I cannot stand when people say "It is what it is"

[Danmel]

No it's not. It's what you have failed to change. The only time people say that is when they've screwed up or are too lazy to make an effort to change something. I've heard it from co-workers who haven't done their jobs (leaving me to clean up after them), from bureaucrats (who I work with all the time since I work for the county) and yesterday from Mayor Bloomberg talking about Con-Eds failure to restore power to the thouseands of Queens residents still in the dark (think it would take so long if they lived on the Upper East Side?)

Next person who tells me "it is what it is" may just get popped one!

[hfojvt]

1. it ain't what it was

que sera sera :P

[Deja Q]

2. Like this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1709865

:evilgrin:

[Sannum]

3. waddya gonna do?

:P

[Deja Q]

6. I say "Spank 'em and take away their TV privileges!"

After all, who needs to watch "Leave it to Beaver" reruns if they've been bad? :shrug:

[democracyindanger]

4. C'est la vie.

[CanuckAmok]

5. It's hard to ignore the in-your-face Zen truth of it, though.

I mean, it actually is what it is, and that's difficult to prove incorrect.

[pagerbear]

7. A more correct use of that saying

...would point toward something the person can't control, like his own history or someone else's actions.

[grannylib]

8. The few times I have used that phrase, that's how I meant it...when

a situation is not within one's control, or a universal truth (if such a thing exists) or something like that.

As in, life is political...it just IS. There is politics in family, friendships, work relationships, etc. That's the kind of thing where I might use that phrase.

[Danmel]

9. Maybe

Maybe I've just been hearing it from people who are using it as a cop out lately and thats what's sticking in my craw. I know there are things that are out of our control- but I just sometimes want to shake people and say "get off your asses and do something- you don't have to blindly resign yourself to everything- there are things you can do something about or at least try -that way you can at least look at yourself and say "I tried".
What can I tell you- passive was just never my style.

[pagerbear]

13. There are also cases

...where someone has done everything s/he can for the moment. "Even though everything has not been completed yet, we are making progress, and there's nothing I can do to make it happen faster."

Certainly not saying that's what Bloomberg, et al., meant, but that is another valid context for "It is what it is."

[Joe Fields]

10. Me either. But I like it when someone comes up to me and says...

"What it is, what it was, what it shall be." And then walks away.

[Danmel]

11. You know, I've never had that happen

Sounds very cryptic. I'll have to try that on someone one day.

[NNadir]

12. If you pop the mayor, can I watch?

[Danmel]

14. I think everyone would watch that one

I'm a rather petite 46 year old so I think it would be the talk fo the town-!

[NNadir]

15. Even better. Maybe it could be the pregame show for a Mets game.

[femmocrat]

16. Does that depend on what the meaning of "is" is?