Am 01.06.2016 um 13:11 schrieb Jim Holsenback:
> OK so John mentioned having a sense humor as being helpful during his
> recent battle ... what about sarcasm? I'm not talking about mean
> spiteful comments but something a bit more benign. In a recent
> conversation with a friend she was lamenting about her current life
> situation and how things seemed like they would never change. Repeating
> the same mistakes is the reoccurring theme here ... My response was "So
> hows that been working out for you ... I mean how many times do you need
> to pick up a hot brick before you realize that it's hot!" It seems like
> healthy self assured people usually accept it better than those with a
> fragile personality.

When dealing with people with a healthy self-esteem, addressing their
weaknesses with any kind of humor is fair game.

When dealing with people with damaged self-esteem, I'd strongly advocate
avoiding that, as they'll inevitably interpret it as being made fun of,
thus damaging their self-esteem even more.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily consider your response to be sarcasm
in the strict sense, though I'm at a loss for a better term.
"Witticism", maybe?


> BTW: If you believe what you read on the internet
> (and I don't) the general consensus is that sarcasm is the tool of a
> bitter person.

I'd say sarcasm can be an expression of cynicism, but isn't necessarily.

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