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comment by pseydtonne
pseydtonne  ·  4470 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Some things are universal, I guess

My interpretation of the palms-up shrug is not "what?". It's: 1) so what? 2) Whatever you're asking me could go either way and I could not care less. 3) I really couldn't tell you what you want to hear, so why are you still staring at me?

When I do that gesture, I think of myself handing off whatever is in both of my palms. "Here's your sword or baseball bat or muffler, dude. You want it to be a priority? Then it's yours and not mine. Leave me out of your drama." You're tossing the load, not being confused.





humanodon  ·  4469 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Do you react to this gesture the same way in all contexts?

pseydtonne  ·  4469 days ago  ·  link  ·  

No, I don't. If the person does it as if to walk away from a conversation, I get angry. If the person has provided some information leading to the point of the palms-up shrug, then I usually understand that the person is at a limit and there is no point in being angry.