Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I’m just sayin’, that’s all?”
Consider why these words are uttered. Usually it follows a tense verbal showdown. Person X says, “I don’t like ‘A’.” And Person Y is offended. In return, Person X says, “I’m JUST sayin’, that’s all…”
It seems like that phrase is the verbal get-out-of-jail-free card. You emphasize the “just,” making sure the other person knows that you had no ulterior motives. You simply said what you said, right?
I don’t think it works that way, most of the time. The phrase seems to give us a license to stay mean things. But mainly it gives us a chance to cover our tails when we say unhelpful or unnecessary things. And rarely does it actually allay anger.
In the future, when you begin to spew “just sayin,’” consider, “Should I be saying this at all?”