Comments | anns_lace: Friend or Foe?

anns_lace

Friend or Foe?

Jan 06, 2013 09:29

I heard a talk recently in which it was mentioned that when we meet someone new, we automatically place them in one of two categories: Friend or Foe. And it's not hard to guess which is the default choice: Foe ( Read more... )

Comments 2

markmc03 January 7 2013, 05:47:09 UTC

I can certainly understand that mentality in a post-apocalyptic world - or in our cave dwelling age - but, here in modern times, I tend to take context into account when making such a judgment. Unless I am in an unfamiliar place where I might already feel threatened, I believe I have a tendency to give new acquaintances the benefit of the doubt. If they burn me ... well then, as W. observed "There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again."

anns_lace January 13 2013, 16:01:55 UTC

That sounds exactly like W! Nobody ever fooled HIM, huh?

I'm working on giving strangers the benefit of the doubt. The first step was simply realizing that I was automatically putting them into the Foe category. Most of us have so many automatic beliefs, and they're hard to see. Sounds like you're doing well on this path.