You are easier to manipulate than I thought, Engelbert Humperdink.:-)
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote:
> >
> > I write for the sheer fun of writing. Admittedly, being
> > somewhat perverse, sometimes I also write for the fun
> > of pushing buttons in those whose attachment buttons
> > are easily pushed. I would suggest that this latest
> > tempest in a pisspot is proof that I'm pretty good at it. :-)
> >
> > I'm having FUN by throwing out the occasional provocation
> > and then just watching how Gladys Knight and the Pips
> > (Jim, Ravi, and MZ) react to it. Gladys is without
> > question the leader of the group; the Pips are just
> > backup singers. Their lyrics and choreography are just
> > doo-wah's and dance steps intended to provide backup for
> > Gladys. Lately I've been having fun by pointing out that
> > the Pips *are*, in fact, nothing but Pips, and that
> > none of the four of them are really worth paying much
> > attention to, except when they can provide some amusement
> > in the form of pushing their buttons and then watching
> > them strut their stuff and sing doo-wah's.
> >
> > From my point of view, what is pushing their buttons
> > the most in this latest exchange is the notion *that*
> > none of them are worth my attention, and that I'm not
> > really giving them much of it. That contradicts and
> > flies in the face of their narcissistic "I'm the center
> > of the universe" self images, and makes them a little
> > crazy. As the song goes, the more I ignore them and
> > move my focus to other people on this forum who *are*
> > interesting, the more they're "about to lose their
> > minds." I see my provocations in this thread as a
> > way of pointing out what people who feed on the
> > attention of others DO when that attention is
> > withdrawn.
> >
> > This is OPINION. However, it's my honest OPINION.
> > Yours may vary, and that's OK. Unlike Gladys Knight
> > and the Pips, I'm not trying to sell you my OPINION
> > by calling it Truth.
>
> That said, there is a simple test of whether my
> opinion on this is accurate or not.
>
> What would happen if I *completely* withdrew my
> attention from Gladys Knight and the Pips for an
> extended period of time? During that period I
> would neither read any of their posts nor mention
> them in any way. I would do this no matter how
> much they tried to provoke me into doing otherwise.
>
> If my Attention Vampire Theory (opinion) is
> correct, what I think would happen is that Gladys
> Knight and the Pips will not only continue to spend
> a sizable percentage of their posts trying to diss
> me and taunt me into responding to them, they'll
> actually *increase* that percentage because they
> are, after all, vampires. They *feed* on attention,
> and the thing that pushes their buttons the most is
> someone withdrawing that attention from them. If
> a former victim is allowed to do that, *all* victims
> might be tempted to do that, and they'd starve. So
> they'd have to diss the absent victim even more
> than usual amongst themselves, settling for attention
> from their fellow vampires (bottled "True Blood"...not
> really very nourishing or fulfilling) to supply
> their attention sustenance.
>
> Admittedly, this is just opinion, a colorful fantasy,
> probably inspired by watching the season finale of
> "True Blood" last night. :-)
>
> But what would happen if I turned the opinion into
> an actual test of the opinion's validity? What would
> Gladys Knight and the Pips *DO* if all of my attention
> were withdrawn from them?
>
> The funnest part of this whole test for me is that
> it's very Zen. Since I wouldn't be reading any of their
> posts, I wouldn't know WHAT they're saying about me,
> or how they're reacting.
>
> But you will.
>
> My prediction -- if I were to conduct such a test, you
> understand...just hypothesis -- is that between the four
> of them they'd continue to write no fewer than 25 "Gotta
> get Barry" posts per week. If that turned out to be true,
> I would suggest that there might just be some truth to my
> Attention Vampire Theory.
>
> Start counting now, just in case... :-)
>
