How you've dealt with verbal things

[Sandan]

Yea, humour works for me... but it has to be subtle, not to be seen as a rebuttal!

[GrooveChampion]

Here is what you say to them: "Your futile attempt at hurting me with mere words have failed miserably"

[Oahngoji]

Before I get quite a lot of insults from some of my classmates, and i usually ignore them. But this did not work. After awhile, i started to respond by insulting them and kind of threatening them by means of using karate skills. This worked out great, and now, i laugh with them and become friends with them~~~~

[Mr Pockets]

Depends- if it's just some skinny little punk and I can take him, I'll laugh at him tauntingly to see if he'll attack me. If it's a situation where someone (again that I can take) is doing something I want to stop, I'll flat tell him to stop in a somewhat threatening way. If it were a group of five black guys with gang ink, well... I'd just quietly respond in the most technically correct way and leave. I can't take all five of them, and they're probably armed.

[unknown]

insults do not bother me unless they are coming from somebody I respect.

That is an awesome quote. I heard some American President say that at a press conference but I can't remember who. Either way that is the way I think about verbal harrassment.

[Socratic_Sifu]

The funny thing about all verbage is that it often says more about the speaker than the hearer. IMHO When a person makes derogatory, offensive or demaning remarks towards another, the hearer can:

1) Give the remarks permission to offend, demean or anger you and beat the crap out of the speaker;

2) Decide not to be offended, demeaned or angered and either create a new peaceful situation with humor, etc or have the discipline, to leave if it is not possible to keep the peace.

[Anbu Alex]

i will just use the Ninjas ultimate technique .........................

the laugh in your face and walk away cause your imature no jutsu

it has yet to be defeated

[White Warlock]

In a perfect world we would have the best reactions. Unfortunately, sometimes you're not in the best of moods, are distracted, or simply didn't expect to be treated that way from that person. In these cases, you're going to react in a manner that is clearly not the best.

So, what do you do about it? Well, you develop a series of 'kneejerk' responses to the more common insults or phrases. In this way, no matter what your mindset, you'll be more likely to blurt out a good counter-response.

If, however, the insult presented is with the intent of instigating a confrontation, then you need to determine whether what you say, or don't say, is going to further serve their purpose. It may be that you'll end up having to 'bypass' the repartee' and just go right into dispatching the threat, or that you could deescalate the situation without having to eat crow.

Every situation is different, and you are not always a ship on smooth waters. Deal with it.

[MizuRyu]

It really depends on the degree. If they are insulting myself or people I know, I ignore them. I believe that words in that context are a pathetic attempt at feeling big. If I feel uncomfortable or like it could very well escalate, I will get in my Wing Chun 'talking' stance, hand on the chin. If they are talking WHILE initiating physical contact (screaming and pushing, etc), I'll go to lock the wrist or step back and guide them to the floor, or just step back in general. Sometimes... if it's not worth it at all, I'll just walk away while they're talking.

It's funny I see this topic because not too long ago I had to deal with something of the like. He was getting in my face and I basically told him I didn't want to be the person responsible for keeping his childish temper in check, so I'd allow the school, who is more qualified, to put him in time out. Cooled him down haha.

[Jiffy]

As a former bouncer (crowd controller) I received my fare share of verbal insults. There are basically three things you can do:

Ignore It

This is usually the best thing to start with. In many instances, this can put the other person off because they are not getting the offended reaction they were after. Be aware though, this can also make some people more determined.

Laugh with them

Agreeing with someone when they are insulting you is one of the best ways to throw them off balance. Especially if you are witty enough to include them in the insult. Once again though, this can be seen as a weakness and be harped upon by someone determined to annoy you. Alternatively, you can turn the insult into a positive (eg. they say "You're fat", you say "Thanks, I'm really in shape... round is a shape")

Throw it back.

When sending an insult back, it's important that you make it relevant. Don't just spit a random insult. (eg. He says "you're fat", you say "your broke"). What you need to do is find a way of throwing their insult back on them. (eg. They say "You're fat", you say "yeah, but you're ugly and I can go on a diet") To aggrovate them just that little bit more, blow them a kiss afterwards... This method is the most fun, but can also provoke the most violence.