I’m sorry if I missed it but how much time have you spent in the South?
Well, no. Because that would be impolite. The whole idea of using “bless your heart” as an insult (which it can be, based on tone, but often isn’t) is that it’s not socially acceptable to be direct about things.
It’s also really not nearly as much of a thing as outsiders seem to think. I literally only heard it from my grandparents. And they were in fact being nice, using it to show sympathy, not using it in an insulting way.
If this is your touchstone for “Sothern politeness” or “Southern manners” then you have a rather warped view of the concept.
I’m sure that it can be used sarcastically just like “thanks for all of your help” can be used sarcastically. I actually believed that it was mostly fake based on innuendo but I now believe the actual Southerners in this thread who have tried to set us straight.
In years past I spent a fair amount of time in the South. Once in Northern Louisiana, many times in the Atlanta area and many more times in various cities across Texas. Maybe most of those don’t count for whatever reason but I didn’t notice a stark difference.
If “bless your heart” is the only insult you got, you wouldn’t get a fight out of any one I know.
You’d probably be ridiculed.
Pointing and laughing, like all humans do wherever they’re from, is way worse. IMO
For what it’s worth, I’ve lived in the South for about half a century, and I can count the number of times I’ve heard “Bless your heart!” used as an insult on the fingers on one ear. It’s used ironically in online conversations, but not so much in real life. Rather, in face-to-face conversations, it’s used as an expression of genuine sympathy.
Seriously!