Revenge, sweet or sour?

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Thu, 2005-10-06 16:55

I'm not generally a vindictive person, but I do like to get my own back. Not in a nasty way, but in a way that amuses me, usually without the person involved even knowing. Let me explain...

When I worked in the funeral directors, we had other smaller branches in different areas of the county. As ours was the main branch, we had 'in' trays for the other branches, and the people that worked in them would often pop in to collect anything from their trays.

There was one particular woman, that I, (and other colleagues) didn't like and she had upset me on a number of occasions by being rude. She was generally offhand and abrupt. Anyway, one morning she came in to my office and was looking for a paperclip. She tipped out an old jar that I had on my desk looking for one, and found this old rusty paperclip right in the bottom of the jar. 'It's terrible trying to find paperclips in this office isn't it, they're like gold dust,' she said to me. I just smiled at her sweetly. As she left, I opened my drawer and got out a full, brand new box of 1000 paperclips, and shook it at her retreating back as she disappeared out of the door, saying, 'look, I've got lots of paperclips, but I wasn't going to let you have one you old bag'.

My colleague who was sat at the other end of our desk, spat her tea out with laughter.

It did amuse me to think of her searching all over for a measly paperclip when I knew I had a whole box full in my drawer. Petty? yes, but I don't care!

Thu, 2005-10-06 20:03

Foxy

Blimey!!!! I hope I never get on the wrong side of you Kat...

Fri, 2005-10-07 07:38

fergal

Funny - I just read this when I was trying to write something about loving kindness for a class on Buddhism.... Thing is Katrina, if everyone does that - and I guess you must annoy people sometimes and I guess they might do similar things to you to get 'revenge' - then the world will never be a really nice place to be. You never know why someone is annoying - they may be going through something terrible in their personal lives, they may be having money troubles, may find it hard to make friends, may be shy, may be... well anything. Maybe if you'd gave the paperclip from your new pot to that woman she'd have started to be nicer towards you. And even if not, well, what's the harm...? Be nice - that is my motto for life and it seems to serve me well.

Fri, 2005-10-07 07:48

Brighton Rock

well, i'm not as zenned up as ferg and i have been known to be a vindictive git in the past, but petty revenge generally escalates until someone dies or someone (as ferg suggested), takes the initative and does something unexpectedly kind, to break the cycle. I think being nice is better than death (marginally), so now I tend to be nicer to people and particularly nice to people who aren't quite so nice to me. well, mainly....

Fri, 2005-10-07 09:55

pepsoid

Niceness is good! Even if you are feeling all bitter & twisted & vengeful inside. 'Do unto others...,' 'What goes around comes around' and all manner of other phrases. Although revenge is a good source of humour... "P"

The All New Pepsoid the Second!

Fri, 2005-10-07 10:17

ely_whitley

"then the world will never be a really nice place to be" I'm afraid the world never WILL be a really nice place to be, that's just the way things are... well, that depends on what your idea of a 'really nice place' is. If it's one where people all respect one another and live in harmony then don't hold your breath. If it's one where there's air to breathe and you stay alive long enough to feel the sun on your face and fall in love then wey hey! welcome to Paradise. It's just the nature of humanity to hunt and gather, to protect and survive. There are many vegetarian animals who would love nothing more than for all other animals to just get along but they still get eaten unless they're huge or poisonous or fast etc etc and those are all forms of defence- just like 'the revenge of the paper clips' it's a defence system to put those who may seem stronger than us at a disadvantage.

Fri, 2005-10-07 10:50

pepsoid

Oh I hasten to disagree, ely! 'Nature red in tooth & claw' is about survival & instincts. I don't think the 'revenge of the paper clips' had anything to do with survival or instincts! Also your comment about vegetarian animals presumes some degree of consciousness or will on the part of the animal - which may exist, but it's equally likely such animals just go along in life - eating, bonking & pooing - not caring whether or not they are going to get eaten the next day. Back to you! "P"

The All New Pepsoid the Second!

Fri, 2005-10-07 12:27

Katerina

Whoa, easy guys! what I did caused nobody any harm. Can you all say with complete honesty that you haven't at any point in your lives done something similar. It was a little, harmless, and amusing way of me getting my own back on a woman who is mean, rude, abrupt, opinionated, and outspoken. She certainly isn't shy, (she thinks nothing of telling people what she thinks), I and other people had tried to be nice to her, but she is just an out and out bitch. Blimey, what a bad person I must be to not give someone a paperclip. Good job she hadn't really upset me, I might have hidden the mail from her in tray!!! I didn't realise you lot were all nice nice, perfect human beings. Kat x

Kat x

Fri, 2005-10-07 13:11

fergal

I certainly didn't imply I was perfect - no one is, I reckon. But the title of this post was 'Revenge - sweet or sour?' so I guessed you were asking whether people thought revenge was a good thing or not. I think it is not a particularly useful thing - for me. I wouldn't tell you - or anyone else - what to do. That's what I do. Of course I wasn't implying that I was perfect. My experiences in life have taught me that being nice makes me - and people around me - feel better. That's all. I spent a too big chunk of my childhood not speaking to my mum because I thought she was a class A bitch. As it turned out she was a rather vulnerable woman who'd become hardened to life around her because she'd been hurt. I just thought she couldn't care less. I just try very hard not to make that mistake again, because now she is dead and I will never be able to tell her how much I admired her courage, humour and coping skills, and how much I loved her. - Because she'd hurt me by leaving, I felt I had to hurt her back. It was a waste of what could have been a close, loving relationship and not a day goes by when I don't imagine what it would be like if my mum were still alive and I met up with her for coffee, or gossiped about blokes we fancy.

Tue, 2005-10-11 12:01

#10

styx

Remember: Blancmange is a dish best served cold.

Wed, 2005-10-12 17:36

#11

ely_whitley

"the revenge of the paperclips" was referred to as another form of defensive act it's a psycological way of putting our rnemy at a disadvantage, no matter how small that may be and it dates back to real survival instincts. as for animals I believe they DO care whether they get eaten or not, if you don't believe me just drop a lion in a herd of antelope and see what happens.

Wed, 2005-10-12 18:33

#12

fergal

I know. I'm just a wooly liberal. Everyone thinks so.

Wed, 2005-10-12 21:10

#13

pepsoid

>>> as for animals I believe they DO care whether they get eaten or not, if you don't believe me just drop a lion in a herd of antelope and see what happens. ...but do they "care" or just run away out of instinct? (just being Devil's Avacado...) "P"

The All New Pepsoid the Second!

Tue, 2005-10-18 16:44

#14

Soraia Almeida

Sweet.

Tue, 2005-10-18 20:08

#15

tai

I'd have kicked your ass girl...very dangerous behaviour imo On the question of sweet or sour...they say revenge is always better served cold but in my opinion, revenge hurts the avenger in the long run. Grinning Tai

Indescribable!

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