the question after all. He paused for a few seconds and says, “please use them !” and then does the whole wink and makes that irritating sound, one uses when you are calling a cocker spaniel. Anyway, I had half a mind to increase the volume and switch from Pearl Jam to Lamb of God, but then, as defined by Gandhi - an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind.
It’s best to let such insignificant matters pass. The dude is probably thinking he’s awfully smart, well so be it. We’re all allowed to have very active imaginations. The point I want to focus on is that, experience has shown me that sarcasm and arrogance rarely prove as effective as being open and honest. What’s even worse is that if your sarcasm fails and the poor soul does not comprehend what you are trying to subliminally hint. If one does take a look at some of the greatest leaders of our time, arrogance was something that never featured in their arsenal – Gandhi, Che Guevara, JFK, The Dalai Lama, and many more.
Comments
Here's an extract from a fwd, I received today.
[Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are the winners:
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.]
It is with a heavy heart that I observe that you, Sir, are taking extraordinary pains to mock the speakers of my native dialect; a language that has been the source of much mirth and 'it-went-over-his-head' jokes. I humbly beg you to reconsider your stance on sarcasm, its forms and its crucial role in helping one survive in this cruel, cynical world.
The "certain male human anatomy (sic)" that you refer to is probably the brain, as not everyone is capable of sarcastic wit. You point out, and I quote : "if everyone is sarcastic and arrogant, we’ll have a huge pool of mere managers and nothing else" is effectively rendered moot when one considers the above mentioned premise. I also consider myself lucky for having not met a 'mere' manager brimming with sarcasm. Quite the contrary, the most interesting people I know are sarcastic.
In my own meandering personal experience, the only time that sarcasm is bites is when one is on the receiving end of it without a suitable retort. At that juncture, one has to simply concede that one's opponent has got one's goat for the moment or say something completely inadequate like "so is your face". Raising up a fecal storm about the matter will only emphasize the said opponent's 'victory', if you will.
There are many reasons that sarcasm is a much enjoyed activity; so much so that many social networking sites provide an option to specify exactly that in one's profile; in some people, it somehow evokes biochemical reactions akin to those found in male baboons in the vicinity of female baboons with the brightest red rear-ends.
In closing, I would also like to redeem the much maligned image of sarcasm which is often projected as being the lowest form of wit. The lowest form of wit, in my humble opinion, would be the pun; a device that was much abused by the Bard of Avon and many others that followed suit with ape-like earnestness.
Best,
RS