[551] in Depressing_Thoughts
Re: Situations that are really depressing
dkk@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (dkk@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Nov 9 20:08:18 1988
Here's another way of dealing with Sue:
If you find her attractive enough that you want a romantic
relationship with her, and you want to avoid hurting Bob, you
could play hard-to-get. When she makes an advance, you keep
your distance, but don't play along or tell her to get lost.
This way, you're not offending Bob by either insulting her or
accepting her advances, you're not offending Sue, you are
protecting yourself against the deceit of a potentially
manipulative [expletive deleted] [next several thoughts deleted]
and you are helping your chances of winning/keeping her affections
in the long run. If she's just trying to use you, you've
shown that it won't work. And it's a well-known phenomenon
that if you look up to her (or drool over her, or whatever)
her opinion of you will decline. Showing a general lack of
interest in her advances seems to be the most desirable choice
here.
