# I have a theory on insults. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 30, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833 "2013-01-30T19:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blueslipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@blueslipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueslipper)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/1 "2013-01-30T19:34:49Z")
I have a theory on insults. If you truly accept all your attributes, and someone tries to insult you, then you cannot be insulted. Because either people are saying something true about you that you have accepted. Or they are saying untrue about you. You cannot be insulted if someone says something untrue about you. If you are left-handed, you would not be offended at being called right-handed, and vice-versa. People only get insulted when you say something true about them that they have not accepted about themselves. I do not think I am totally original in my thoughts as seen by the below quotes- “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Quote generally attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt “The truly humble person cannot be humiliated” Quote is by Donald Klein. Also we have a saying that ‘The truth hurts.’ Why does it hurt? Only when you have not accepted that truth. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/2 "2013-01-30T19:40:07Z")
Insults are intended to make you feel bad about yourself and/or make those who know you think less of you. While you can control the former, controlling the latter is not always possible. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/3 "2013-01-30T19:41:01Z")
**blue** :What you say is not totally wrong in every situation, but the mere fact that someone is trying to insult you is in fact insulting even if what they say is not true. When someone throws out an untrue insult, you won’t necessarily feel inferior, humiliated, or even necessarily hurt: you’ll simply feel insulted. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/4 "2013-01-30T19:52:40Z")
“A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.” - Fredrick Douglass ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/5 "2013-01-30T20:02:06Z")
Well, I’m rubber and you’re glue! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/6 "2013-01-30T20:09:17Z")
As I recently told someone (amidst some other advice); When someone insults you, ask yourself if what they say is true. If it is and you are hurt by them saying it, ask yourself why. If what they say is not true, then consider what that insult says about them and how they think. People tend to throw insults that they themselves fear. (Ie, the guy who keeps calling everyone else “Gay”? Guess what.) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/7 "2013-01-30T21:02:41Z")
My two life rules are “To thine ownself be true.” and “We are all responsible for our own actions.” I’m rarely insulted, however, I hate lies and injustice. If I’m being accused of something that isn’t true, I do get offended. This just means I’m a little controlling. 😃 I’ve told people in the past, that if they intend to insult me, to tell me in advance, since I probably won’t recognize it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/8 "2013-01-30T21:23:19Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > (Ie, the guy who keeps calling everyone else “Gay”? Guess what.) He’s fat? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/9 "2013-01-30T21:34:50Z")
> [@blueslipper](#): > > I have a theory on insults. If you truly accept all your attributes, and someone tries to insult you, then you cannot be insulted. That has to be the stupidest OP in the hisory of Al Gore’s internet. It’s more shallow than than the gene pool in Appalachia. If it were any more general I’d be forced to salute. I threw up on my keyboard halfway through reading it, and that was the highlight of the experience. Did it work? Are you insulted? I keed, I keed the slipper of blue:p ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/10 "2013-01-30T21:42:13Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > That has to be the stupidest OP in the hisory of Al Gore’s internet. It’s more shallow than than the gene pool in Appalachia. If it were any more general I’d be forced to salute. I threw up on my keyboard halfway through reading it, and that was the highlight of the experience. > > Did it work? Are you insulted? Tenderfoot. ---
**Author:** ![Recusant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@Recusant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recusant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/11 "2013-01-30T21:52:36Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > He’s fat? No, he’s just a lousy insulter (or, possibly, just thinks you’re homosexual). It’s said that civilization began the first time someone threw an angry word instead of a rock, and I happen to agree- with the sentiment, at least. An insult is not simply a way to drag down someone’s self-esteem, but also to express displeasure in visceral way without resorting to a lengthy, reasonable discussion of flaws and merits. A verbal stab in much less lethal than the literal kind, if not less painful- it still offends you (or is supposed to), but leaves no (physical) scars. Unfortunately, as our society’s respect for eloquence and quick-wittedness falls ever further down the rabbit hole of text-speak, we’re losing that. A confrontation between a 2030 Oscar Wilde and a 2030 Voltaire would probably be along the lines of: Wilde: “Nazi.” Voltaire: “Fag.” Guns: Bang! Perhaps it’s time to form a Society For the Preservation of Insults… ---
**Author:** ![blueslipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@blueslipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueslipper)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/12 "2013-01-30T22:43:38Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > That has to be the stupidest OP in the hisory of Al Gore’s internet. It’s more shallow than than the gene pool in Appalachia. If it were any more general I’d be forced to salute. I threw up on my keyboard halfway through reading it, and that was the highlight of the experience. > > Did it work? Are you insulted? > > I keed, I keed the slipper of blue:p Yes I am insulted for the first time in my life. I know nothing about swimming in Appalachia. Where is that? What does ‘keed’ mean? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/13 "2013-01-30T23:08:52Z")
> [@blueslipper](#): > > Yes I am insulted for the first time in my life. Yea, I win!!! > [@](#): > > I know nothing about swimming in Appalachia. Where is that? Meaning is meaningless, just know you were insulted. > [@](#): > > What does ‘keed’ mean? Kid, kidding, joking, not serious, ignore me, of no consequence, etc. ---
**Author:** ![dexter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dc4da7/32.png) [@dexter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dexter)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/14 "2013-01-31T00:06:12Z")
Since Oscar Wilde has been mentioned in a thread about insults, I must share Ambrose Bierce’s commentary re: Wilde. “That sovereign of insufferables, Oscar Wilde, has ensued with his opulence of twadle and his penury of sense. He has mounted his hind legs and blown crass vapidities through the bowel of his neck, to the capital edification of circumjacent fools and foolesses. The ineffable dunce has nothing to say and says it with a liberal embellishment of bad delivery, embroidering it with reasonless vulgarities of attitude, gesture and attire. There never was an impostor so hateful, a blockhead so stupid, a crank so variously and offensively daft. He makes me tired.” Now that man knew how to hurl an insult. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/15 "2013-01-31T03:13:29Z")
> [@Recusant](#): > > A confrontation between a 2030 Oscar Wilde and a 2030 Voltaire would probably be along the lines of: > Wilde: “Nazi.” > Voltaire: “Fag.” Didn’t Buckley and Vidal already do this one? ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/16 "2013-01-31T07:17:16Z")
> [@dexter](#): > > Since Oscar Wilde has been mentioned in a thread about insults, I must share Ambrose Bierce’s commentary re: Wilde. > > “That sovereign of insufferables, Oscar Wilde, has ensued with his opulence of twadle and his penury of sense. He has mounted his hind legs and blown crass vapidities through the bowel of his neck, to the capital edification of circumjacent fools and foolesses. The ineffable dunce has nothing to say and says it with a liberal embellishment of bad delivery, embroidering it with reasonless vulgarities of attitude, gesture and attire. There never was an impostor so hateful, a blockhead so stupid, a crank so variously and offensively daft. He makes me tired.” > > Now that man knew how to hurl an insult. 😛 I think Ambrose was just jealous. ---
**Author:** ![dexter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dc4da7/32.png) [@dexter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dexter)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-theory-on-insults/648833/17 "2013-01-31T19:08:22Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I think Ambrose was just jealous. Not a fan of the vituperative arts, I take it?😃