One of the devices people use to respond to a specific criticism is to dismiss the observation by chalking it up to some general malady. Here are few examples.
- John’s check bounced – Life is not fair
- Jane is a real bitch – Women suck (we should be so lucky)
- A Red Party refused to change the law – Sad reality
- Plumbing doesn’t work in the apartment 11b – Same shit everywhere
You get the idea. A general negative statement serves to dismiss the specific complaint. Does the grievance have no value because it’s a part of some grand plan? More importantly it projects negative, nihilistic and cynical view of the world. Life is a game, often with negative outcome and house probably does win most of the time. So what? Show some empathy for the specific grievance and play it up!
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