Back in the days when I used e-mail a lot, I found that I didn’t always have time right away to craft a careful and fully-researched reply to an incoming message, but I still wanted to let the sender know that I had received the note.
So, I got in the habit of sending a quick, noncommittal, hard-to-misinterpret, “OK, thanks.”
‘OK, thanks.’ doesn’t imply agreement, doesn’t promise anything, and, most importantly doesn’t express any human emotion, commitment, belief, or opinion. It is very close to a perfect e-mail response.
It is also a pretty good response to half-baked, mean-spirited, harassing, intellectually lazy, and flat-out wrong social media comments.
Of course, we would all be better off to avoid the fevered swamp of social media. But like especially gruesome car accidents, sometimes, you just can’t turn away.
When you find yourself reading an exceptionally inaccurate, obnoxious, or hostile comment, back away slowly with a calming “OK, thanks,’ and then immediately sterilize your keyboard (or device) and take a long, hot shower.
I’ve seen several responses that artfully combine the neutrality of ‘OK, thanks’ with a slight dash of humor. Here are a few that you might find useful. Unfortunately, I cannot credit the originators of these posts, as I don’t know who they are. Several, of course, are quotes from feature films.
- That ought to do it. Thanks, Ray.
- So, there’s that.
- I do not believe that that word means what you think it means.
- Americans do not rejoice in the suffering of other Americans.
- This post says a lot more about you than it does about (the subject of the post.)
- I am sorry for your pain.
- That’s not how any of this works.
- Lighten up, Francis.
- Be best.
And before you tell me how ridiculous and unhelpful this post is, just let me say one thing.
OK, thanks.
“Life is short. Make sure you spend as much time as possible on the internet arguing with strangers about politics.” – Internet meme, 2018
December 20, 2018