From: carrot@bear.stonemarche.org (Little red-headed girl)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re:  The Difference Injure, II
Distribution: world
Date: 9 Dec 92 19:47:47 EST

	Rachel has now waded through quite a few posts...(sorry, folks,
but I had to use the kill function, not being interested in religion
tonight... but I had to follow this thread. It's too close to home.)
She turns to Taldin and gives him a warm, gentle hug, the kind she
saves for her husband's bad days. Soora chirps gently and rubs her eye
ridges on his chin.

	"Taldin, I work for people like the ones you describe, and I've
never been able to like people who are like that. I've always wanted to find
a way to somehow leave them speechless. The occasional times I do are quite
worth it, and I haven't been fired yet.

	"I once said that the reason why I can usually give as good as I
get was because I spent my adolescence in New York City and had to learn
how in self-defense. Actually, it's because I spent my early adolescence
in a part of New York City that wished it were part of the suburbs. I
wasn't very athletic, I was extremely smart (compared to my classmates),
a bookworm and speed-reader, wore extremely ugly glasses, and was also
a very early developer (ie, my bust has been over-large since 6th grade).
Also, my hair was _still_ in the process of growing out of the worst
haircut of my life. The glasses were fixed later, and I finally found a
style that lets me have long hair without tangles. But junior high was hell,
and I've never gotten over it. Being called "Annie" when my hair started
to frizz out was the kindest name.

	"Why am I telling you this? Because, sad to say, there are people
who never leave the junior high mentality. My boss and two other men and
one woman at the office are among the people I know who haven't grown out
of it. So, apparently, are the idiots who tried to tease you. I can think
of others. They don't usually find places like Callahans :) but prefer to
hang out in packs and prey on others. Some psychologists suggest that
this is because of insecurity, which would make sense.

	"Now, I have had thoughtful conversations with all but one of the
four people mentioned above. Within a classroom, I also had thoughtful
conversations with many of the people I hated in junior high. But
unfortunately, such people are not often thoughtful enough to consider the
pain of others. I was able to stop my boss from picking on one of the
women at the office when I made him realize how she felt, but I don't think
this would work with many people like that, because they'd rather not think.

	"My, these soapboxes are getting high-- would you ask Sudrith
to help me get down?"

(By the way, I know a very nice if extremely weird grad student at RPI.
I can help you dig him out of the Physics building if you're interested.
We called him the Joker because of his grin, but he was rather proud of
that. You can ask Grant for a second opinion if you want.)
--
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|	carrot		   |	carrot@bear.stonemarche.org               |
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|   "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, |
| thou canst not then be false to any man..."  --William Shakespeare      |
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