Rude

I don't know whether rude people are really nasty or whether they simply lack all self-awareness.

I spent nearly my whole yoga class the other day trying to come up with a wise retort for a prospective ebay customer (and fellow dealer) who bothers me.

I have a set of 9 Cardinal World Series pins, in mint condition. Not wildly rare or valuable, made in China, but still bright and pretty. My brother's. I think that some diehard Cardinal fan should be willing to fork over $39.95 for them. My nemesis keeps sending me sharp little notes saying (in a nutshell) how stupid I am for overpricing the item but she'll take them off my hands for 20 bucks. My first responses were the "Thank you for your input" variety and I graduated to "insults don't work with me," to which she replied that she was sorry I was so thin-skinned but I still don't know anything about selling on ebay.

I looked her up. She does sell Cardinal memorabilia for low prices, but she's the sort of dealer who gouges people on her shipping charges. She would buy our pins for $20, sell them for $25 and charge $10 shipping. I'm onto those rackets.

I try to find my Buddha-self in responding (alternatively, what would Jesus do?). But my Gandhi-self wants to use nonviolent means to take her down, like the British Empire in India.

And even if I'm living a wildly insane fantasy about what a rich Japanese Cardinal fan is willing to pay for these, I'll be damned if I'm going to reduce the price now and give this gal a chance to smirk.

I live such a peaceful life but see what the world does to you? It reduces you to just the kind of person you promised yourself you wouldn't be.

I came home from yoga class and deleted her messages out of my in-box so I wouldn't have to look at them. The next time she writes I'll simply say: "You say tomato, I say tomah-to" and hope we can call the whole thing off. (Unless she has $39.95.)

10.26.07

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