Does anyone hate it when people use "we" when they talk about something?

[Anonymous]

I had some people say "we" when they are talking about how people think about certain things. As in when they are talking generally about society.

I think this is ignorant because they are assuming that the majority at least agree with their opinion which is just their opinion based on their experiences.

I don't think they can speak on behalf of other people.

[EnglishArtsteacher]

YES!

I kid you not, I was just talking about this with my mom last week.

It has to be a form of narcissism. People who say "we", when they actually mean individual opinions, obviously have a difficult time seeing the world outside of their own personal lens. They have such a difficult time grasping the idea that the world isn't their FYP, Friends List, personal circle, etc.

[Asker]

This will be best answer

[EnglishArtsteacher]

Thank you!

[EnglishArtsteacher]

Thanks for MHO.

[Alex8736]

Especially if it's a controversial topic

[Asker]

Omg exactly

[Alex8736]

Then the terminology becomes "guilt by association "

[Valdemort]

Enormously!

A friend of mine does this often, and I will interrupt her and make sure that the people she is talking to know this is her opinion and I don't necessarily share it.
Especially when talking about other people, she might use words like "we had such a wrong opinion of him" and I'm like, no, I never felt that way about him, you did.
Sometimes she talks to me about a situation or feeling and uses "you" in the general sense, and then too I will tell her the she feels a certain way, not me or anyone else.
I hate when people think they have to fill in my opinion for me.
So I'll definitely point their opinion out as their own.

[Asker]

Exactly my feelings

[Asker]

Isn't it strange when people claim they know how society feels overall?

[Valdemort]

Hah yeah, and I am guessing it has to do with the idea that what they're saying might be regarded as controversial, so to be "sharing" an opinion with someone else, might make their opinion look less problematic. I don't know why they feel necessary to do so.
But yeah, it's a no for me, don't tell me how I'm supposed to be feeling about something. Very odd thing to do.

[Asker]

In tends to be with double standards where people try to use "we" to claim that's how people feel by following double standards, but I don't think majority of people follow double standards as much as some people tend to think. People are way more focused on equality these days.

[mobiusforniner]

I dunno. As a company executive I use “we” quite often when talking with people. My objective isn’t to assume everyone thinks in a specific way, but rather to show a community that we are one- to promote unity. The problem with a lot of large bureaucratic organizations is “tunnel thinking” between departments. Everyone focuses on their own pot such that our worst enemy is ourselves

I often have people under my stewardship come to me feeling bad when they screw up. I tell them “it’s ok, WE will work through it. Here’s what WE have to do”. And I take full accountability for what I say and actually follow through.

Contrast that with “screw you dumbass, you should be fired”. The latter promotes fear and makes one unapproachable, which is very detrimental to effective leadership.

[RingOfFire]

It's a form of propaganda. By making it sound like their view is the norm they attempt to intimidate you into thinking that if your view is different you are an outcast. My way of dealing with this kind of manipulative propaganda speech is to respond with my own different point of view and stick it right back in their face.

[Asker]

Omg I did that and they told me I am not learning anything and wasting their time

[Asker]

And they called me an outcast even

[Asker]

So everything you say is right

[RingOfFire]

Don't let them intimidate you. They are the thought police. The political left in particular likes to use this technique to prevent other people from hearing any point of view but their own. It's totalitarian censorship.

[wiltingrosepetal]

A huge pet peeve of mine is when I watch anything made by an American (youtube mainly) and they say crap like 'This is our country. We must stand up'- sometimes I want to scream at those creators that not every human being on youtube is from the US 💀

[NathanDavis]

sometimes I don't like it but sometimes I do it

and I make sure to them I am generalizing, yes... for example

"yes, we... men are way more stupid than women are"

because in general we are... not everyone to the same degree no, but we all have that "male gene" that can make us really stupid and die in funny and unthinkable ways, or also be brilliantly stupid and come up with Mammoth burgers and ribs...

[Asker]

Do you have any evidence or is this just your opinion?

[NathanDavis]

yes... I did touch a little live wire, to make 100% sure it is true that it is a bad idea

so there you have me, a guy, a very smart one too, that knows way better, and yet...

had this stupid moment of "brilliance"

turns out all those books are right... you could even ask a question about this, and ask all the men here

"men what was the stupidest thing you, or someone that you know, has done or tried"

and you could open the question for the women too, and compare... big chances that men will be the ones with the most ridiculous answers in both, degree and quantity, more than the women

[Asker]

OK I give it to you in this one instance

[NathanDavis]

[NathanDavis]

I still agree with you 100% on your take...

it's about the worst thing when people generalize like that and that everyone else is just the same... especially considering that this is an international site, and there's many other countries and cultures, many other backgrounds and different ways of life too

[Asker]

It's not that it's just that I think it's silly to say we as in thinking you know how most people think about something. It's like they are talking on behalf of others.
Unless they have research that supports them they really are just using their opinion and projecting it on others.

