"SNARK" AS A MODE OF (DESPERATE) DEFENSE

I prefer a Buff coat!

• Ephesians 6:11: "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Also read verses 14-17 to understand all the full pieces of armor. )

• What the heck is a "Buff coat"??? Stay tuned, below.

• Snark can be used as a blunt force trauma expressed in words. For as forceful as it is expressed, it is actually secretive and can be used as a defensive mode of survival. It hides the sadness under an aggressive cloak. This is a strange opposite!

• I am a recovering snark, have been for quite awhile. This is one more element of things I would like to release from my bad habit list (formidable...)

• " Snark", also known as substantial cynical sarcasm, maintains a prime place of focus in the world, especially the West. Based on my own direct and primal experience in the realm of sarcasm and snark, I find there is a narrow line between "witty repartee" and blunt force emotional trauma aimed at other people... I have been both one who aims and the receptor of such an aim and neither are desirable.

• Riffing off a quick answer rooted in sarcasm becomes the go-to method and sometimes requires little depth of consideration, easily leaned upon as a swift response and verbal fencing dance. I am quite guilty of this display...and I am slowly learning to refrain from practicing such a habit. Snark hides our wounds, our sadness, our weaknesses behind a wall of sharp words. My own sarcasm and snark grew directly as a battering ram of defense against the wounds of grief from my youth. I was very good at it and as I have said before about many unwise things I did in my younger days, I have paid a price for it.

• It seems the human species are experts at crafting defense modes...modes that seem more and more intense and almost animalistic, with all due respect to “animal spirits” and alpha predators. We have thousands of years of intensive practice!

• It also seems the world in 2025 is awash in grief and sorrow, heavier than ever in history. In fact, over the last several weeks on Substack Notes, where I visit and dialogue and fellowship daily, I have seen more grief and sadness than ever before. I don't know the exact reason for this, only that it is there, I feel it deeply as both an empath and a woman of prayer, an Intercessor. In fact, I felt that immense tug of Holy Spirit in my mid-week prayer and Discipleship group at my small church on Wednesday evening August 6, 2025. As I had mentioned to my Pastor at the beginning of the group that I had personally never seen the presence of grief over so many on Substack Notes, the need for major prayer for so many in grief was apparent also in the group. It felt that we as a small group of Elders were crying out to the Father and storming the throne room of Heaven with our heartfelt cries on behalf of others in need and for ourselves as well.

• I see the world in loss, turmoil, dismay, disarray, and loss of divine order.

  This is one reason I maintain armor, formidable armor. Even the Book of all books, the Bible, clearly speaks of putting on the full armor of God, both defensive and offensive weapons, in Ephesians chapter 6. These are REAL.

  The world continues to be a difficult road and especially for us empaths and sensitive souls, we have to take much refuge from the mental fencing and sheer wall of intense pressure to be and to do.

• Strangely enough, my legendary sharp tongue has been a defense mode for myself...but with a steep price of scaring people away! For me, this is the essence of snark. Snark seems like a simple verbal tool to fight back with, but unfortunately, it can begin to lodge in your spirit and attempts to drain you and commandeer your emotional resources. It shapes an attitude that permeates. Snark cuts like a knife and can drive off the good. It can be a very narrow and jagged ledge.

• Stories need to be told, both the good and the bad. Humans learn from blunt, direct experience. If they are immediately put on defense status, not much gets done.

• I am sensitive but not naive. I do know a substantial amount of how the world works, from over seven decades of life. While I am not the greatest taker of the action needed to make things happen, being a more primordial "type Z" (my own rueful description for one who is not a physical dynamo and also needs more solitude than hard-driving type A's), I also don’t want to live inside a tank! While snarky defense mode does keep some at bay, living like that by default has not been good for my well- being.

• Funny how Elder age can bring some steep introspection...

  Elder age is tough and definitely brings a rendering of every little thing we have ever done, both good and not so. At age nearly 73, as I write from the point of view of hindsight, this can be stark at times. I write because I feel compelled to share the hard things I learned, (AKA “stupidity”) that just perhaps might not work so well. These are harsh lessons I have learned, and perhaps I might save someone else some unnecessary pain, yes?

  OK, the buff coat... Buff coats had a part in military clothing back in the 1600s in Europe. Not metal armor but a very thick animal skin from an ox or buffalo, these animal skins actually helped deflect some weapons aimed at the person inside. I cannot imagine that...and yet those animals were certainly formidable and made for rough living and humans being the resourceful critters that we are, Europe created buff coats to provide some protection on the battlefield, as unique as that seems. I want one under my armor! This is a spiritual battle.

  However. God offers spiritual armor that is even more formidable! I live in it every single day. When I simply “hang around” with Papa God, His Son and Holy Spirit, They do begin to rub off on me. The peace They have, the wisdom, the knowledge of who I am and what gifts I have, I get an understanding of them.

  Wendy Elizabeth Williams, Friday, August 8, 2025

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