"Bless Your Heart"

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  1. "Have a Blessed Day" -- Sincere or Sarcastic?

    • 101
      Sincere
    • 40
      Sarcastic
    • 66
      Sincere but kinda condescending
    • 46
      Should only be used among people of the same religious persuasion
    • 118
      You're making a mountain out of a molehill

371 members have participated

That's a phrase that I'm sure is meant well (most of the time), but for some reason it just grates on my nerves. Most of the time, it strikes me as condescending. It's like the quintessential Southernism Bless your heart,” which I'm coming to learn means nothing of the sort. (According to my late sister-in-law, bless your heart” means You're behaving like a Yankee — synonymous with ‘Troll' — and you have no idea that we're all laughing at you behind your back.” This is the same sister-in-law who referred to me, until her dying day as That dam Yankee my brother brought home.”

Somehow, Have a Blessed Day” just strikes me in the same way — as sarcastic, condescending and insincere. Every time I see a post ending that way, it makes me reassess the content and is sure to get my dander up. I know I'm not the only one who sees it that way. So I'm wondering, how do the majority of AN members see/use the expression?

Specializes in Registered Nurse.

I feel you! haha I have heard it (Bless your heart) just a couple times in the work place, but I *chose* to hear it as a pleasant response. I do believe it can be condescending or sarcastic though...and so I have been told, it often is condescending. Have a Blessed Day is a little different, IMO or strikes me as more genuine most of the time.

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Absolutely. That should not be confused with hiding your faith and treating it like some dirty secret lest someone get offended. I can promise you that the Doctors I have worked with for years who wish me happy Chanukkah(sp?) every year don't do it because they think I'm jewish. And when I wish them merry Christmas I don't do so because I believe they are Christian. None of us are snarky or condescending when we say it so......And if you reject a blessed day just don't have one. I reject namaste and blessed be when people say it to me so whats the big deal ?

Yes to all. Not a "Happy Holidays" gal myself.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I am a Christian and "Have a Blessed" day makes me so mad I have to repent. I think it's because I have seen it used by people cussing and acting like a village idiot, stop and say, You have a blessed day." Last summer I had a raging parent screaming at me. I hung up on her. She called back, I let voice mail pick up and she said, You have a blessed day. Yep, please don't act like a freaking lunatic and bring the Lord into your mess.

YES! You said it well.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
As the only time I've heard the phrase is on outgoing voicemail messages, I would venture a guess that in those situations, it's not used sarcastically. :)
"Have a blessed day" was actually used to end a scam IRS 'delinquent taxes' harrassing phone call to me a few months ago.

BLESING and threatening me at the same time!

Cracked me up. :roflmao:

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Living in Texas if that stuff bothered me I would be upset all the time. It is used liberally here and 99% of the time it is completely sincere and well meant.

So I take it the way it is intended and it is actually kind of nice after 11 years of exposure.

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Oh, and the best thing to say when presented an ugly baby is something I learned from an old friend, gay, minister, who was always having babies thrust upon him. He would smile beatifically and say heartily, "Now, that's a BABY!"

LOL, my tag line is "would you just LOOK at that FACE! Awwww...." The parents thinks I'm cooing over how adorable their child is, and I'm thinking "what are you ever gonna DO with that FACE?!" Sorry, not all babies are beautiful. :bag:

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:) I chose "Mountain out of a molehill".

My mom's side of the family is from Arkansas and Oklahoma. I've heard "bless your heart" and many other sayings all my life. It definitely depends on the tone and can mean different things.

Funny - this thread and the other one about rude comments being active at the same time. I truly believe what someone said on the "rude" thread and that is the definition of certain words or phrases depends on what the speaker intends but also is colored by what the person hearing it perceives.

Much ado about nothing in my opinion. But fun nonetheless . . I love the stories people are sharing. Keep them up.:up:

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
LOL, my tag line is "would you just LOOK at that FACE! Awwww...." The parents thinks I'm cooing over how adorable their child is, and I'm thinking "what are you ever gonna DO with that FACE?!" Sorry, not all babies are beautiful. :bag:

I always say: "Look at those CHEEKS!" followed by cooing a greeting to the baby that is also no kind of commentary, like, "Hello little blue-eyes!"

Makes parents PREEN with joy that their precious bundle is so admired.

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I always say: "Look at those CHEEKS!" followed by cooing a greeting to the baby that is also no kind of commentary, like, "Hello little blue-eyes!"

Makes parents PREEN with joy that their precious bundle is so admired.

Yep, and they don't have to know that right after you said that, you were thinking "I wonder if those beady little blues will ever uncross on their own, or if he's gonna need surgery?!" :cheeky:

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Specializes in Pedi.

I don't want my day to be blessed. I agree, it sounds condescending to me. Like I'm some heathen who needs my day "blessed" by Christians. That said, I live in New England and this is not a phrase I hear often, or ever.

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Specializes in critical care.
As someone raised in areas that use it "Bless your heart" is a supposedly polite way to say "You're about as dumb as they come." This also has a companion saying which is "Well isn't that special" which roughly translate to "You just did something stupid enough to get someone to say bless your heart." Have a blessed day though was always just a way to say you liked someone enough to hope they had a good day.

I think the Church Lady from SNL permanently etched "well isn't that special?" as a negative thing in my brain.

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I don't want my day to be blessed. I agree, it sounds condescending to me. Like I'm some heathen who needs my day "blessed" by Christians. That said, I live in New England and this is not a phrase I hear often, or ever.

To be clear not only Christians say that.

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