Thanks, Mike.

It is indeed unfortunate that this gentleman is in a situation where
he needs to behave like this. However, he is a product of our great
society - we place a very high value on education, training, and
youth, and retire folks out of the mainstream when they get old. Men
work hard all of their lives to become experts in their field, then
retirement hits and - well, nothing. No job, no responsibility, and
for many, no sense of value. Especially in the technical fields,
where equipment and software becomes obsolete in under a year - it
doesn't take long before one's knowledge is outdated, today. Browse
through Fair Radio's catalog, and you will see a vast array of
equipment that was once state-of-the-art. Years ago, thousands of men
trained for countlesss thousands of hours on the maintenance and
installation of this gear. Now, it's suitable only for anateurs,
collectors, experimenters or parts. And, the men who maintained it
are no longer required either - in effect, they have become surplus
too.

On Retirement Day, and for the rest of our lives past that point, our
realm of control is very small. Society has surplussed us, too - and
we sit idle. With the knowledge that it will never be as it was again.
And the future? Just the end of life's road, looming in the distance,
ever closer. A lifetime of knowledge and abilities begins to decay
with lack of use, as does mental capacity, reading comprehension,
eyesight and even the ability to get up and move around freely.
Frustration and despair begin to set in - after all, it's not going to
get any better....there is no Fountain of Youth to wash away the
years.

So, what is the man to do? Visit with relatives, hang out at the
Legion, or the Y, or find a Senior's group, and wait - for the end. A
lot of folks quietly do just that, and accept the reality of the
autumn years. Some, like our friend, become bitter and annoyed, and
believe that, since they have 'paid their dues' (military service,
career, taxpayer, etc.), that the world 'owes' them something. You
see this type of senior citizen at your local grocery store -
impatient, butting in line, handling the vegetables then putting them
back - you know. This sort of behaviour only alienates them further
(would you want him over for dinner on Thanksgiving? - that would be
fun! "Hey, @#$%^%+&, pass the #$%^^%$ potatoes, you #$%^&*$), and
thereby decreases the number of friends in an already diminished pool.
Death and illness take care of other old friends - and new ones sure
aren't easy to make when you're bitter and angry.

Enter Walter Mitty - remember that story, about an average guy who
found release in his daydreams of being a hero? Our friend has found
that, through the medium of Usenet, he can become anything he wants -
if he says he is, then he is. De facto. Here, he can regale us with
tales of working on vast classified electronic communications
networks, spaceflight systems, or anything else that he chooses - and
who can dispute it? Maybe he did. Maybe he sat in the back of a Jeep
operating a GRC-14 for four years at Pendleton, or sorted boots -
here, in the wonderful world of Usenet, he could be the guy who showed
John Glenn how to realign the radios on Friendship 7 with an old
toothbrush and some tinfoil. Who can disagree? Who is this guy? Who
knows?

Next, comes aggression. A big personality needs aggression - Natures'
own defense against those who challenge authority, and risk exposure
of the real person within - like the Wizard, in the Wizard of Oz (big
aggression, great curtain - little guy!). In the military, boot camp
DI's use this technique to the exclusion of all others, controlling by
intimidation alone. It works - one can deal with logic and reason, but
raw power and agression create fear - which cannot be dealt with
using intelligence alone. This technique serves well here too, as an
insulator against those who would probe and question. Here, the best
defense is a good offense - vigourously and frequently applied.

There are two ways to argue a point - argue the subject, or attack the
person that you are argiung with (the latter is called "ad hominem" -
as old as time itself. Often used during political campaigns ).
Arguing the subject is easily done when sufficient knowledge is
available to make points and counterpoints. It is best done calmly,
civilly and in the true interest of learning the other guy's point
(and maybe adopting it, or modifying your own stance a bit - after
all, rarely is anyone 100% correct!). When you are being overwhelmed,
however, and your self esteem is being threatened by a strong opponent
with a solid arguement, you have three choices: agree, agree to
disagree, or fight. Rational, educated people usually choose from the
first two options. Fight is the mechanism that you see here - attack
everything that you can about the person themselves, in the hope that
they will back down and stop arguing altogether. Victory by
acclamation - no more arguer, no more arguement. This takes a strong
man to go in person, and one need only visit the local bar late on a
Friday night to see it in action.

On Usenet, though, a small, old man can become larger than life by
just pushing the keys on his keyboard, and letting his imagination go
wild. Instant hero. Or expert. Or genius and inventor. One need only
visit this newsgroup, as I did, to observe this phenomenon! And, if
you check the group, you will see in his reply to my posting below
that he is lashing out at what he thinks that he knows about me -
'manager', Northerner, youth ("old before my time") - like a
punch-drunk boxer, swinging wildly at anything. "Raging Bull" - type
stuff. But, he knows absolutely nothing about me, so all he can do is
bellow and rage. Very frustrating, I'm sure....swinging wildly at
shadows....

So, what's the Defense? None required. Why argue with the guy?
Sure, he needs the confrontation to feed his ego, but that's not going
to happen at my expense. He can say anything he wants, but he cannot
get to me unless I let him. In this way, I remain in control.
Intelllect always triumphs over agression when physical violence is
removed from the equation. For example - a 130-pound Lieutenant
controlling a platoon of armed grunts - if they could attack him
physically whenever they diagreed with him, his authority over them
would be negated. But, that's not an option, (or a good one, anyway -
some heavy penalties to think about there....) so they do what they're
told, without question.

Feel sorry for our friend instead - but for the grace of God, that
could be you, or me, or someone we care about someday in the future!

73, Leo

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 04:08:43 GMT, Mike Coslo
wrote:

Leo wrote:
So sad.

To rephrase - the technical abilities of Farnsworth, the gentle
persuasive manner of Mike Tyson, and...well, just old. Old and tired
- highly trained on a generation of once high-tech equipment that long
ago was sold off as surplus. And to have endured the indignity of
becoming 'surplus' as well. But here, in this forum, a giant - full of
wisdom, and lord over all. Important, once again - and with (probably
for the first time in years) - an audience. Folks to disagree with.
Folks to control. Folks willing to ask for his advice. Folks willing
to submit to his wrath. Power. Vitality. Youth. Importance. Just like
long ago. Just the same!

Sad, old man - it's merely a figment of your own creation, not
reality, not tangible, and can never bring back the past glory of your
career. Or days gone by. But, in here, in the security of this Usenet
group, it feels so real....and so much better than the reality of
advancing age, and the lifestyle changes that they will ultimately
bring.....

Be well, OM

Be well.

Leo


Bravo, Bravo! Wonderful post, Leo! This is sheer poetry

- Mike KB3EIA -