The Republican National Committee calls my dead mother-in-law about every six weeks. Once we clear up that I’m not that Mrs. Maryn (who never lived her or had this phone number), I ask that her name be removed from calling and mailing lists. I’m perfectly pleasant.
Today, I wasn’t, because the caller, representing a major political entity, lied. Not a little fib but a great big whopper designed to induce guilt and elicit check-writing.
“Hello, Mrs. Maryn. This is Michael Hughes of the Republican National Committee. I’m calling to thank you for your pledge, and to remind you that we’re still waiting for your check.”
Now, my mother-in-law could not possibly have pledged anything since March of 1999. There’s no pledge, no promise. That’s just a lie.
“How much was that pledge?” I asked.
“Let me see, it’s hard to line up the names and the amounts. Does $50 sound right?”
At which point I shrieked at him that he was a m-----f---ing liar and I hoped someone was cheating his mother out of her money at this very moment. I capped it off with the classic closing, “you f---ing a--hole.” (Classic for a reason, no?)
This not only enraged me but depressed me. How many older people do they call with this blatant lie about money pledged but not paid?
Older people are fully aware that their memories are not what they once were, and most of them have a high code of honor that involves keeping their word, even if they don’t remember giving it. I’m sure the RNC guilt-trips many, many people into honoring pledges they never made.
So if Michael Hughes* of the Republican National Committee calls you, tell him he can go f--- himself with a straight razor, from me, acting in behalf of all the elderly people he's bilked.
His mother would be ashamed.
Maryn, still livid (thanks for letting me vent!)
*Yes, that's the name he gave. I used to be required to address callers by name, and catching names is a habit I kept.
Today, I wasn’t, because the caller, representing a major political entity, lied. Not a little fib but a great big whopper designed to induce guilt and elicit check-writing.
“Hello, Mrs. Maryn. This is Michael Hughes of the Republican National Committee. I’m calling to thank you for your pledge, and to remind you that we’re still waiting for your check.”
Now, my mother-in-law could not possibly have pledged anything since March of 1999. There’s no pledge, no promise. That’s just a lie.
“How much was that pledge?” I asked.
“Let me see, it’s hard to line up the names and the amounts. Does $50 sound right?”
At which point I shrieked at him that he was a m-----f---ing liar and I hoped someone was cheating his mother out of her money at this very moment. I capped it off with the classic closing, “you f---ing a--hole.” (Classic for a reason, no?)
This not only enraged me but depressed me. How many older people do they call with this blatant lie about money pledged but not paid?
Older people are fully aware that their memories are not what they once were, and most of them have a high code of honor that involves keeping their word, even if they don’t remember giving it. I’m sure the RNC guilt-trips many, many people into honoring pledges they never made.
So if Michael Hughes* of the Republican National Committee calls you, tell him he can go f--- himself with a straight razor, from me, acting in behalf of all the elderly people he's bilked.
His mother would be ashamed.
Maryn, still livid (thanks for letting me vent!)
*Yes, that's the name he gave. I used to be required to address callers by name, and catching names is a habit I kept.