There are folks in the neighborhood who think Old Barfy is harmless (more posts here here here and here). Not me. He sets off my alarms and I give him a wide berth. When he’s being “nice” it’s way creepier than when he’s angry, but the fact that his “niceness” goes away so quickly and is replaced with anger validates my feelings.
This post from Captain Awkward explains the behaviors that predatory people use to prey on unsuspecting folk, and as I read it, I recognized many, if not all, of the behaviors Old Barfy uses.
- Forced Teaming. This is when a person tries to pretend that he has something in common with a person and that they are in the same predicament when that isn’t really true.
- Charm and Niceness. This is being polite and friendly to a person in order to manipulate him or her.
- Too many details. If a person is lying they will add excessive details to make themselves sound more credible.
- Typecasting. An insult to get a person who would otherwise ignore one to talk to one. (“I bet you’re too stuck up to ever talk to a guy like me.“This is a classic move of Pick-Up Artists)
- Loan Sharking. Giving unsolicited help and expecting favors in return.
- The Unsolicited Promise. A promise to do (or not do) something when no such promise is asked for; this usually means that such a promise will be broken. For example: an unsolicited, “I promise I’ll leave you alone after this,” usually means you will not be left alone. Similarly, an unsolicited “I promise I won’t hurt you” usually means the person intends to hurt you.
- Discounting the Word “No”. Refusing to accept rejection.
Really, I’ve seen every one of those from O.B. I’ll continue to avoid him.
