I considered passive-aggressiveness to be an insult wrapped in a bow and presented as a gift.
As for the reason for it, in some cases it's cultural. I am currently living in NC where Southern culture dictates that it is rude and ghastly to be directing insulting and aggressive. It's just not how it is done here. If you are going to be aggressive, you must be passive-aggressive. An indirect snide comment coupled with a buffer like "Bless her/his/its heart" is considered the correct form of how to insult someone.
Do I like it? Oh, hell no. The town I grew up in was filled with out of towners, mostly northerners where passive-aggressiveness was considered far more rude than directly insulting someone. So, I have that mentality. When I moved here I grew to hate passive-aggressiveness. Jesus, how do I hate it. If you are going to insult me, say it to my face. Don't act like you paid me a compliment.
Re: How do you define passive aggressive?
As for the reason for it, in some cases it's cultural. I am currently living in NC where Southern culture dictates that it is rude and ghastly to be directing insulting and aggressive. It's just not how it is done here. If you are going to be aggressive, you must be passive-aggressive. An indirect snide comment coupled with a buffer like "Bless her/his/its heart" is considered the correct form of how to insult someone.
Do I like it? Oh, hell no. The town I grew up in was filled with out of towners, mostly northerners where passive-aggressiveness was considered far more rude than directly insulting someone. So, I have that mentality. When I moved here I grew to hate passive-aggressiveness. Jesus, how do I hate it. If you are going to insult me, say it to my face. Don't act like you paid me a compliment.