We Train People How To Treat Us

Luke Ford writes: I’ve often wondered why certain people abuse me. It never occurred to me that I trained them to treat me like that.

Less often, I’ve wondered why I abuse certain people.

For instance, I’ve had loving faithful girlfriends who let me treat them badly. Some of them said they were OK with me sleeping around on them, even though they didn’t like it. I think they had fathers who screwed around and so they accepted it.

Over the course of my life, I’ve basically treated people according to the rules they set with me. Those who’ve let me abuse them, I’ve abused (not physically, I’ve never hit anyone).

I’ve had certain girlfriends I felt completely comfortable passing gas in front of them. I’ve often lived in small confined spaces and the vegetarian diet naturally tends towards smelly farts. So I’d just set off a wave of gas attacks — if I felt like it — until the air became foul.

Of course they protested, but they let me get away with it.