Quote Originally Posted by Super_Bee_Brian View Post
I recognize not everyone appreciates my humor but most of the time, people just laugh it out instead of complaining. I usually hurl random, ridiculously undeserved insults to people and just tell them I'm kidding. 9 out of 10 times, they'd just laugh.
This can be to do with understanding social cues. You might assume laughing = all good, but it's not that simple. People can be simultaneously uncomfortable with what you said, but laughing to be polite, or because you seem intimidating and they don't want to get on your bad side, so they won't speak up against you. (and either way, starting to wonder when they can get away and find some actual friends who are nice to them and don't throw insults around for fun.)

If your constant mode of interacting with people is "insult them and say you didn't mean it", the people who will stay will be of a particular type of personality that thinks that's okay, but you'll drive away a lot more people than you'll appeal to. And the people you don't appeal to will probably be thinking you're a very unpleasant person.

Saying you were joking doesn't just erase what you said before.

If you define "people connections" as a measure of success, you're undermining your own chances of actually succeeding.