Oh For Sure
you could be right
you might say that
it doesn’t quite suit me
it’s a possibility
sometimes it seems that way
sounds good in theory
can’t say that I have
it’s pointless to disagree
that’s not what I meant
looks can be deceiving
for now
not that I was aware of
give or take
I don’t always enjoy that
maybe another time
I guess it’ll do
don’t get me wrong
it was just a joke
don’t ask me
it’s up to you
things change
I’m really not sure
I can for now
don’t quote me on that
not always
I can’t put it into words
another time perhaps
you picked the wrong day
I never said that
if you say so
not this time
I could be wrong
For Law 20 I have his a list poem – fragmented expressions that sound like agreements but that don’t commit fully. The sort of language used to spin facts or to evade confrontation & avoid explanations. ‘you could be right’ is a neat way of not saying ‘I disagree’ – it makes the sayer appear open minded without revealing what they actually think. ‘could’ is a great word for ambiguity, just like ‘might.’
I often watch documentaries in which theories are proposed with terms like ‘it was possible’ or ‘most probably’ when in fact no one knows – ‘possible’ gives a theory a sense of fact when in fact it is a fantasy. It is possible aliens visited the earth because some hieroglyphics resemble what space helmets could look like. These ancient aliens brought the technology that probably made the pyramids possible. Yeah sure.
‘it was just a joke’ is another of those noncommittal spins that allow the sayer to distance themselves from the content of what they said. They can blame the originator of the joke which they are merely repeating & at the same time shift responsibly to the hearer for not having a sense of humour. Of course ‘I never said that’ has been come standard for politicians even when shown footage of them saying exactly that it becomes the fault of the press not of themselves. Similar to ‘I’m sorry you found out,’ or ‘I’m sorry it hurt you’ as opposed to ‘I’m sorry I did that.’
Often this inability to be clear comes from a sense of people pleasing. It seems less hurtful to say ‘maybe’ than to say ‘no.’ On thing I learned in workshopping writing is that if someone says ‘this isn’t clear.’ or ‘I don’t understand what your getting at.’ It means the communication problem is the writer’s. ‘John seemed angry’ isn’t as clear as ‘John was angry.’ When some says ‘I might be there.’ they are saying no they won’t be there.
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