Can Idaho Say Anything if They End it With LOL?
Many times, people say things that may be hard to hear. In fact, the more true a statement is, sometimes the harder it cuts. The acronym to say whatever you want without getting in trouble is LOL.
LOL used to mean ‘Laugh Out Loud’ when messaging. It started back in the 1980s in Canada. Blame Canada.
But now, it has taken on a new role in messaging. It seems to be used less as a measurement of something funny, and more as an ‘excuse me.’ Like you passed gas in a text and want to make it okay. Let’s see an example.
Hey! I’m still waiting for a response. Sorry, I just need to know. lol
It would seem that the sender of this message is not laughing quietly to themself, much less out loud.
How ‘lol’ is Now Used in Messaging
lol has become the new way to say things without getting into trouble if can be taken with any offense. This type of softened writing just makes the statement seem less honest. They aren’t sorry, but it ended in lol, so if you are angered by the statement, it’s your problem.
There Has Always Been Some Form of lol
There have been plenty of instances of this kind of phraseology. Back in the South, you could say almost anything about a person if it was followed up by ‘Bless (insert pronoun) heart.’ For example: ‘That poor thing looks like a baby moose the momma rejected because it was too ugly and if he had an IQ 5 points higher, he’d be a plant. Bless his heart.’
Try the classic offense statement. ‘No offense, but you look like you spent all night in the back of a cab loaded with a bachelorette party after an open bar karaoke night.’ Dodged that awkward bullet.
Maybe, there is some gentle ribbing involved. Your boss at work says ‘Your TPS reports always come in late, you better not be hanging out with your girlfriend in the breakroom. (awkward silence) Just giving you a hard time!’ That one is even better when it is said with multiple witnesses.
My personal favorite is ‘just kidding.’ There isn’t much a person can say that just kidding won’t make you look like a jerk for waving the statement away. They aren’t kidding. They are trying to bug you.
There is no way this kind of underhanded aggression is going away. You can let it get to you, or you can let it go.