No Disrespect
by Scott Hardie on July 23, 2019
One of my pet peeves is people saying, "Have you ever noticed that the phrase 'no disrespect' is immediately followed by something disrespectful?"
Well, YEAH. That's the point of the phrase. It's intended to provide context, so that you don't take the next statement as a deliberate insult. If I said, "you should see your barber for a refund," it would sound like an insult about an ugly haircut. But if I said, "I don't mean any disrespect, but you should see your barber for a refund," it would sound like constructive advice about how to handle bad service.
Do the people acting clever by pointing this out think that the phrase is supposed to be followed by a nice statement? "No disrespect, but you look terrific today" would sound incongruously weird, like someone was sarcastically suggesting that you look bad. You'd puzzle over it for a moment, not sure what to think.
Pointing out that "no disrespect" is followed by something disrespectful is just so oblivious as to purpose. It's like pointing out, "Have you ever noticed that people opening their umbrellas is followed by heavy rainfall starting?" What did you think the point was?
Besides that, the joke is a cliché by now. I've heard it at least a half-dozen times. That's why I was doubly disappointed to hear it come up on the new season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Two longtime professional comics should not produce such a lazy, pointless, and hackneyed joke.
One Reply to No Disrespect
Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
Give Me a Little Credit Here
Today's junk-mail pitch from Visa: "Most credit card companies know you as a number. Sean, we know you by name." Go »When Erik Met Matthew
The spark for the idea came during the pandemic, when we here on Funeratic decided to try some Zoom conversations and games. Two people who I admire for (among other things) their ability to converse quickly and freely with strangers and to get along instantly with seemingly anyone, Erik Bates and Matthew Preston, talked to each other for the first time and of course they hit it off immediately. I knew I wasn't imagining it, because other people on the call remarked on it. Go »Ten Stress-Relieving Tips for Visiting Walt Disney World
I know a few people visiting the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth for the first time in 2008, and I've been there a lot, so here's what I tell them. 1) Go during the off-season: Between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, or between New Years and Valentines Day. The hotels are a fraction of their normal cost, the Florida weather is dry and cool, and best of all, park attendance is at a minimum. Go »Abortion Aborted
Earlier this week, The Onion published another eyebrow-raiser: Actress' Abortion Written Into TV Show, with a photo of Leah Remini. Later that day, it changed without explanation into the much tamer Apple Unveils New Product-Unveiling Product. (link) Normally they never back down from a legal challenge or controversy, and good taste obviously isn't a factor, so I wonder why they changed the article. Go »Lars and the Ripoff
I'm sure that Lars and the Real Girl is a good movie and that Ryan Gosling is Oscar-worthy, yadda yadda. But will the bloggers out there spreading the word please stop acting like it's such an original premise to have an adult treat a life-size doll like a real person? In the past few years alone, I've watched indie movies May and Love Object cover the same ground, with Dummy skirting closeby, and those are only a few examples; plenty more exist through the years. Go »
Aaron Shurtleff | July 24, 2019
I'm not racist, but...