Check This Out: Passive Aggressive Notes
Posted by: Leonora Epstein
Filed in:
news
8:15AM, Monday June 8th 2009
It’s one thing to write a passive aggressive note. It’s doubly passive for the recipient to then post the note online. And yet it makes for wonderful entertainment, thanks to PassiveAggressiveNotes.com, a blog showcasing the best in annoying, written interactions. Some of the goodies include a letter written on Hello Kitty paper that reads, “Hi neighbors! You smoked us out with your barbeque right under the bedroom window.” That’s fairly pleasant compared to some of the meaner posts, like a note written to office workers: “Attention to whoever is fond of taking my things!!!! Well I don’t remember signing any bond/contract with anyone to have access to my things!!!” Sheesh! [PassiveAggressiveNotes.com]
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jerseygrl
wrote on June 8 2009 @ 09:04 am: [report]
This site is hysterical. Some of these people have passive-aggressive-ness down to an ART!
lilrockgoddess4u
wrote on June 8 2009 @ 09:15 am: [report]
I love this site!
SourBall
wrote on June 8 2009 @ 09:22 am: [report]
Ummm, there’s nothing passive about writing a note. Whoever created this site clearly doesn’t understand the meaning of the term. Embarrassing!
misspixie
wrote on June 8 2009 @ 09:40 am: [report]
@SourBall - stop being so pedantic. The whole concept of the site is really hilarious, does the name actually matter? That’s like bringing up the old argument about whether Alanis Morisette’s song “Ironic” really does contain ironic situations…Seriously, who cares!?
thesirensong
wrote on June 8 2009 @ 08:21 pm: [report]
actually, the note-writing thing is EXTREMELY passive aggressive: it’s just another method of hiding behind something else instead of opening your stupid mouth and saying something’s wrong WHILE it’s happening. Like I bet those neighbours could have saved themselves some discomfort if they mentioned all the smoke during the barbeque, when something could actually be done about it. Grow a pair and look someone in the face when you call them out.
This makes me think of my ex-roommate - she was a clean freak and I’m messy. Instead of telling me when my mess got out of hand - which I asked her to do before we moved in together - she’d clean it all up and then write a stupid note about we needed to start “sharing” the cleaning duties. She once enumerated all of the dishes (including every piece of cutlery) instead of just asking me to do them. Every time, I had to corner her just to get her to talk about it, and to remind her to TELL me because I just didn’t think messes were as pressing as she did.
After checking out this site, I sort of wish I’d kept pictures just to showcase the insanity.
Banksy
wrote on August 19 2009 @ 05:49 pm: [report]
@SourBall ahem, from the site’s “WTF?” page (http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/wtf/)...
for the purposes of this project, we’re using a pretty broad definition of “passive-aggressive” that roughly correlates with how the term is popularly used. as the new york times wrote: “the classic description of the behavior captures a stubborn malcontent, someone who passively resists fulfilling routine tasks, complains of being misunderstood and underappreciated, unreasonably scorns authority and voices exaggerated complaints of personal misfortune.”
that said, some of the notes found here aren’t really passive-aggressive even by our generous standards. some of these notes are really more aggressive in tone, and some of them are more passive — polite, even — but they all share a common sense of frustration that’s been channeled into written form rather than a direct confrontation. it’s barbed criticism disguised as something else — helpful advice, a funny joke, simple forgetfulness. as dr. scott wetzler, a clinical psychologist and the author of living with the passive-aggressive man, observed: “a joke can be the most skillful passive-aggressive act there is.”
if you enjoy railing against the flagrant abuse of the english language, you’ll find yourself very much at home here. (cue up the alanis morissette and try these notes, for starters.)
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@misspixie - They even beat you to the punch with the Alanis reference (which is hyperlinked to the Wikipedia page about “Ironic!”)