Pet peeves

This is a collection of sentences, or behaviors, that immediately raise a red flag in my mind. Some of them are not necessarily bad, but in my experience, they have been associated with stupid people.

• Ample use of emoticons - things like :( or :D - in writing: almost always it’s someone silly.

• Ample use of exclamation signs: nobody can be that excited about things. I find it dishonest.

• “I’m a realist”: what they usually want to say is “I’m more intelligent than you”. Unless, they do believe there is one reality, and they grasp it, in which case they’re deluded.

• “I see shades of gray where you see black and white”: I almost always hear this from cowards.

• “I would have done that for you”: said when you refuse to do something they ask. Maybe they’re honest about that, but would they be willing to do for you what YOU want done? No? I didn’t think so…

• “You and I can understand this, but most people can’t”: toxic, run away.

• Apologizing profusely: people who really mean it, apologize only once or twice, then fix their behavior. I find serial apologizers dishonest.

• Great gratitude: same as above. Honest people say thanks once or twice, then surprise you returning the favor at a future time.