Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-26
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

| point and that Of the firm, demands
real headwork.
To treat a mean person nice seems
| to the amateur kind of paradox, and
| so 1t Is, but one which works out neatly
In real life, as so many Of them do.
great deal Of injustice in 1t. These
disagreeable persons do not deserve to
be treated with the extreme courtesy
which they receive.
! Nothing about them merits anything
but sharp rap over the head with Q
sledgehammer, but since this method
has gone out Of style, there is nothing
left but to substitute stealth, craft, guile
shrewdness, or whatever one wants II
call 1t.
The compromise method is what
works best The disagreeable person Is
recognized, Just as thunderstorms must
be recognized, Just as nettles at the
beach are recognized, just as mosquitoes
are recognized.
No one cares for nettles, or jellyfish
or mosquitoes. but every one who goes
to the seashore knows that they exist
Wherefore. instead Of ignoring them
people take care to keep out Of theil
| way, as much as possible, or to bar
them out as we'll as they may.
Letting disagreeable persons alone Is
the one best method, If one can af-
| ford 1t, but too often the meeting Is q
necessity, either OF business or social
| life. There is no getting out of the
contact. One cannot run away nor yet
hide, even as much as one would like
| to do either or both.
The disagreeable necessity must be
met The question Is, then, not how IL
TO him him
or to outpunch him, but solely how to
get rid Of him as quickly as possible
so that one may the sooner lose the bad
taste of him.
There seems to be some injustice asso-
ciated with most of the processes OF
everyday life. Young people, fresh from
school, filled with ideals, wonder at
| them. They concentrate on the tinge
They fail to see, what they will realize
later. that the injustice is more appar-
ent than real.
Take the Case of the quarrelsome
mean person who secures for himself
even more courteous treatment than Is
accorded kindly people. He gets 1t be-
| cause those who give 1t to him work
on the aforementioned theory of get
! ting rid of him as quickly as possible
! They fairly lean over backwards" as
they say, in order to placate him.
| This explains why such persons Otter
seem to get the better of everything
! for themselves. whereas mild, honest
men and women, trying their best to
! BE- polite and courteous, receive scant
attention.
The man with the loud. rough voice
who attracts instant attention TO him
self. often gets waited on first, although
others had been standing for many
minutes before he came in.
| The fault-fnding woman who is on
a perpetual lookout for insults and
Sights usually makes herself so dis
| agreeable that the word goes around
| quietly, BE nicer to her than usual
and get her out Of the place as quickly
as you can"
These disagreeable persons. greeted
! everywhere with smiles and attention.
go away felicitating themselves. where
! as If they knew exactly what had hap
pened. they might be ashamed Of their
conduct. They are tolerated, that Is all
| The welcome" on the mat is reversed
the moment they go. and an unspoken
volley of dislike follows in their wake.
1t is civilizations way of treating dis
| agreeable persons