What is with strangers calling you "hon"?

[powellrj]

I don't mind when someone older calls me a pet name, but I hate being called sweetie and hon from a teenager. I feel its condescending and patronizing. The one that really sets my head spinning is girlie.

 

[plutotek]

How is that insulting? I tend to think of "blessed"as a Wiccan or new age thing and I'm neither of those things. However, since they're wishing me well, I'm not offended.

Explaining why it's insulting would lead to a debate that's frowned upon.

 

[dinolounger]

Reading many of these replies...makes me sad at how balkanized and intolerant we are becoming in this country.

I grew up in New England and didn't get the "hon" thing thrown at me until I was in college in the midwest (people who say no one uses "hon" in the midwest are absolutely wrong, it is rampant in places like Kansas and Missouri). My initial reaction to being called this was both surprise (given yes, it can come off as being overly intimate) and a bit of levity, given I realized it was not ill intended and made me appreciate the homey persona of the local culture. So when I read these testy "it's condescending/patronizing" posts, my immediate reaction is to see an image of some sterile, uptight, narcissistic urbanite. I am them tempted (but have restrained myself from) posting them a reply that would read something to the effect "loosen up, get off your pedestal and become a little more human please."

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

There's a lot of things to get angry about in this world; for me, being called "hun" or any other pet name is not one of them.

 

[goofyernmost]

Yea, it's very common here in the south. If you get offended by it easily, I would suggest staying out of the area. It is meant only in friendship and should be taken that way. Saying "you guys" is offensive to southerners. The proper way to say it is ya'll or all ya'll, if it's a group. Really, like someone said, lighten up. Take it in the manner that it is given and if you don't do that do not be surprised to hear someone say.... "Well bless his/her heart." then you can be offended.

 

[ols386]

I don't mind if someone calls me hon. I'd rather they call me that than some other terms.

I find it to be kind of nice.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I never really get offended by it. I always just assumed it's particular to certain dialects throughout the country. Like how I say "you guys" instead of "y'all".

 

[Minnesota!]

Explaining why it's insulting would lead to a debate that's frowned upon.

IMO, "blessed" has as many or as little religious connotations as you want. It can mean blessed by Jesus, etc., or, it can be, simply....enjoy the day you were blessed enough to wake up to. Life is a blessing, no matter what, if any, higher power you subscribe to..

Reading many of these replies...makes me sad at how balkanized and intolerant we are becoming in this country.

I grew up in New England and didn't get the "hon" thing thrown at me until I was in college in the midwest (people who say no one uses "hon" in the midwest are absolutely wrong, it is rampant in places like Kansas and Missouri). My initial reaction to being called this was both surprise (given yes, it can come off as being overly intimate) and a bit of levity, given I realized it was not ill intended and made me appreciate the homey persona of the local culture. So when I read these testy "it's condescending/patronizing" posts, my immediate reaction is to see an image of some sterile, uptight, narcissistic urbanite. I am them tempted (but have restrained myself from) posting them a reply that would read something to the effect "loosen up, get off your pedestal and become a little more human please."

I don't think of Kansas or Missouri as Midwest. Wayyyyy more southern than MN/WI/IA/MI...in geography and lifestyles. My grandma Iived outside.of KC and it was a vastly different world there. Ma'am/sir, southern food, southern accents, etc. I would say, from my many experiences in MO, I would classify it more as a southern lifestlye than Midwestern..

 

[danny1649]

Like they say "you try to follow the golden rule"and life is a tool that teaches you what you don't learn in school."But sometimes you gotta kick that mule"If I got kicked every time I called some one hun.My mule would be about 4 inches under my chin and L'm 6 feet tall.I posted this hoping it would make you smile and think of all the tragic news we see each day.So if I call you hun just kick my mule,we all know what I mean using the word mule.Just let it go and let us all worry about abused children,women and folks living in cardboard boxes in our country.I really believe if we could do that.
.It sounds like to me if some get so worked up on being called hun, feeding and clothing the poor could be accomplished quickly. So please be mad and offended by something that matters and being called hun don't matter with all things that do.Please put a smile on your face and do a kindness for someone less fortunate than you,if they say thanks hun smile and say glad I could help. Respectfully thank you Danny

 

[leebee]

It sounds like to me if some get so worked up on being called hun, feeding and clothing the poor could be accomplished quickly. So please be mad and offended by something that matters and being called hun don't matter with all things that do.Please put a smile on your face and do a kindness for someone less fortunate than you,if they say thanks hun smile and say glad I could help. Respectfully thank you Danny

Sorry, can't agree. I still find calling a stranger by an endearment to be offensive, threatening, and rude. However, just because I feel this way doesn't mean I am all worked up about it and am going to go off the deep end or anything. I just think it's rude, but I move on. I know you can't help your colloquialisms- it's how you were raised, it's part of your speech pattern, and I have just as many quirks. I will tell you something is "wicked..." and it doesn't mean evil, it means amazing or incredible- because I was raised in the Boston area. Actually, it's kind-of presumptuous of you to tell me what things should offend me, but once again it's nothing I get worked up about or can't get over. Maybe instead of me smiling and not being offended, you should stop being overly-personal. Wait, neither is a compromise. It works both ways. Honestly, though, I just chalk it up to "whatever" and move on.

