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evesgrden -> RE: Platitudes (7/3/2013 10:18:57 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: PeonForHer
quote:
ORIGINAL: evesgrden
quote:
ORIGINAL: PeonForHer
FR
"It is what it is."
What the feck does that mean? Does it mean anything at all? What could the 'it' in that phrase possibly be other than what it *is*?
I've sometimes quoted the line and replied where I've seen it in a given thread, with just the comment "No it isn't" - simply to see if the person who's said it will argue with me. They never have.
I think that's just a variation on the serenity prayer... accept what you cannot change and move on. But I know someone who's saying it all the time and like the word "nice" when something gets overused it becomes rather meaningless.
I'm always suspicious of it being used on the basis of an overly-conservative temperament in relation to a given subject, so: 'this is how X is, X can't be any different and it's delusional/immoral/dangerous to try to make or see X as any different, so accept X as it 'is'.
That's never occurred to me. It's so commonplace now that I'd find it quite normal if during a discussion of the weather and complaining about rain, or the heat, someone might say "it is what it is". Nothing else to add, nothing to be done. It just is, why spend energy on something you can't change.. energy is better spent elsehwhere and so forth.
Interesting.. I'll keep my ears open for that variation.
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