# A response to Scylla that I can't make in MPSIMS **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 20, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964 "2019-08-20T21:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/141 "2019-08-21T16:36:08Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > It’s like getting mad at a little dog yapping at you from behind a chain link fence. However, one can imagine feeling satisfied at giving that yappy dog a squirt with a garden hose. You might feel a bit bad later, but in the moment… ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/142 "2019-08-21T16:37:10Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I simply don’t understand the impetus to be an asshole. We’re all just trying to live in this world, why go out of our way to make it harder for other people? I’m not saying you should have been a doormat or bought the kid the lunchbox. But why even engage if you’re not willing to attempt a positive interaction. The end result was that the kid was upset, the mom was upset and you were at best conflicted. Doesn’t really look like a win for anyone to me. I have to say, I preferred the alternate ending, where the mom called security just in time for them to see **Scylla** lead a very small child off. Security then witnesses **Scylla** yelling at the child, who understandably flinches, falls down and cries. Security moves in, and takes **Scylla** into custody. Knowing he’s in the right, **Scylla** of course puts up a fuss, and security is forced to tase him into submission, and zap-strap him to a rack of discounted hair spray. Customers who witnessed the abuse of the child are disgusted, and as they pass they curse (or sometimes spit) on the now semi conscious perp. In the subsequent court case, Scylla pleads out, in order to avoid getting a more serious charge. Youtube footage of the incident surfaces, which forces **Scylla** to move to Elbonia, where he becomes a farmer of turnips. -fin- ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/143 "2019-08-21T16:40:46Z")
schadenfreude - delighting in the misery of others ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/144 "2019-08-21T16:56:52Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Where this fails is that it’s not obvious why “buy me a lunchbox!” from a preschooler should even release strong emotions from an intelligent grown man. Yeah, it reads as insecure and petty to even engage with such a request beyond maybe a perfunctory chuckle and turning away. Why **do** some people get so pissed off and defensive about being occasionally approached with unreasonable requests by people who have zero right to make them but also zero power to compel them? I see this same kind of overreaction from many people who get upset that a homeless person sitting on the street asked them for money as they passed by. Rational folks who don’t want to give money to beggars either just ignore them or (my preference) politely refuse. But I’ve seen so many people in whom such requests trigger prolonged rants about the unjustified audacity of the beggars presuming to beg from them, not to mention elaborate descriptions (which I hope for their sakes are fictional or mostly so, like **Scylla** ’s story) about how they pranked the beggar by, say, pretending to be willing to give them money and then refusing. Congratulations, pal, you’ve now spent at least fifty times as much of your own time and energy stewing in your resentment and anger about this unjustified request as it would have cost you to earn the money to comply with it, and maybe five hundred times as much as it would have taken to simply ignore/refuse it and move on. If you imagine that your response is making you look in any way like any kind of stand-no-nonsense folk hero “justifiably” giving a bullying encroacher a “proper comeuppance”, you are deluding yourself. If your petulant overreaction made you “feel good”, that’s something that to save your own face you should probably be trying to conceal rather than bragging about. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/145 "2019-08-21T16:56:56Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > However, one can imagine feeling satisfied at giving that yappy dog a squirt with a garden hose. You might feel a bit bad later, but in the moment… Eh, not really. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/146 "2019-08-21T17:04:58Z")
Again, I work with kids and deal with kids having meltdowns, and I see why they’re having them, every day. Sometimes it’s autism. Sometimes it’s parents who don’t know how to set boundaries. Sometimes it’s PTSD from the crazy trauma they’ve experienced. Sometimes it’s low blood sugar, or illness. I know it can be really unpleasant to be around a kid having a meltdown. I know it can even trigger poor behavior; I’m no angel, and I’ve lost my shit when a kid just gets on my final nerve on a bad day. But I’ve never felt justified. I’m the goddamned grownup in the interaction, they’re not. On the occasion when I’ve lost my shit, nobody learned a lesson from that. Everyone just felt shitty afterward, the kid had even less trust in grownups and less sense of safety, I felt terrible about myself, and all I could do was apologize to the kid later and try to do better. Scylla, I know you see this as a justified reaction. I see it from the point of view of a caregiver who has to pick up the pieces left behind after you threw your little tantrum at the kid. There’s nothing justified about being shitty to a kid who’s having a bad day. And if you gotta call me a woke scold or something for not cheering on a grown-ass man who’s shitty to a kid, you do you. ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/147 "2019-08-21T17:06:14Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > If you can’t tell the difference between story-tellers and trolls perhaps you should try reading more widely. [I remember you from ATMB. You’re the one who keeps getting the vapors because you think they’re gonna make us be **nice** to each other, to the point where even a moderator called you out on it,](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21782234&postcount=52) so maybe you should go snorkelling in a septic tank. