Anonymous wrote:A famous retort - “which people and why do you trust them?”

"Famous"?

This post is peak navel-gazing. OP has written an essay about a conversational tic like it’s a moral failing instead of a mild annoyance people use to keep small talk low-stakes.

Weird hill to die on. I bet you are fun to talk to, OP.

A famous retort - “which people and why do you trust them?”

Is it older people saying this to you? I have such a hard time remembering who said what to me. Believe me, saying “some people say” or similar is preferable to listening to me try to figure out where I heard something. (“I think it was someone at work…wait…no…”)

Anonymous wrote:You guys make fun, but if someone did this all the time to pick fights with you in a passive aggressive way, you would also be annoyed. Sheesh.

I'm annoyed by all kinds of minor things. But not to the extent of posting about them like this. It's an overreaction. Some would say ... an extreme overreaction.

Anonymous wrote:You guys make fun, but if someone did this all the time to pick fights with you in a passive aggressive way, you would also be annoyed. Sheesh.

Pick fights? I just ignore opinions that are based on hearsay. It doesn't bother me that you can't form a logical argument.

You guys make fun, but if someone did this all the time to pick fights with you in a passive aggressive way, you would also be annoyed. Sheesh.

Any rebuttal should be required to be in writing with seven citations from secondary sources.

A half hour ago my priest said “Some people say a long gospel reading should be followed by a short homily. But I don’t see any of those people here today, so….”

Everyone's saying that.

Some people say you sound bossy and opinionated.

Some people say that one shouldn't get so worked up about how other people say things.

"Some people say" is a logical fallacy - a strawman argument.
I don't listen to the Orange Clown(that voice is like nails on a chalkboard) but GWBush did it all the time.

This is Trump-ism - he says it constantly, and pulls the info straight from his ass.

I really dislike the use of the phrase "some people say" as a rhetorical tool, especially to disagree. Examples:

Me: I thought the first season of Breaking Bad was really excellent -- that show grabbed me from the first episode.
Them: Some people say that season was really cheesy and bad though.

Me: Oh, have you tried Sundevich for lunch? That place is one of my favorites near the courthouse.
Them: Some people say it's really gone downhill, though.

Me: I've always wanted to go to Iceland.
Them: Some people say it's not as good as everyone says.

That last one is a "some people say" used to contradict what some people are saying, so it's doubly annoying.

I think people do this when they want to argue but either don't actually have firsthand knowledge of the subject matter, or they have firsthand knowledge but rather than saying what they think, they are hiding behind unnamed but apparently all-knowing "people" who cannot be argued with.

It's just really lazy. If you disagree, then say so. Own it. If you don't actually know enough to comment, say that. If you read an opinion somewhere that you think is interesting, share it, but identify where it came from ("I read an Emily Nussbaum piece where she argues the first season of Breaking Bad is kind of cheesy, and the show doesn't hit it's stride until the second season. I might agree -- what do you think?"). But don't just hide behind "some people say." I don't care what unnamed sources thing about anything.