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Embertayle
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16 Sep 2012, 7:46 am

I don't understand subtext, and I don't tolerate anyone who tries to use it.

Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Anything else is dishonest.



Jaden
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16 Sep 2012, 3:17 pm

I can't stand this kind of thing, people overuse it in the world. It's not that people are trying to be sensitive or other things, it's just that people are afraid to say what's on their minds. I suppose it's not their fault, I mean they are no more responsible for being terrified of speaking their minds than I am of having Aspergers. But there's a huge gap in communication between those who CAN understand subtext, and those who are completely incapable of understanding it, like me. With me, there are two possibilites: 1. The person I'm talking with is lying about stuff, or 2. The person I'm talking with isn't lying about stuff. It's ok for people not to share stuff with others, but don't lie about it by saying something completely off the mark, just say "I don't want/can't talk about it", it's that simple.
I use the same kind of thing with people who use subtext, because I don't understand them, I assume that because they don't say it outright, that they're attempting subterfuge.

Needless to say, I have trouble trusting people.



Moondust
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16 Sep 2012, 3:36 pm

Just wanted to clarify - subtext can be what a person leaves intentionally unsaid, but it also includes factors that are beyond their capacity to express in words or that would be tedious or redundant to have to expand about in words.

Eg:

A) Did you make it to the post office today?
B) No

The "no" could mean "It was utterly impossible to drive, the blizzard in this area hit very hard". But since A knows there was a heavy blizzard, and he knows how important going to the post office today was for B, the explanation is unnecessary; A can imagine B's motivations not to go and her feelings about it as well.


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Last edited by Moondust on 16 Sep 2012, 3:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Jaden
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16 Sep 2012, 3:39 pm

Moondust wrote:
Just wanted to clarify - subtext can be what a person leaves intentionally unsaid, but it also includes factors that are beyond their capacity to express in words.


That's a good point, I normally see subtext as intentional for whatever reason lol.



daydreamer84
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16 Sep 2012, 8:57 pm

Moondust wrote:
Just wanted to clarify - subtext can be what a person leaves intentionally unsaid, but it also includes factors that are beyond their capacity to express in words or that would be tedious or redundant to have to expand about in words.

Eg:

A) Did you make it to the post office today?
B) No

The "no" could mean "It was utterly impossible to drive, the blizzard in this area hit very hard". But since A knows there was a heavy blizzard, and he knows how important going to the post office today was for B, the explanation is unnecessary; A can imagine B's motivations not to go and her feelings about it as well.


Another annoying thing about subtext is that sometimes people try to read between the lines of what YOU say when there is no subtext there.......they think you're unintentionally communicating and their reading your underlying motivation but you have none and you just mean what you're actually saying.



the_phoenix
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16 Sep 2012, 9:14 pm

I've been told that as an Aspie, I use subtext in a way that NTs don't understand.

My sister once had to translate an example for my mother.

Me: "I'm dying."
Sister: "Mom, she's not really dying. What she means to say is, you were fifteen minutes late coming to pick her up, so she's mildly annoyed."

:? :)

But did I mean to intentionally mislead? No.

...


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analyser23
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17 Sep 2012, 6:18 am

I probably do have troubles with this due to the fact that when I talk to people, I give them too much detail! I do this to try to be helpful to others as I must subconsciously have always known how difficult I find it, hence I used to assume that everyone has trouble understanding this. I would tend to give my answer and then explain why I gave that answer. Although this can come across as clunky and people find me a little odd for doing it, I can't get past the fact that it is more helpful to do so than not.
It probably also stems from the fact that most people totally misread me and I want to try to reduce that as I hate it - people base their behaviours on their interpretations of who you are, so due to the fact that they are generally wrong about me, I hate the consequences of the incorrect behaviour that follows.



Jaden
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17 Sep 2012, 1:56 pm

analyser23 wrote:
I probably do have troubles with this due to the fact that when I talk to people, I give them too much detail! I do this to try to be helpful to others as I must subconsciously have always known how difficult I find it, hence I used to assume that everyone has trouble understanding this. I would tend to give my answer and then explain why I gave that answer. Although this can come across as clunky and people find me a little odd for doing it, I can't get past the fact that it is more helpful to do so than not.
It probably also stems from the fact that most people totally misread me and I want to try to reduce that as I hate it - people base their behaviours on their interpretations of who you are, so due to the fact that they are generally wrong about me, I hate the consequences of the incorrect behaviour that follows.


I agree, people tend to go by what they think is correct, rather than what is correct. It does get rather annoying lol.

btw: nice avatar, very clever lol