Why do people resort to name-calling? Frustration, or Ignorance?

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   TamCorposted 14 years ago

   Just curious...
   
   I have to admit--I've gotten into some strong back and forth discussions a few times on here, but have never been called a name.
   
   But on Facebook last night, I politely(honest!) defended my son,who was at work, against a teenage girl, who came back on and called me an "Old Hag", and then put "stfub".  Now, I know what an old hag is(), but the second thing puzzled me, so I Googled it...imagine my surprise when I found out what it meant, hahaha. 
   
   This wasn't a complete stranger--I don't know her well at all, but have met her in the past.
   
   Anyway, in her case, I'd pick ignorance as the excuse--but then I know her family and her background, so it's pretty safe to assume that, lol.   
   
   But don't you think that a lot of the time, people resort to name-calling because they know they've been topped, and there is nothing else they can say, so their frustration turns into this sort of attack?
   
   I've seen that on the political, and the religious threads on here--from both sides, and I think that's the main reason for that sort of behavior. 
   
   It's sad, really...

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      RevolveRposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Who cares what happens on FB?! Really ! In my opinion you asked for it.
      How old is your son that needs defending? I don't think he's going to be very happy to know that you've been messing around with his personal problems there, unless he's a Mamma's Boy. Ha ha !

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         TamCorposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         
         
         Thanks for your opinion, but since you don't know what the circumstances were, you have no right to judge what I do or say on there...or were you just being ironic? 
         
         And the point I was trying to make was NOT about what actually happened on Facebook, it was about human nature, and the reasoning behind some behaviors...

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            RevolveRposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            First of all, if you don't want to be judged, don't post on a public forum. When you make your statements public, you attract all kind of responses.
            And I wasn't judging, only giving my opinion.
            I think people take Fb too seriously sometimes. Sometimes people leave information open to everybody, and then they cry if someone pokes in their private stuff.
            I find these behaviors hilarious !!

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      rachellrobinsonposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I think it's a matter of being able to hide behind a computer. People say vile things, using the keyboard things that they would never dream of saying to your face.

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   aka-djposted 14 years ago

   Throw in a bit of insecurity as well.

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      TamCorposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      That's true--thank you for adding that!

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   hublimposted 14 years ago

   Social networking sites such as facebook have given people a chance to do and say pretty much whatever they want to any person they wish. As a result many people do a lot of things which they would never contemplate doing in real life. I came across this definition on urban dictionary which pretty much sums it up.
   
   Internuts
   
   The phenomenon that occurs when someone becomes a badass when addressing others on a message board. It is a common practice for the reticent, meek, and cowardly to make bold statements, on the internet, knowing there is no way to be held accountable.
   The poster was getting badly flamed, so threatened to kick everyone's ass. His anger made his internuts grow.

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      TamCorposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      
      Wow--that's another new internet term I hadn't heard, lol...
      
      It makes sense, though, the badass hiding-behind-the-keyboard thing.  Too bad so many think that's the way to handle situations, isn't it?

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   ngurecoposted 14 years ago

   The young girl is experiencing an imagined feeling of inferiority. Just pity her and move on. She will always be like that, to her parents and to her future children. Avoid associating yourself with people with such kind of blood and genes.

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      TamCorposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      Oh, believe me, I do pity her, and avoid her, as much as possible...and anyone else who thinks they have to behave that way...
      
      She just made me curious as to why people think that that is the better option to choose, when disagreeing with others...

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         sofsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Insecurity and a feeling of inadequacy is why people need to retaliate, mark you down, call names, seek attention.  She is a young girl, just let go... Most adults do it all  the time, so I guess we live in times like these!! 

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            TamCorposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            
            
            Sad, but true!
            
            
            
            
            
            Boy, ain't THAT the truth--especially from people who you've never met before!
            
            
            
            
            
            I guess I must've been last night, huh, cuz Charlie? Haha!  I should've known that one day that would happen, lol...

