Most of the time, when someone says "It's complicated" in a response to a simple solution that is offered, the real problem is that they're complicating it.
"It's complicated" is usually an excuse for not simplifying and correcting a problem.
It's a way to excuse leaving a problem alive.
It's basically saying "It'll be hard to fix, and we'll have to stop doing something that carries technical debt, so we're just going to leave it all fucked up".
If something's complicated, uncomplicate it.
@AskTheDevil this comes across as very dismissive. "It's complicated" can mean that. It can also mean that you don't know the nuance of the person's experience and they're not interested in sharing that nuance. It can mean that they're exhausted by the situation & don't want to talk about it with you. It can mean the things you're suggesting won't work but they know you're going to argue with them, so they'd just rather not. It can be a nonconfrontational way to say it's none of your business.
@VenessaG I did not say "every time".
I said "most of the time".
Sure, sometimes something _is_ complicated.
But the solution is to undo the complications.
Otherwise you're basically saying "We can't use these Christmas lights because they are tangled" instead of, you know, untangling them so they can be used.
@AskTheDevil you don't have to say "every time" for it to come across as dismissive.
It sounds dismissive because your phrasing says, "I understand most people's circumstances better than they do."
In my experience, when someone says something is complicated, it often is because there's an aspect (or more than one) of it they don't have control over. You can't untangle the Christmas lights if someone else is holding half of them, until you can find a way to agree on how to untangle them.
@VenessaG Perhaps I can make myself more clear who I am talking about.
Think about the complicated situation you are in, that leaves you in pain, and powerless to help yourself out of the situation.
Now think of how, if you ask for change that will alleviate your suffering. The people who tell you that it can't be helped because it's complicated?
That's who I'm admonishing.
@VenessaG I could attempt to clarify that I'm largely speaking of big societal problems, like poverty, homelessness, war, and the economy, but you seem to feel I am personally targeting you.
I'm telling people they should uncomplicate the problems in their nations instead of using "it's complicated" as an excuse.
I'm sorry for your personal pain, but I'm not going to justify the overall tactic of leaving things broken because they're hard to fix.
Many hands make light work.