Proportionality

I received a letter from someone who had subscribed to one of my newsletters for $250 annually. He was late, but I accepted him, and he demanded—not requested—that I send him all the issues he has missed. I did that and he complained that they weren’t always in the same format, although I think that was a matter of his equipment, not mine. Now he’s complained that he didn’t get the final (August) issue and went on to lecture me about responsibilities, living up to promises, what constitutes professional businesses, yada yada, yada—sanctimony on parade. And, of course, I had sent it, who knows why he didn’t get it. Ordinarily, I simply provide what’s requested, but I told this guy to buzz off, except with my New Jersey vocabulary. The vast probability with these things is that the problem is on the receiving end. But, more than that, we’re looking at: • A return of Covid • Wildfires around the world, including absolute carnage in Maui • A seemingly endless war in Ukraine • Poor public services (this guy is in Italy, and they’re bad) • Social justice demands • Polarized politics Now, I know that neither you nor I go through this litany every time we have a difficulty to rationalize that we’re overreacting. But there is a limit to overreacting. This was a single issue of an electronic monthly newsletter which is probably in his spam file and which was promptly replaced. So, I told him off and told him I wouldn’t accept any further subscriptions from him. Maybe it was petty, but he’s an ass. And that’s the uncomfortable truth.

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