I'm a Gotham City DA, Let Me Pass!

So it's an interesting phenomenon when the people you love think that your affection for them gives them permission to be rude.

Some people use the excuse of humor. Some people use the excuse of concern. Some people use the excuse of love. And the rare, honest ones don't use an excuse at all.

I've always preferred honesty. But not everyone does.

My Dad says I like to shock people with blunt words. I think that might be true, but not for the reasons he thinks. It's not the cheap thrill of a shocked expression that I like (though it can be occasionally fun). I'm more intrigued that people are often shocked by truth. Not cruel truths or even brutal ones...but simple, calm, every day truths can make people squirm like the Inquisition. And that fascinates and saddens me all at the same time.

I don't like it when people hide their frustration with pointed jokes and innuendo. I don't like it when people hide their sadness with bright and brittle cheerfulness. I don't like it when people sacrifice themselves to the clamoring masses in order to hide their loneliness. I don't like it when people are crude in order to hide their own confusion and dismay.

I like myself least when I go for the cheap laugh at the expense of someone I love. When I see the smile on their face but the hurt in their eye-- that's when I know I just sold a little of myself away for something that won't last. I do it all the time. It's not premeditated. More often than not, it's completely thoughtless. And that's what makes it worse. Something you do without thinking is more a part of you than a thousand planned insults could ever be.