 

[PebblesMK]

Like many others, it's far too familiar to refer to somebody by pet names. I find it sweet and comforting if it's said by an older person, maybe because my grandma would call me sweets or lovebug. To have a teen call me honey, sweetie...whatever, drives me crAzy. Typically I smile and go about my life, but if it's the type of person who says "hi honey, what can I get for you sweetie? Thanks, dear, have a great day sugar!" I usually will call them sugar butt or something similar. And if it's my brothers person, every time she calls me "dear", I say "nope..human" (she spells it deer in texts- still doesn't get it after years).

I get that in some areas, that's just how people speak, but in a professional setting, people should make an effort to refrain from it. One of my coworkers in a medical setting only calls the elderly patients by pet names. "Here sweetie, let me help you wipe your butt, Hun". Drives me up a wall and seems so condescending. But as many others have stated, just because something bothers us, doesn't mean it's ruining our lives. I've never given it a second thought once I leave the situation or person. Not a big deal in thr grand scheme!

 

[KathyTX]

For all the Northerners (and by that, I mean anyone not Southern) who cringe at the sound of this- now you know how I feel when I hear the word "pop"!!!

 

[k5jm]

For all the Northerners (and by that, I mean anyone not Southern) who cringe at the sound of this- now you know hoe I feel when I hear the word "pop"!!!

...or "soda"!! And what the heck is a "bubbler?"

 

[leebee]

For all the Northerners (and by that, I mean anyone not Southern) who cringe at the sound of this- now you know hoe I feel when I hear the word "pop"!!!

...or "soda"!! And what the heck is a "bubbler?"

You guys are wicked funny! At least I've graduated to calling it "soda" instead of "tonic," which is what I grew up calling any carbonated beverage! Of course... it's not all "coke," right?

 

[k5jm]

You guys are wicked funny! At least I've graduated to calling it "soda" instead of "tonic," which is what I grew up calling any carbonated beverage! Of course... it's not all "coke," right?

Of course it is!! Everything is a Coke, but the best Coke is Dr Pepper and the best Dr Pepper is Dublin Dr Pepper (or heritage Dr Pepper, as it is called today).

 

[mom2rb]

The way you ask is "Hi, sweetie, Would you like a coke? What kind do you want?"

 

[leebee]

Of course it is!! Everything is a Coke, but the best Coke is Dr Pepper and the best Dr Pepper is Dublin Dr Pepper (or heritage Dr Pepper, as it is called today).

What the heck IS this?? I have never seen this anywhere!! Honest!

 

[Wishing on a star]

I have to agree with the poster who said 'Everybody is always so easily offended'.
Can't go about just living your life without fear that somebody be just so mortally offended and falling on knives.

So, an innocent and culturally ingrained 'hun', is just so offensive. (Just way to 'ignorant' and 'disrespectful'.)
And, a polite and innocent 'Ma'am'. is also just so offensive.

One is to friendly/casual.
One is to formal.

Wow, just wow.

I can't imagine getting so worked up, in the North, South, East, West... anywhere, over such a thing.
Really????

 

[k5jm]

What the heck IS this?? I have never seen this anywhere!! Honest!

From Wikipedia:

• Heritage Dr Pepper (or Dr Pepper Heritage) (began 2009) became available around November 2009 in various outlets around the United States. As its name implies, it is a "re-release" of sorts of Dr Pepper's original formula, which uses sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, which Dr Pepper and other brands of soft drink started to use around the early 1970s. The formula of Heritage Dr Pepper and Dublin Dr Pepper are assumed to be one and the same, but Heritage Dr Pepper is a larger scale, national release aimed at capturing the same marketing essence as the Pepsi and Mountain Dew throwbacks.
• Dr Pepper "Made with Real Sugar" was released to commemorate the drink's 125th anniversary during the summer of 2010. It featured the use of "real" sugar which was likely a mix of cane and beet sugar as opposed to its usual high fructose corn syrup. This version of the soda featured six collectable 12-oz cans and a 20-oz plastic bottle decorated with Dr Pepper's old slogans and images from the 1960s.[23]
• Dublin Dr Pepper was the popular name for a style of Dr Peppersoft drink made by the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company in Dublin, Texas. Dublin Dr Pepper followed the original recipe, using cane sugar as the sweetener as opposed to newer high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The Dublin plant formula's use of sugar made it popular among soda fans. According to the corporate headquarters at Dr Pepper Snapple Group, this resulted in clashes with other bottlers and the parent company of Dr Pepper. On 12 January 2012, it was announced that Dublin Dr. Pepper will no longer be produced, after the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company settled the trademark dispute instigated by Dr Pepper Snapple Group.