# Am I rude for never saying "bless you" in response to people sneezing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 23, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047 "2009-07-23T22:35:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/61 "2009-07-25T18:20:43Z")
Certainly Christians are equally stubborn in their beliefs, what with their refusal say the names of the days of the week which are based on pagan gods. So let us on the Other Side be equally stubborn and obnoxious! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/62 "2009-07-25T20:38:47Z")
Who have you met that does that!? Also, is “bless you” really a protection against the soul escaping, as people have suggested? Sounds like an UL, snopes says undetermined. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/63 "2009-07-25T23:05:16Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I know you’re joking, but there’s a woman at my job who has some seriously dramatic sneezes that make me laugh, but piss off the rest of the office. If a sneeze could be accurately typed out, hers would go something like this: > > **AAAAAH -** _ **CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!** _ > > She actually says “Ah-Choo” when she sneezes. Nobody does that! You can seriously hear her sneezing from the other side of the building. I witnessed the best ever response to this a couple of weeks ago. There was a woman nearby who would sneeze dramatically every day, drawing a lot of attention to herself and breaking everyone’s concentration. One of the kids sitting next to me waited a few seconds after she did this for at least the tenth day in a row, and said in a serious voice “I’m tired of being scared every day.” Loud enough for her to hear. She sneezed less after that. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/64 "2009-07-26T00:53:43Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Who have you met that does that!? Yeah, in retrospect that’s kind of ambiguous whether or not I was being sarcastic. What I was saying is that if even those _intolerant Christians_ can accept social conventions, then so can non-priggish atheists. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/65 "2009-07-26T06:18:05Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I used to think that, too! :o (Blow job smiley!) How do you know my wife’s dad? Buddaboom! Thanks folks, I’m here all week. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/66 "2009-07-26T11:53:43Z")
I could never understand what "Bless You, or God Bless You, or God Bless, meant. It is not a prayer, and it assumes that the person is not blessed. And Why God won’t bless some one or the USA unless we say so, doesn’t make sense. To me it is like telling a father who just fed his child to feed his child! People have been saying “God Bless America” for years and I often wonder why God has not! Now days it seems that every speaker ends with God Bless you, or God Bless America or both. It seems to be an empty phrase! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/67 "2009-07-26T18:54:48Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > It seems to be an empty phrase! Now-a-days it pretty much is. About the only people left who actually mean anything by it are Christian fundamentalists, and I’m fairly certain that even most of them aren’t being literal when they say it to somebody who sneezed. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/68 "2009-07-28T12:30:16Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Now-a-days it pretty much is. About the only people left who actually mean anything by it are Christian fundamentalists, and I’m fairly certain that even most of them aren’t being literal when they say it to somebody who sneezed. Even being literal doesn’t make sense. They would be implying that God doesn’t bless His children. Or are telling God what to do. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/69 "2009-07-28T18:09:26Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > Even being literal doesn’t make sense. They would be implying that God doesn’t bless His children. > Or are telling God what to do. First, it’s always a request. Second, since blessings are requested for the same things repeatedly, my guess is that a blessing isn’t permanent. It wears off eventually. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/70 "2009-07-28T20:20:59Z")
I don’t say it, and I get annoyed by those who do. Even as a kid I never understood this pointless social custom and I felt silly being expected to participate in acknowledging one’s sneeze. I sneeze fairly frequently, and I’d like to be discreet about it, even though I am not able to sneeze quietly, and the last thing I want is someone calling even more attention to something I cannot control and already feel highly self-conscious about. I mean, we all sneeze, and nobody I know of has ever died because of sneezing. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/71 "2009-07-28T21:15:19Z")
I really don’t get this vitriol poured out specifically against responses to sneezing. On the surface, almost all social customs are “pointless”–what is the point of saying “please”? These and other “useless” expressions serve as, if you’ll parden the hackneyed metaphor, the grease in the wheels of society. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/72 "2009-07-28T22:34:46Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > I could never understand what "Bless You, or God Bless You, or God Bless, meant. It is not a prayer, and it assumes that the person is not blessed. And Why God won’t bless some one or the USA unless we say so, doesn’t make sense. And yet, I hear “damn” or “damn it” or “God damn” more often than I hear “bless”—why aren’t you asking whether _that_ makes sense? ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/73 "2009-07-28T23:08:45Z")
I didn’t learn to say “bless you” in church, I learned it in social settings. I think it’s a way to give you (the non-sneezer) something better to say than “Oh, ick!”. Around my house (religious Christian) we said a variety things including “Demons out!” and “Didjya get any on ya?” I don’t think it’s rude if you choose never to say it, or anything remotely like it. It would be pretty rude though if you selected some small segment of the population of your workplace and said “bless you” or “gesundheit” to them, but nobody else. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/74 "2009-07-29T05:30:42Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I just go for the “gesundheit.” Nothing wrong with wishing a person good health. And just do it once, please. If a person is sneezing repeatedly because of allergies, there is no need for making a big fuss. I say salud. Sometimes I pronounce is salad. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/75 "2009-07-29T06:16:58Z")
> [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > Sometimes I pronounce is salad. And sometimes you pronounce “it” as “is” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047/76 "2009-07-29T12:19:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And yet, I hear “damn” or “damn it” or “God damn” more often than I hear “bless”—why aren’t you asking whether _that_ makes sense? It doesn’t make sense either, but very few speakers say God Damn publicly, and are also not asking a God, but telling him what to do. Dam or dam it is not an appeal or maybe not a good social word, and I doubt that any one has the power to damn any one. It is also a usless phrase that a lot of people use. Because the Radical Muslim leaders say God Damn Americia doesn’t make America Damned . Nor does one saying God Bless, or Bless you, make anything better it is just like saying Have a good day! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-rude-for-never-saying-bless-you-in-response-to-people-sneezing/504047.md?page=3)