2002-01-25 - 4:45 p.m.

Anti-Role Models

Like most other children, I looked towards adults as early role models. Having grown up on NASA�s backdoor, there were plenty of engineers and scientists around. For the most part, I remember these people as doers of things. They didn�t waste time twisting words � in fact, I just don�t remember anybody really giving that much respect to lawyers and/or debaters.

Of course, it is funny that my first girlfriend was a debater, and a good one. We first met at a Model United Nations practice session. I was a Junior and representing some African country, she was a Freshman representing South Africa. The subject our group was to debate was Apartheid. Naturally her goal (role-playing) was to deny it. So she lied.

Being new to formal debating, I called her a liar. Many times. And since she was experienced with formal debating she took exception to me flat out calling her, not her opinions, a liar. The practice session ended a very MBL bench clearer � her friends ended up carrying her out kicking and screaming at me, my friends ended up carrying me out kicking and screaming.

Yup, I�d hit a girl � even if she wore glasses � if she attacked me.

A year later we started dating (another story).

Anyhow, I never really liked formal debate. Oh I learned Parliamentary Procedure. In fact, I became such an expert in (1) listening to others, and (2) using it, that I could easily stop others from doing what I caused in my first debate. I also learned to be very diplomatic.

People like to hear their opinions echoed back at them. The love it even more when you change your ideas to incorporate their own. I think this is the difference between being a lawyer and a politician. A guess of course, since I�m neither (though I did serve as a student representative while in grad school for several years).

But when I think about people I want to be more like, no lawyer or politician comes to mind. In fact, the stalker (he really isn�t a stalker � he is more of a predator/blackmailer) I talked about a few days ago is somebody that I call an Anti-Role Model.

It is strange to think that just like there are people whom we aspire to be more like, there are also those whom we aspire to not be like at all.

LISTENING TO: the Church S�ance

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