"Calm down." What's your response to someone who tells you that?

raccoon

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:00 AM
Original message

"Calm down." What's your response to someone who tells you that?

Because, first the remark implies superiority on the part of the speaker.

Second, it implies that there's nothing to be uncalm about anyway.

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Tyler Durden

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:09 AM
Response to Original message

1. I usually kill them.

Dog, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to hide the bodies of the assholes I had to kill in a hideous fashion because they pissed me off.

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Sugar Smack

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:58 AM
Response to Reply #1

9. .

:spray: You never let me down. You're the best. :patriot:

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Orrex

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:11 AM
Response to Original message

2. I usually say

"Why, yes, I see your point. Thank you for giving me a moment to reflect upon the many ways in which my heated emotions have caused my thinking on this issue to lose clarity. Henceforth I will regard the matter with greater objectivity so that I may ensure that similar outbursts do not occur in the future. Thank you, thank you very much."

Why? How do you react?

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raccoon

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:13 AM
Response to Reply #2

5. Good answer. I'll have to keep that.

How I react? I get more p.o. at the speaker than I do about whatever the unsettling event was to begin with. :-)

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Orrex

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:31 AM
Response to Reply #5

6. The two that really get me are:

"Don't get so defensive."

and

"You're taking this personally."

Neither statement is intended to improve communication; each is instead calculated to force the recipient into a weaker rhetorical position, in the hope that the argument will shift from "why was I taken off the Nusbaum account" to "I am not taking this personally!"

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wildhorses

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:12 AM
Response to Original message

3. nothing

Edited on Tue Sep-18-07 09:32 AM by wildhorses

i try not to say anything. but, you can still see the steam coming out of my ears :nuke:

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Orsino

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:13 AM
Response to Original message

4. "Are you uncomfortable?"

Edited on Tue Sep-18-07 09:13 AM by Orsino

someone playing stupid Freudian power games needs to know you're on to him.

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La Lioness Priyanka

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:33 AM
Response to Original message

7. you know occasionally i do tell people who are freaking out to calm down

before they escalate a situation.

it might be someone who is just trying to help too.

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MissMillie

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Tue Sep-18-07 09:45 AM
Response to Original message

8. to me it depends on who is saying it

when it's someone who loves me, I don't think it's said w/ any intent to imply superiority, but rather, with a genuine concern for my well-being.

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Deep13

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:01 AM
Response to Original message

10. That's when I explore the diverse tapestry that is the English language. nt

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1gobluedem

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:07 AM
Response to Original message

11. "Calm down" is a staple of my vocabulary

But I work with very high strung people.

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La Lioness Priyanka

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:52 AM
Response to Reply #11

18. i am surrounded by people prone to getting easily stressed. so i use it a lot too

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Ellen Forradalom

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:08 AM
Response to Original message

12. Taser him.

Calm THIS motherf@#$@#!

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Ellen Forradalom

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:08 AM
Response to Original message

13. Taser him.

Calm THIS motherf@#$@#!

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texas1928

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:11 AM
Response to Reply #13

14. I think once would work fine.

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Ellen Forradalom

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:11 AM
Response to Reply #14

15. Taser him.

BZZZZZT!

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Crabby Appleton

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Tue Sep-18-07 11:22 AM
Response to Reply #15

26. Yep, tell'm they just bought a little taze time. nt

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Zavulon

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:42 AM
Response to Original message

16. "Blow it out your ass."

That's exactly what I said the last two or three times someone said that to me. It's remarkably effective.

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skygazer

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:52 AM
Response to Original message

17. Piss off

Said very calmly.

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DS1

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:53 AM
Response to Original message

19. I never hear it. Must be the shotgun in their mouths muffling their speech

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American Rabble

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Tue Sep-18-07 11:00 AM
Response to Original message

20. I usually calm down immediately

Being a Great American, I obey without question and conform to those around me.

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Fire Walk With Me

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Tue Sep-18-07 11:17 AM
Response to Original message

21. "Now we both know that you are incapable of listening in an adult manner."

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Enrique

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Tue Sep-18-07 11:19 AM
Response to Original message

22. I thank them for not telling me to "chill"

dude

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American Rabble

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Tue Sep-18-07 11:21 AM
Response to Reply #22

24. Chillax, man... it's a good question. nt

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Richard Steele

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Tue Sep-18-07 11:21 AM
Response to Original message

23. Kick them until I've calmed down, and thank them for relieving my stress.

Smug wankers.

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Hong Kong Cavalier

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Tue Sep-18-07 11:21 AM
Response to Original message

25. Frosty glare. They usually stammer and shut up.

Edited on Tue Sep-18-07 11:22 AM by Hong Kong Cavalier

Have a co-worker who likes to say "settle" to people in a rising tone and move his hand laterally like he's talking to a dog.
He did that to another co-worker who thoroughly dressed him down verbally for talking down to people. He doesn't do that anymore.

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