Negativity Attracts

Nay sayers have magnetic personalities, and not in a good way. They attract opposites (positive people) and overpower them with a constant barrage of negative, unconstructive blather.

The constant stream is an abrasive that wears good people down, until they don’t want to try anymore. Negative people are like the spirits on those paranormal ghost hunter shows, they suck the energy right out of you for their own dark purposes.

It might be easier to give up, or walk away, from these negative forces. But, the only way to demagnetize these demons of darkness is by taking away their energy. The spiritual equivalent to cleansing with sage and an exorcism – remove what gives them power.

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We’ve all had that boss, or co-worker, family member, or neighbor who starts off every encounter by bashing someone or something. Everything that flies from their mouth is venom, laced in humor and sarcasm. They get off on humiliating others and try to provoke a reaction.

Whores, Weasels and Barracuda

You’ve seen what happens when these leeches feed off of unsuspecting victims. Sometimes, it’s a blatant power play pushing the target out of the way so all the attention is focused on the whorish attention sucker. They can’t compete on a level playing field, so they do anything to forge ahead, at the victim’s expense. The other extreme is the Negativity Weasel, you know this one, the person who constantly digs away at the foundations of others, so the negative one won’t have to be subject to the light of accountability. The Whore pushes the competition off the stage, while the Weasel pushes the competition into oncoming traffic.

When these negative types don’t get the reaction they hope for, they get pissy and self-righteous. They have a moment of thrashing around like a fish in the bottom of a boat, demanding that you grab their slimy little bodes and toss them back. Some of these species, like barracuda, have sharp spines that will stab you when you try to respond. So, don’t fall for their act.

When you step back, don’t engage and watch the behavior for what it is, it becomes startlingly clear. All this pissy indignation and noise is little more than a tantrum. A three-year-old throws a tantrum because they lack the social skills to voice a full adult thought. You give into a three year old and he learns to keep performing that attention-gaining behavior.

Spells, Plagues and Detox

Negativity is a Dark Art. There will always be its practitioners and we need to be able to repel these dark minions to maintain our own sanity (however we choose to define that). When a negative person unleashes an attack, it is so tempting to respond in kind and fight back with insults of your own. Negativity is a Spell, once cast, it envelops its victim, growing stronger as the person struggles against the force.

When negativity is returned, justified as one side thinks it might be, it spreads like the Black Plague.  Think I’m being too dramatic? The pandemic of negative thoughts and actions have made people daft. Ferguson, Missouri, Congress, Gamergate, same sex marriage, school shootings…

I’m not suggesting we turn our backs to a pelting by poop balls of negativity. But, do you want to pick that up and toss it back? See it for what is is. Label it, claim it, and kick kitty litter in its face. Recognizing there no cure, no enema, no magic elixir that will fix these people, you need to cut them off from what they most desire – your time and attention. You’ll put them into an emotional detox without that drug addict high they crave from manipulating you. They will understand they can’t win with you, wither up and go away.

I admit that I’ve hurled my share of poop balls and I got as dirty as the pig who threw them in the first place. I’ve learned to toss them in an emotional detox and let ’em starve. I don’t have time for that nonsense anymore and neither do you.

For your listening pleasure, something to go with the theme – Sound of Madness

What strategies have you come up with to deal with the negative forces in your life?