Jerkass has A Point and Empathy

You know there are some people who are pretty straight forward and honest meanwhile coming off as jerkasses despite knowing what they are talking about. How to tell apart who is an genuinely obnoxious from someone who knows what they are saying even they are saying in an unpleasant manner? Lie for example, someone calling someone else out their selfish behavior despite not being pleasant themselves?

What is the difference between being straightforward with an opinion and/or poit or just being plain unpleasant?

edited 15th May '15 1:42:55 PM by GAP

"We are just like Irregular Data. And that applies to you too, Ri CO. And as for you, Player... your job is to correct Irregular Data."

edited 15th May '15 1:42:29 PM by GAP

"We are just like Irregular Data. And that applies to you too, Ri CO. And as for you, Player... your job is to correct Irregular Data."

Respect. To display, here are two possible responses:

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You've already proven you know how to use the edit button, so why'd you do a stupid thing like double-post, don't you know that's a violation of net etiquette?

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I'm having trouble understanding your posts because you've left a lot of spelling and grammar errors in there. I think you're asking what the difference is between an unpleasant point and an unpleasant person. To that, my response is "respect". You can be straightforward with complaints without being rude, or disregaurding the person you are talking to. The terms "straightforward" and "rude" are not synonymous, and people who claim they are usually are deluding themselves into thinking "being correct" is the same thing as "being ethical".

edited 15th May '15 10:37:06 AM by crazysamaritan

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

I was thinking about how sometimes even the unpleasant person turns out the most empathic individual. How they don't mince their words and yet they are somehow 'right' about most things.

"We are just like Irregular Data. And that applies to you too, Ri CO. And as for you, Player... your job is to correct Irregular Data."

"What is the difference between being straightforward with an opinion and/or poit or just being plain unpleasant?"

I'd say it depends on the overlap with and between several related tropes.

If someone is in a situation where anyone would expect weasel words but they choose to be honest, that's probably Brutal Honesty. If someone acts like a jerk in general but has a few people they care about and help, and/or like a jerk in general but change when it really matters, that's probably Jerk with a Heart of Gold. If someone talks like a jerk but acts like an Ideal Hero in all other respects, that's probably Knight in Sour Armor. If someone genuinely is a jerk and has no redeeming qualities, or a few but not enough to make up for how horrible they are overall, those redeeming qualities are probably a rare Pet the Dog moment. If someone genuinely is a jerk, but more heroic characters keep them around because they're useful, the jerk might justify it with At Least I Admit It. See also Bitch in Sheep's Clothing for a bunch of related tropes, and/or character types that might use some of the above.

Does that answer the question?

edited 18th May '15 1:22:51 PM by Cybishop

There are two separate distinctions: "being pleasant versus being a jerk", and "being wrong versus being right". Three if you add "being nice inside versus being mean inside". The combinations result in a variety of tropes.

edited 18th May '15 1:21:51 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

Sort of. It does explain how even the most straightforward person can be empathic and they know what they are talking about.

"We are just like Irregular Data. And that applies to you too, Ri CO. And as for you, Player... your job is to correct Irregular Data."