Quote:
Originally Posted by PM_Mama00
If I answered "excuse me" to someone I didn't hear, that would be considered being sarcastic or being a bitch.
If I answered "yes ma'am/sir" to my parents, that would be considered as being sarcastic or bitchy.
I"ve found that if you call someone ma'am, sir, miss, etc they take it as someone being condescending towards them. There were these two girls in a restaurant the other day and they were calling the cooks (Mongolian BBQ) sweety and honey. It made me cringe until I realized they had southern accents.
I like being able to be myself around people and not having to worry if I used the wrong fork or if I should have called someone ma'am or miss or Ms.
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I agree that it's all contextual. I just don't believe that the Southern vs. Northern culture sets the context the way a lot of people assume that it does.
Much of this also has to do with tone, intonation, and how people learn how to interpret things.