[NathanDavis]

true...

I've even been told that my life experiences do not even count as "real life experience" because theirs is different and also "that of the majority" the majority being "a friend of mine told me"

can you imagine that... lmao

[Asker]

Omg hate that. I had a guy told me he knows how most people think because he read books about America. I wonder what those books are..

[NathanDavis]

lol, that's another classic...

[Staximus]

Wow, you have a head like a hammer. The evidence is throughout history of the human race

[Anonymous]

Oh, ha, the people of the internet hate when you use "we" to describe a team winning a game, or someone else who won something if you're "just a fan." I'm an F1 fan, and I said once, I'm so excited "we" won. Thirty comments later....

For anyone who doubts the power of the fans and how they are just as much a part of said team, why during Covid were players going nuts when fans weren't allowed in to cheer? They were the ones complaining the loudest that we "weren't there," because no one wants to hoop for no glory, no one wants to win a race and it's only the other actual team members clapping, no one wants to win an Olympic gold medal and look out at a stadium of nothing. "We" are also the ones who pay for tickets, and merch, and upkeep of stadiums, and tracks, so if I say "we" on occasion, just say thank you. I'm not delusional. I'm not down in the pits with a wheel gun screwing on a tire.

[IslaTheWitch]

It depends... At work, everyone is forced to say "we" even if no one of gathered participated in doing the job. Being a useless part of the team is enough to get praise. I hate it

[Asker]

What about when talking about what society thinks?

[IslaTheWitch]

you mean generalisation? I hate it also :D

Everyone should speak for themselves... for their knowledge and experiences.

[Asker]

Omg exactly!
How can someone say we as in how can they speak on behalf of majority of people?
Seems crazy to me.

[IslaTheWitch]

Generalisation is a shortcut our brains use to save resources. But we shouldn't use it in our communication

We mostly meet individuals, and we should refer to them, not to the entire humanity, all women/men, people of colors and so on...

[Asker]

The thing is people who like to generalise use the argument that majority of people think that way and those that don't are an exception so it's OK to generalise.

I think that's wrong because they can't know how majority thinks, it's just their experience.

[IslaTheWitch]

It's OK to use DATA, like statistical research on the defined population, and then we can speak about specific numbers. But generalisation is mostly hurtful because it is based on assumptions, not data.

[Asker]

It's based on a person's experience which is ignorant because it's subjective and not objective.

[Chandelier8]

Very true unless there is an actual group of people there agreeing.

[Asker]

Exactly

[Siri137]

We are not impressed, nor are we amused by this question :)

This is referred to as 'The Royal We', because the late Queen of England (Liz the Second) would often express herself this way. I've been known to use it myself, actually.

[DryGermanGuy]

Absolutely. It's always with the we and the they, when someone tries to peddle some simpleminded, one-dimensional foolishness, especially in politics.

[SaoirseS]

It never bothered me.


I think it was Mark Twain who wrote that only editors and people with tapeworms ought to have the right to use the word we.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

I don't know about that, but is it odd that I say "we" when I'm referring to myself sometimes?

[Asker]

Strange

[DJB72]

As with many things, it depends on their position in society. I'm not South African, so I hate it when the president or government I'm not allowed to vote for refers to all inhabitants of the country as "we". It's not "we".

[DreamLife7]

Yep like leave me out of it. people who do that don't have friends so they try to make up so fake narrative that everyone is w/ them when they're not

[jahaims]

You are taking language to literal. Language is one of the most nuanced things there is.

[FreyaRed]

yes, it sound like peer pressure manipulation.

[Miristheiss]

"We are pregnant"

I don't like that one. She is pregnant.

[LiamJHayden]

I find it ignorant and arrogant.

[Asker]

Definitely arrogant

[FenixG45]

I use the royal "We"! As We are hungry. Or We have to go the bathroom!

[JamesRandiDebates]

Perhaps the person is speaking in the Royal "We."

[ChicoFromThe305]

It's not that deep, vibe out 😂

[iFarted]

We can't help it sorry :(

[Jennz6]

We do lol

[Asker]

We don't

[Anonymous]

Nope.

[LavLavLuv]

It depends

[OddBeMe]

We hate that.