dense

Sometimes I have this problem where I know someone is joking, or being sarcastic, or is just plain not serious, but I can't help myself from taking him seriously. I have this strange compulsion to respond to something that wasn't said to make a point, it was said to get a laugh, or maybe even to get a dig in.

I feel so stupid when I realize I've done that.

So I'm thinking about it and I realize that maybe I shouldn't feel stupid. I think those laughs or digs should be earned, and if the point as presented makes no sense or is just plain wrong, well then -- sorry, but I'm often disinclined to let anyone get away with that sort of thing.

I do make myself hush most of the time, though, because I don't want to come off as a prig. If I'm annoyed enough, I'll speak up, and that has its own set of repercussions.

The other times I decide it's better to just keep my mouth shut are when it seems to me that someone has misunderstood something. Then I think, Wait! Maybe she does get it, but she's just being snarky about it and I can't tell.

It could be that I'm dense, it could be there's too much wiggle room in the language. At least I'm smart enough to realize the possibility that I'm dense, and also that it's best not to say anything that moves that possibility into the realm of the actual.