Last night we were invited to a social event where the friend of a friend was going to tell us about a new coffee product. Um, I really don’t choose to go to this kind of thing on purpose. But Linda insisted that I need to get to know people in the community and develop my social skills, so against my better judgment, we went.
The sales man was totally enthusiastic, no, he was way too enthusiastic about his product. But the product was not the best part, the clever ‘pyramid sales structure’ was this amazing thing that was going to magically take us all to easy money heaven. De ja vu! Leon’s inner voice //I’ve been here before, very bad feelings are welling up from my past, creeping up into my consciousness like evil worn out underwear.//
I could see it coming, the big psychologically cloaked ‘condemnation’ that a thinking person gets when they dare to say NO to a salesman on drugs, “you’re so stupid for not allowing me to stimulate your excitement for my product beyond your reasoning ability; and make an irrational decision to give money and time to something you know nothing about!!” “Ack! Gag, Sputter!” This is the personality that ticks me off, it is the reason I don’t buy cars from a car lot or answer the door when the JW’s show up. I am an analytical thinker, I don’t get excited about things because some salesman’s body language, insistent voice, & ridiculous facial expressions are screaming “free gold, come, dive in!” In fact, I can already sense the cloaked insults that come as I say “NO thank you, I don’t make spur of the moment career decisions.” Working in the Emergency Room for 5 years trained me to firmly resist the ridiculous ranting of Chicken Little’s, and Lemmings and the euphoric invitations to share in their orgies of wild release from the scourge of self-control. Although, I remember laughing a lot while watching the chimps go berserk once at the Sacramento Zoo, but I do need to mention that on that occasion I also stayed outside of the cage.
Wouldn’t you know it, he singled me out of the crowd and baited me with questions that would make saying NO, spotlight me as STOO-PID. I am imagining this guys sales training session, the executive sales lead man, let’s call him ‘Slick’, says “Butch, choose the person in the crowd that looks like they’re really thinking, you know, someone who is not being fooled with the appeal to emotion.” “Then say these trick questions, like, ‘so buddy, have you stopped beating your wife yet?’” “You will effectively convince all the lemmings in the room that the most analytical person present is hiding the fact that they are going to endorse your stuff!” Im pretty sure that these tactics were used to get whole nations to support bad ideas like, Communinsm, Disco, Facism, 8-track stereo, 'More Spending solves Debt- Politics', and Global Warming.
One nice thing about being this side of 50, I forget experiences like last night with joyful ease.
