Frankly Challenged

Excerpt from the movie 'In Good Company' (2004)
Carter Duryea (played by Topher Grace): I'm gonna have to let some people go.
Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid): Why do you say let them go? They don't want to go. Why don't you just say fire them?
Carter Duryea: Because it sounds better.
Dan Foreman: Not to the person getting fired it doesn't.


We have today, H.R. departments, customer service representatives, and even doctors trained intensively in the fine art of diplomacy. There's a new glossary of terms like 'vertically challenged', 'dusky', and (haha!) 'independent'.

What would you rather have? Would you rather the pretty lady at the counter on Terminal B Gate 22 say 'I'm sorry we screwed up and overbooked. You have two options. Take a refund. Or we can book you onto another flight Tuesday night 11pm?'

This is assuming the same amount of information essentially is conveyed by both the good cop and bad cop. And, this is assuming we are perceptive enough to connect the dots etched out by the good cop.

If we do choose the harsh truth, does that make us masochists? Or....or do we want the other person to suffer a little too. Cringe a little in their seats, shift about crossing and uncrossing their legs, wince and say 'I can't see you anymore. I don't like you.'

Honestly, for me, it's mostly the latter.

As I'm sure for most people, we want to hear the facts like shards of glass. There is a tendency to believe that clarity is achieved this way--at the risk of sounding like an old wise Asian (!) teacher, 'Clarity is within you'.

I concede that this is a very gray area of discussion. There may also be times, when I'm curled up in denial and know that my friend is trying to tell me she doesn't approve of my taste in men, that I don't look good in skinny jeans anymore, but I don't want it said out loud. And if the conversation leads there inconsequentially even bordering on dangerous terrain, I might get rebellious and say 'Go on, say it. Say what you really mean, that you think I'm fat!'