When I'm home, I play volleyball at my church on Saturday nights. This evening, there were a couple of young adults who were especially sarcastic. One couple that had been playing ended up leaving early, probably due to the amount of sarcasm. I was the target of a good deal of it, partially because I tend to put up with that stuff by nature. Eventually, I stopped my passiveness and asked for the sarcasm to stop. Everything was much more pleasant after that.
I'm not a good volleyball player, I'll readily admit that. In fact, I'm not very good at any sports. I guess I go to play because I usually like the atmosphere and the exercise. Because we play at a church, I assumed that things would be easy-going, but I guess I was mistaken.
Tonight really taught me how sarcasm can be hurtful. I was on the receiving end of a lot of sarcastic remarks and I really didn't like it. I'm not entirely sure why it hurt me so much. I guess I expect people to be truthful and caring, so it was a slap in the face when I received the opposite. Wow. It seriously phased me, to the point that I was almost in tears. I know they weren't doing it intentionally, but the cruelty of some people just amazes me. They nonchalantly tore me apart, making me extremely uncomfortable. I almost left. I'm not sure why I didn't. Part of it was that I know I need to stop running from uncomfortable situations. Additionally, I know that standing by and doing nothing while something wrong is taking place is just like endorsing it. I should have said something earlier, but it's good that I said something at all.
Looking at my various friendships, I know a lot of people that are extremely sarcastic and I know how that's made me feel sometimes. Sarcasm stinks. If you're a sarcastic person, please think about changing your ways. It hurts.
