Know that if someone is flashing you the "contempt smile" you may not be at the top of their regard at the moment...
Consider this quote from Ekman & Friesen’s Unmasking the Face:
Contempt is a close relative of disgust, but it differs in some ways. Contempt is only experienced about people or the actions of people, but not about tastes, smells, or touches. Stepping onto dog droppings might call forth disgust, but never contempt. You might, however, feel contemptuous about people who eat such things, for in contempt, there is an element of condescension toward the object of contempt. Disdainful in disliking the persons or their actions, you feel superior (usually morally) to them…
As I read this I remembered something one of my professors said in class a while back. He mentioned “Sarcasm is essentially just contempt plus humor.” It made me think about all the times I’ve ever used sarcasm as an effort to sound witty or be funny. It made me think of how many people I know that are incredibly skilled at sarcasm and use it as a social vehicle. We need to be careful that our communication and our language towards each other – even if veiled in humor, doesn’t say “You disgust me.”
I totally agree that we all use sarcasm to much. That we hurt others with out really caring or concern just to make ourselves sound funny or witty. It is something that I’ve personally been working on. I hope and pray that we all can become a little more sensitive to the feelings of others around us and not use sarcasm towards others. I personally know many people who have been hurt due to sarcasm. My prayer is that we all would ask God to help us over come this tendency in our lives.
Amen to that!