On this subject, my (slightly younger) brother is quite possibly the most callous, unflinching, offensive little bastard I know. He'll say quite literally anything that comes to mind, regardles of how many people he offends in doing so; in fact, I think he takes it upon himself as a personal challenge to be as insensitive as he possibly can.
And the thing is, he isn't actually a nasty person - he makes friends a lot easier than I do, because he's such a Magnificent Bastard that he can say anything he likes and still get away with it. He quite literally doesn't give a [parasitic bomb] what people think of him...if you try and insult him back, he'll either shrug it off or retort with something even more caustic in return. I frequently have to remind him, to little effect, that there are some things you just can't say in polite company. He doesn't care, of course. If he thinks it'll earn him a reaction, he'll say it.
Personally, I believe in a modicum of gentility. I see myself as part of a dieing breed of romantic gentlemen, so I prefer being nice to people unless they earn my scorn. I sometimes act like a bit of a sarcastic dick online, but I'd like to think I'm actually a nice guy...I love helping people, at any rate, and I'm tolerant of just about everybody's beliefs and lifestyle choices (provided they don't try to force me to change what I'm comfortable with myself).
I guess people will often assume you're a wimpy pushover or naive moron if you don't forsake emotion and pretend you're a Deadpan Snarker. Which kind of irks me. But I suppose not everybody can be tolerant of The Little Guy.
I suppose I'll end up attracting a bit of ire for this, for one reason or another. Oh well. Just wanted to voice my opinion.
"A comedic tragedy, or a tragic comedy? No-one knows for sure; such is the nature of our existence."