There's just something about the word "class" that provokes knee-jerk reactions from even the most level-headed cucumber. Typical insults like "idiot" and "stupid" have pretty much lost their bite through overuse and juvenile association. Anybody who's stupid enough to call anybody else stupid is...well, stupid--like what are you, ten years old? Grow up.
So what are the insults of choice for adults? Douchebag, dick, asshole, and motherfucker are common enough, which by default, makes them exceedingly vulgar. Cool cucumbers can brush off layman insults simply because its beneath them. So how do you get under the skin of Mr. Freeze?
Calling out their family members is one way. For some reason, everybody sees blood when their mom is insulted. Family in general is hallowed ground, but because its hallowed, it's a pretty desperate attempt to undermine someone's cool exterior. Besides, it's a grade-A dick move, you get no respect from anybody for doing so.
So the last resort really, is to say to them, "You got no class."
Holy shit. Did you just say I have no class? Fuck you.
What differentiates a straight up insult like "You asshole" to a seemingly innocuous observation of "You got no class" is precisely just that: it's an observation. It's one thing to call a spade a dick, but it's a whole 'nother story when you're calling a spade, a spade.
For the most part, the "no class" insult isn't all that common, so when it does come out, most people get blindsided by it. They are ill-equipped to handle such an insult since they've never encountered it before. They don't have the counter-strategies, and in their attempt to come up with one on the spot, they sputter and manage to make themselves look like idiots in the process. The thing about being called out for having no class is that its a fundamental evaluation on your being as a human being.
It pretty much goes back to old-school society. They're basically calling you a peasant, a peon, a lower-class citizen. You is in the lower-echelon of humanity my friend.
Fuck you, I totally have class.
Or do I?
What does it even mean to have class? Does it mean being honest? Being nice? Grateful? Never saying a bad thing about anybody?
Face it people, we are all classless to an extent. Every time you make a joke that mocks misogyny and racism, that's not very classy. Every time you revel in the failures of the people you absolutely despise, that's not very classy. The long list of things that make us unclassy is exceedingly long compared to the things that do make you classy. But the thing is, the unclassy list is the same as the being human list.
Few people are class all the way. There's always a bit of classless in all of us. It's what it means to be human. So the next time somebody says to you, "You got no class," just smile and ignore the hypocrite.
He's a classless fuck anyways.
