Something people do to pretend that their apathy is really concern. Also known as "
I could care less what happens to you unless it affects me directly, but I don't want anyone to think I'm
the craven,
spineless self-absorbed weasel I really am." Mostly promised in lieu of actual help.
Example:
My grandmother's friend knows that I have a rare blood type and have only a 9% chance of finding a kidney for transplant, but instead of trying to help me avoid a lifetime of
dialysis by asking her fellow churchgoers to get tested for crossmatch, she is afraid of "offending" someone by asking, and believes that sending me a worthless little card depicting a
no-name saint and a promise to pray for me, ensuring me a much shorter lifespan, largely consisting of sleeping and sitting for 12 hours a week watching my blood go in and out of my body is just as good as asking for donors and that it will help me obtain a kidney.
What a joke.