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I learned to answer insults with two words, "Thank you". It is so totally unexpected, and the timing can be comedic, people will burst out laughing! What a relief. I was working for a woman who was absolutely cruel with harassing remarks, all day long. The store was making so much money, that all employee complaints were overlooked by the owners,...this changed, she got sacked, but in the meantime, there I was, day after day, getting bashed.

If she did it in front of customers, she just looked stupid. The karmic floodlight was on her not me. The beauty of the two words, is simply, no-one can argue back. It eliminates any and all competition, and illuminates the point that we are all here to learn. Do we not learn more quickly from conflict than harmony? I do. It's a great brake (break) to arguments.
The tables were turned, I was a single mom, trying to buy something in a computer store, and all the products were geared for little boys and all the clerks were men and boys. This was in the eighties and the selling climate has changed. I was vexed by the nothingness of product for my little girl. I began to "mouth off", i.e. vent. Soon I was speaking to the manager. He was a very young, very handsome,in fact, a very calm and civilized human being. He listened to me, I with my child in hand, completely stressed out, highly neurotic, and then in all seriousness, he said, "Thank you". Talk about a stun gun! I burst out laughing, seeing myself as a shrew, and recognizing that this person had nothing to do with my complaints. I have often thought about this person as a symbol of good behavior in a otherwise rude world. It does have a ripple effect, and I like it. I use it. I enjoy it. Thank you!

Learn more about this author, Peggy Molloy.
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