Five words: Snark

A friend of mine did a five words meme. The challenge is to expound on five words chosen by a friend that either remind them of you or are chosen are random. The words he chose, I could expound for days on, so I'm just going to do each one as a separate entry.

If anyone else is interested in this, let me know in the comments.

1.	snark	670 up, 50 down
	noun Combination of "snide" and "remark". Sarcastic comment(s). Also snarky (adj.) and snarkily (adv.) His commentary was rife with snark. "Your boundless ineptitude is astounding," she snarkily declared.

From Urban Dictionary

I'll admit. I talk a hell of a lot of trash. I like snark. I like a certain amount of bite to my words. I have a very self-deprecating sense of humor that runs dark. I believe in the Mel Brooks quote about comedy: "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die."

However, as I've gotten older and perhaps wiser (or less willing to deal with bullshit), I've learned that people are misusing the word "snark." I think that people use it now as a shield to be an utter asshole to others and say the meanest, cruelest thing to win humor points from people (witness Internet forums). Which is a form of bullying, in my opinion.

Maybe the problem is that all of us tend to judge and speak from a position where we don't always know the whole picture. But it's so easy to make a snap judgment. And when you have people egging you on to make the craziest statement possible, it's easy to jump the line from "snark" to "complete and utter dickwad."

I guess that what I really hope for is that while we all want to be the funniest or most liked person in a room, we'd remember that sometimes using snark isn't the best way to go about doing it.