You know I've always hated her.

brilliant!

::Plurk Frontpage Promotion::

THIS!

I so agree. What the hell is wrong with accepting an "I'm sorry to hear that"?

This is why lojban has separate words for expressing pity/sympathy vs. regret/guilt.

"I am sorrowing with you, you happy now?"

I'm sorry I liked this one! Haha

"I'm sorry you have rejected my expression of sympathy. So UP YOURS!"

sux to be your mom now

Okay... I have problems with sympathetic sorries. Someone want to tell me how to react to them, because I'm clueless.

When someone dies, I can handle the sympathetic sorries, I say thank you. But in other situations, it sounds and feels awkward. :3

I try to avoid saying "Sorry to hear that" because it sounds like I, personally, am unhappy about hearing it and you ruined my day!

Reghan: just answer, "Yeah, it sucks" or just grumble something unintelligible depending on the situation!

Maybe I'll just shrug and mumble

Sometimes I step on the person's toe and tell then that, "See, things can always be worse."

keeps her distance.

miss you

glares at dkronfeld and points I'm not the only one. Quit teasing me about it.

be adopting that tactic...

mumblin' "Thanks" would be OK.

What are we saying thanks for, though?

For their concerns, for caring... Something like that!

Right, just like we say "thanks" when someone says "nice hat" or "happy birthday".

It's not meshing in my head. I would just prefer people don't sympathize.

Then I don't have to say "thanks" even though I am not feeling thankful.

So if my house burns down, I'm not saying a word. grins

So you'd rather this? "How are you?" "My house just burned down." "Oh…well I just got a new hat! Isn't it great?"

Or mebbe you're talkin' bout people walking up to you and offering sympathy out of the blue…yeah, that'd be kinda annoying.

But if I'm already in a conversation with someone and they mention some misfortune, I need some response, y'know?

innocuous supportive reply #14

I can say "I'm sorry" at the appropriate moments, but it takes a lot for me not to act like the lady in this particular strip. :3

I should frame this one, me and my literal mind have been immortalized by xkcd.

Part of what binds us into a society is this collection of little social rituals that "I'm sorry" in this sense belongs to.

THIS

"oh, wow. that is sad" might work, for both occasions: if you didn't want her house to burn or you didn't want to hear it.

you just don't need to tell them which you meant

I usually just go "oh no... How are you doing?" and depending on how close we are, I add "is there anything I can do to help?"

no one saud yes you are yet

bugged by people who say "How are you" as a passing greeting; even if I don't take it literally I'm still respondin' to their back.

I have seen people whose conversation consisted of "Hi, how are you?" Responded with "Thanks! How are you?" and then they go on without

ever saying how either of them actually are.

Again, this kind of thing forms part of our social fabric. We are making and maintaining micro-connections with these tiny ritual greetings.

I'm willing to bet a good number of beers that the cumulative effect of this kind of thing contributes greatly to our "social empathy" that

makes us concerned (to an extent) about people who we don't really know.

On the other hand, I really don't know what the hell I'm talking about

i dislike those kind of people. just take my damn sorry or i'll give it to someone who actually deserves my short, but empathetic feelings.

I get "how are you" as the start of a conversation; but people'll say it as I'm walking past them, & by the time I can answer they're gone.

what is worse is overhearing "Hi, How are you" followed immediately by "Oh, Thanks. How are you?" Then, the conversation

say Why dislike an ENTIRE PERSON because of the way they respond to something? Sheesh. :3

Dislike the behaviour, not the person.

true, i've misinterpreted my words. thanks for clarifying - sorry fellas!

gweahyjr rrghtyj jrhe fe weeh