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/148 "2019-08-21T17:08:30Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I simply don’t understand the impetus to be an asshole. We’re all just trying to live in this world, why go out of our way to make it harder for other people? I’m not saying you should have been a doormat or bought the kid the lunchbox. But why even engage if you’re not willing to attempt a positive interaction. The end result was that the kid was upset, the mom was upset and you were at best conflicted. Doesn’t really look like a win for anyone to me. It’s possible that you are a jus a genuinely super nice person, devoid of maliciousness. I’ve met several. I don’t know you. For me though, and I think for most people, there is a certain attraction to being an asshole on occasion. Most of us recognize it and usually resist the urge the same way we resist the urge to eat a whole bag of potato chips. It may be satisfying in the moment, but it’s really not the way to go. Occasionally though we do slip, or allow ourselves to do so. Again, maybe you are awesome and have no attraction to assholery. For me though, and for most people I observe it works like this: If I or they don’t recognize the attraction to being an asshole and don’t recognize that we are occasionally an asshole, and we think we think we are good all the time, than what that really means is that we are being oblivious self-righteous pricks. This is worse. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/149 "2019-08-21T17:10:30Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Damn, you’re right. > > [Moderation] > Note rescinded. My apologies for the error. > [/Moderation] Well, you did warn us you were going to be high. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/150 "2019-08-21T17:10:56Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Again, I work with kids and deal with kids having meltdowns, and I see why they’re having them, every day. Sometimes it’s autism. Sometimes it’s parents who don’t know how to set boundaries. Sometimes it’s PTSD from the crazy trauma they’ve experienced. Sometimes it’s low blood sugar, or illness. > > I know it can be really unpleasant to be around a kid having a meltdown. I know it can even trigger poor behavior; I’m no angel, and I’ve lost my shit when a kid just gets on my final nerve on a bad day. > > But I’ve never felt justified. I’m the goddamned grownup in the interaction, they’re not. On the occasion when I’ve lost my shit, nobody learned a lesson from that. Everyone just felt shitty afterward, the kid had even less trust in grownups and less sense of safety, I felt terrible about myself, and all I could do was apologize to the kid later and try to do better. > > Scylla, I know you see this as a justified reaction. I see it from the point of view of a caregiver who has to pick up the pieces left behind after you threw your little tantrum at the kid. > > There’s nothing justified about being shitty to a kid who’s having a bad day. > > And if you gotta call me a woke scold or something for not cheering on a grown-ass man who’s shitty to a kid, you do you. I think you are projecting yourself into me, and I don’t think you understand what I wrote. The latter is prolly my fault. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/151 "2019-08-21T17:11:13Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Maybe it didn’t for some readers; maybe it did for others. And some people like eating shit while others do not. As long as we are exchanging earth-shattering revelations. Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/152 "2019-08-21T17:15:49Z")
Yes! Give me the hate! Feed me with your anger. Give in to it! I bask in it and my power grows! Bwahahaha! ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/153 "2019-08-21T17:18:52Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Yes! Give me the hate! Feed me with your anger. Give in to it! I bask in it and my power grows! > Bwahahaha! Well, I was pretty neutral about this whole mess until I realized that you…never…once…said… What picture was on the lunchbox. For that, I may never forgive you…unless you grovel. Grovelling works. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/154 "2019-08-21T17:20:32Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > I don’t think you understand what I wrote. The latter is prolly my fault. Well, yeah, if you wrote _“I was justified and justifiable in my actions, and it felt good to have such a satisfying encounter”_ and **LHoD** responded _“ **Scylla** , I know you see this as a justified reaction”_, and you don’t think he understands what you wrote, then that’s pretty much gotta be your fault somewhere, because he’s accurately paraphrasing exactly what you yourself said. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/155 "2019-08-21T17:30:09Z")
I have to admit that I did not read the OP in question with the same attentiveness that I might dedicate to something in another medium. But it did not read to me like an attempt at self-deprecation, nor did the follow-up posts seem consistent with that intent. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/156 "2019-08-21T17:34:34Z")
“In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant. Well for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.” There’s little utility in recognizing your assholery if you are not interested in doing anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/157 "2019-08-21T19:24:16Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > If you can’t tell the difference between story-tellers and trolls perhaps you should try reading more widely. Telling a fictional story that you pretend is true, only to work people up, that’s the literal definition of a troll. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/158 "2019-08-21T20:16:37Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > Word. A friend of mine with a tall kid took to remarking loudly “And she’s only two (or three)” whenever her child’s self control didn’t match her apparent age. My oldest was always off the charts when she was young. Combine that with the fact that she spoke with the vocabulary and grammar of a much older child and she would get asked “what grade are you in?” They would be shocked when told 3 year olds don’t get put in grades. Those that were shitty and judgmental would also give stupid looks when she acted 3. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/159 "2019-08-21T20:31:49Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > It doesn’t really matter if this little morality play happened. It tells us the same thing about Scylla’s character either way. And Steven King (the author) is a demonic wannabe Hitler-vampire whose ambition is to immolate the human race in nuclear fire. Also a compassionate former prison guard. Who took a job as a caretaker for a closed-for-the-season haunted hotel and went a little nuts. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/160 "2019-08-21T20:40:25Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > That’s worse. He’s like an evil, petty Walter Mitty. A Walter Petty, if you will. (Apologies to Richard and Tom.) How about James\* and Danny?\*\* They probably deserve apologies too. \*Thurber \*\*Kaye [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964.md?page=9)