Whatever.
“Whatever” is the bleat of the adolescent. It is meant to convey disdain
while acknowledging the antecedent comment.
When Rebecca was approaching her teenage years, I realized that this would be a trigger word for me, so I decided to drain it of all meaning by using it myself at any opportunity.
Of course, raising a child is an experiment without a control, so I’ll never know whether my plan actually worked. Maybe she didn’t use “whatever” because it was “dad’s word” or maybe I became so inured to it that I didn’t notice when she did use it.
Now I mostly notice when adults use it. I don’t know whether they realize what they sound like or even if they care. But like artificial hair coloring on a 60-year-old head, I don’t find it so much irritating as anachronistic and sad.
When Rebecca was approaching her teenage years, I realized that this would be a trigger word for me, so I decided to drain it of all meaning by using it myself at any opportunity.
Of course, raising a child is an experiment without a control, so I’ll never know whether my plan actually worked. Maybe she didn’t use “whatever” because it was “dad’s word” or maybe I became so inured to it that I didn’t notice when she did use it.
Now I mostly notice when adults use it. I don’t know whether they realize what they sound like or even if they care. But like artificial hair coloring on a 60-year-old head, I don’t find it so much irritating as anachronistic and sad.
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