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I disagree. Lighten up means "I don't understand why that is bothering you because it wouldn't bother me." It is a lack of communication issue. In that artic

• natep 15y ago
  That can't be what "lighten up" means because "lighten up" is a command, and your definition is not.
  • einhverfr 15y ago
    Woudl it be less offensive if instead of saying "lighten up" they said "it's no big deal. Why are you always so up tight anyway?" Certainly the latter is not a demand and is even a question, but I would argue that even barring that, it's far more of a problem.
    • natep 15y ago
      Of course that's offensive. But you're still doing what knightenvy was not, and going beyond "I don't understand." It's perfectly fine to say you don't understand something. But from there, you should try to gain an understanding, and your quote (like the 2 previous definitions of "lighten up") don't do that. And yours adds victim blaming, which antiterra's doesn't really.
      • einhverfr 15y ago
        But the point is that both of these are really ways of just shutting down conversation, right? "Lighten up" isn't a demand. It's just a way of cutting off the conversation through a retort.
        • natep 15y ago
          Yes, that too. Man, it's almost as if 'lighten up' is a complex phrase with many different aspects of meaning :) I like the way you do think through all of these different meanings, though