disclaimer

Its a phrase we all hate, but its a phase we all love to throw around. Its the ultimate disclaimer, the big end Fuck-You, the sentence that seems to absolve us of all the "bad stuff" that happens. It says, "you know what my friend, all the shit that's happening now is on you with a capital YOU; because while I am part of this really messed up equation, I'm absolved of all sins because (wait for it, here it comes...) I told you so."

As kids we fall and our parents snidely say, "See, what did I say about running? Told you you'd fall right? See!" Its a Fuck-You-fault's-all-you phase. Loving at the heart of things, but still the same meaning. As teens we mess up, fail our exams, screw up parts of our lives and teachers, mentors and other authority figures glare at us and, usually with some grimace or snide tone of voice:" See, told you so. If only you studied harder, worked harder, played lesser, grew up..." Again, its a Fuck-You-fault's-all-you phase. Again, often said with the air of superiority and impatience. As adults we bungle and stumble and our bosses, colleagues and friends say, "Told you so. Told you that guy was a bastard. Told you that girl was a gold digger. Told you you should have taken that job/ left that job earlier. Told you... told you... told you..." Once again, its a Fuck-You-fault's-all-you phase. Only this time sometimes its partnered with a tad of gloating, loads more superiority and tons more rolling of eyes. Oh, and carts full of bitching behind your back.

In my life, I've had my fair share of people uttering that blasted phase at me. I'm sure I'm guilty of saying it to others to (and for that I'm sorry.... ) cos the fact is: it does nothing than make a bad situation worse. It does little more than allow the sayer to shirk some measure- no matter how small- of responsibility. It absolves the guilty and shifts the guilt/blame to the one who's actually suffering the most. Its the most unfair endgame- like an errant child throwing a tantrum and stomps off as he's losing and then declaring "I'm not playing this game- its stupid. You're all stupid." And that supposedly makes him look ok.

Its the ultimate disclaimer. Really.
For those that would not take responsibility.
How very convenient.