1. I've tried really hard to think more positively, but it's not really working. I deal with unpleasant things through humor. I always have. You can't really change a life pattern for lent.
2. When I first announced this plan to Linguist Friend, he said "How do you plan to get your readership back after Easter?" He was right. People apparently love me for my snark. My blog hits are down some 50 percent.
3. I can't talk about Harvey Mansfield and the whole "Manliness" debate without being snarky.
4. I was invited to an Oscars-style "UU Awards" at another local church if I could give Joan Rivers style commentary. I wasn't sure about this one as I look laughably unlike Joan Rivers, but the invitation was quietly retracted when I said I'd given up sarcasm for lent.
Ah well, it's not THAT long until easter.
6 comments:
Any good writing teacher will tell you to play to your strengths. If you've a gift for snark, then by all means snark.
Sounds like you've learned quite a bit from doing this.
Back when I was a wanderer among the Episcopalians, the wittiest thing to give up for Lent was considered to be your New Year's resolutions.
Im going against the crowd here, but if you feel that being snarky is wrong -and by giving it up for Lent, you might - then dont let others peer pressure you into doing something else.
If by being Snark-free, you've determine that there is nothing wrong with Snark - that's different.
Otherwise, it is good to try to improve ourselves, but as you see, not always popular.
I'm going to be a real sourpuss Church Lady here, but I think that sarcasm has no place in church life. If a congregation invited you to snark up their proceedings, I would have to ask, what about fellowship without snark scares that community?
Sarcasm hurts people. You have to be REALLY close to someone to not be wounded by their sarcasm. I think that sarcasm is a great device to make outsiders feel unsafe and not like real players.
OOh. Sorry for the sermon! Interestingly enough, this connects to your post on AA, as it was Mother of PB who said after she went into rehab for alcoholism, "we need to stop using sarcasm as our primary mode of expression in this family." She didn't quite say it that way, but the sentiment was the same.
I LOVE your snark but I would hate to see you use it in the wrong setting.
It wasn't the congregation who invited me exactly.
A lady from another church runs a huge dinner at the church through the service auction every year. Every year it has a theme related to a TV show. (I think she said last year was iron chef)
This year it is the Oscars.
I don't know that I would have done it.
AS for the folks who say I am good at snark and I should do it, I know and I will. But for the reasons PB is hinting at, I wanted to try life without snark.
CC
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