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      RevolveRposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Why when someone says something you don't like ,guys, you always point out it has to be a case of insecurity ? Maybe you're mirroring your own insecurity there. When I say something nasty about someone or to someone, it's not a case of insecurity, but stating what I really think & feel.
      In these case I think your post reveals you're insecure. Does that makes me a nasty insecure individual ? lol

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         Jim Hunterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         "Does that makes me a nasty insecure individual ?"
         
         Hmmmmm

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         Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         People who are nasty are often not insecure.  In fact, a lot of them are far more "secure" than they ought to be.  I've researched bullying behavior, and it's now known that aggression is often associated with the over-inflated ego of narcissism.   In my personal life, I've found that it's usually people who think too highly of themselves and too little of others who either feel free to, or else even enjoy, insulting other people.
         
         None of that above comment is to imply that your choice to (I'm guessing) be occasionally nasty means you're either a narcissist or else someone who enjoys being nasty - not at all.  My only point is to agree with you that nasty behavior toward, or about, other people often has nothing to do with insecurity.    I'm never nasty to anyone, but if someone does something that I don't think much of and I make a nasty remark about that person to someone else in private; it sure has nothing to do with my feeling insecure.  It's the opposite.  It means I don't think much of that person and feel the need to express it.    Because I'm not aggressive and don't want to be fighting with people, I'll keep my rotten opinion of someone to myself and air it out when I'm with a close friend or relative and feeling freer to be honest and vent about the person I don't think much of..   

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            TamCorposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            
            
            I think you're right, Lisa--I've had similar experiences myself during my lifetime...including an ex, whose name should've been under the word "narcissism" in the dictionary.
            
            Sometimes I think rudeness and egotistical attitude go hand-in-hand--I see it over and over again, and it's sad.
            
            What helps, though, is to know that there are nice people, like you, Lisa, out there, too... 

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               Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               TamCor,  There are lots of nice people out there.  We just notice that off-the-wall, aggressive, rude, ones more.      All I know is that when people have been rude to me, it's usually because they clearly don't think much of me.      In all seriousness, there are personality disorders (defined in the field of psychiatry) that make people act  aggressively toward other people and generally have a difficult time getting along with anyone.  When anyone acts ridiculously rude to me, I pretty much just assume they have a personality disorder (because most people aren't that kind of rude) and don't try to find the reason for it.  You can't find reason in unreasonable behavior, and I really do think much of that kind of behavior is someone's personality disorder.  For example, narcissism and hostile behavior are both associated with paranoid personality disorder.   Of course, there are the cowardly losers who hide behind the Internet too - but they're another problem.   

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   ralwusposted 14 years ago

   are you a stfub cuz? Go get 'em girl, but consider the source.

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   Mikeydoesposted 14 years ago

   I agree that name calling could be because the person was bested. BUT
   
   Ignorance from another person can cause name calling too. If a person doesn't listen and has no valid arguments, I could easily slip and call that person a name. Then the conversation a lot of the time is over for me there.

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   audreyspencyposted 5 years ago

   But don't you think that a lot of the time, people resort to name-calling because they know they've been topped, and there is nothing else they can say, so their frustration turns into this sort of attack?

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      audreyspencyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Deleted
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         FatFreddysCatposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Obvious spammer is obvious.

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            promisemposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            More to the point, isn't calling Freddy's cat "fat" an example of name calling?

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               FatFreddysCatposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               The cat is not fat. Otherwise it would be FreddysFatCat.
               
               Freddy, however, is fat. Therefore, FatFreddysCat.

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   NessMovieReviewsposted 5 years ago

   Generally for me, in the real world, I am a name caller. Not usually the direct type of name calling more non-sensical swearing if you like. It's not a trait I like about myself and not something I indulge in on a regular basis (more a twice a year if there is someone in my life I can't escape from ie. family lol)
   
   It comes from being hurt in my case, and usually arrives when I want an argument to be over and cannot for the life of me disengage from it (ie— the person won't back off, leave when I've asked or stop a debate I no longer want to be part of.)
   
   For me, it's the shock value of the words so that the other person stops talking or actually starts listening.  To fluff up my feathers so to speak and sound tougher than I actually am. There's one source of reasoning. Not ok ever, and I don't engage in online diatribe ever, nor respond but from time to time, battles face to face get the better of me.

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