I’ve been inside the house, so to speak. I’ve seen it first hand (as in the first person) and been witness to the social awkwardness caused. Did I learn this the hard way? Perhaps, so. But only partially. Like me mom said from time to time: “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”
Try to imagine the kind of person who would use vinegar to catch flies… And why would you even want to? With honey, the catching isn’t the thing. You can’t KEEP THEM AWAY. I don’t know what I’m trying to say here, though. So I’ll just stop.
My own theory is that it also has to do with class–it is a socially acceptable way of hating people you perceive to be of a lower class status.