Social skills question.
When someone enacts a passive-aggressive behaviour towards you(or just says something of that type), what is the right course of action?
Being snarky doesn't work because it would be perceived as a likewise behaviour and it'd be silly and petty.
Pointing out said behaviour puts the person on the defensive and is likely to cause a fight(if they were fine with being outspoken they wouldn't have used passive-agg. ways to begin with).
Ignoring? But isn't it wrong to let someone get away with it, how are they going to stop doing that then?
Dunno, I'm at a loss. I usually always go with the second one and it just fails systematically as I remarked.
i try to live by two parts of the noble eightfold path. right thought, right action. it's very basic, and you already know this, but you can only control how you react to other people. when confronted with passive aggressiveness you can bite and play in to it, or acknowledge it and then ignore it. kill with kindness is my choice. the other person will either be unable to hold their position and eventually come around, or you'll drive them insane by not being baited in.
being upfront and asking about it can usually cause conflict, but it's generally a two way street. you could always just say, "hey, i've noticed this, let's have a restart and attempt to have a better relationship.". it all comes down to your standard for yourself and what the relationship means to you.