I always hear talk about someone being passive aggressive and how everyone hates passive aggressive people, but never fully understood the concept.
In: Other
Let’s say we’re going out to dinner. I suggest we go to the new Thai place.
Now, you could say “I don’t like Thai, I’d prefer we go to this bistro I love”. That’s ‘normal’ aggression – you’re explicitly creating a conflict with me. Certainly, a discussion over where we go to dinner isn’t a particularly high stakes conflict, but it is a conflict. You’re encouraging the two of us to resolve this conflict honestly.
On the other hand, you could say “Fine. We’ll eat Thai”… and then proceed to sulk throughout dinner because you really wanted to go to that bistro you loved. That’s passive aggressive. There’s a conflict, but rather than bringing out into the open so we can resolve it, you immediately adopt a tactic of resistance that makes it unpleasant for everyone.
Latest Answers