Hi, mbumby, this is Fran from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I'm calling you, mbumby, because we've just got a warrant for your arrest. You're going to jail for Jerry's kids -- isn't that great?
Um. No. In the course of the next week or two, I'll probably think of some retorts I could have used, but barring anything intelligent to say I just hung up on her. Now I fume.
Oh man! I *hate* those annoying people and their arrest warrants. It does not help that the first time I experienced one of them was when I was working for an engineering firm populated primarily by Indians and one of my coworkers was suckered into providing "bail" for another coworker and then had trouble understanding why she wouldn't be getting her "bail money" back.
I've never before been exposed to this outside of fannish "jails", and I don't know if she was cold-calling folks she thought were students, or if someone actually thought I'd find this acceptable. Or for that matter if someone was being "funny" or mean. 30 years ago I'd have tried to put some part of my body through some building structure.
Prolly a good thing we weren't FTF. I know back at the Xoo someone pissed me off, and I don't remember moving, but the next thing I knew I had him by the throat.
If I stop to think, though, I realize that I can't harm them, and that's when I go nuclear with the frustration of inaction.
The Klingons run a jail and bail for charity at Marcon.
Marcon frequently is the same weekend as many of our local high school proms. So, one poor guy in a tux, carrying flowers got jailed for fifteen minutes, making his girlfriend wait for him. She didn't believe him when he explained why he was late, so he brought her back through the conspace to show that he wasn't lying.
The date gave her boyfriend all kinds of verbal abuse, using horrible language. Suddenly, a huge number of fans started waving large chunks of cash at the Klingons, pointing to the raving girlfriend. The Klingons "arrested" her, and she stayed in the Klingon jail and bail for a good 45 minutes, as more and more people added more and more money to keep her there.
Someone with a Polaroid camera took pictures of the couple (the girl inside the cage, the guy without)and gave it to the guy, as a memento of the occasion.
When she apologized for calling her boyfriend a liar, they let her out.
Oh, this did get me thinging about the MarCon Glikon jail. When I seen that going on, if I was approached, I would tell them 'No, I don't want to play along'. Although I might not be as ellegant as I should be. How, When, Where I donate to charities publicly or privatly is my decision not someone else's.
I'm quite grateful that I've never gotten too close to the Klingon jails. (I will confess that I thought of them, too, when I got the call.) I don't know how I'd behave/what I'd do if they picked me up. I don't do anything to get anyone else picked up either. I think those less introverted than I could see the "fun" of that situation, but I just find that ... illogical. (Similarly, when folks trash others' cubes as a birthday surprise, I do NOT play along. And luckily nobody has done that to me yet.)
They COLD-CALLED you with that? And expected you to be ENTHUSIASTIC about it? Jeezus ghod. I knew the "Jerry's Kids" people were over the line, but I didn't realize how far over.
All I can say is, they'd better not call ME like that, or somebody's going to be in jail for real.
Thankfully I've never been hooked into one of those idiotic things. My response would be "if you come and bother me, and especially if you attempt to restrain me, I'll call 911 and have you arrested by REAL cops."
If I stop to think, though, I realize that I can't harm them, and that's when I go nuclear with the frustration of inaction.
Marcon frequently is the same weekend as many of our local high school proms. So, one poor guy in a tux, carrying flowers got jailed for fifteen minutes, making his girlfriend wait for him. She didn't believe him when he explained why he was late, so he brought her back through the conspace to show that he wasn't lying.
The date gave her boyfriend all kinds of verbal abuse, using horrible language. Suddenly, a huge number of fans started waving large chunks of cash at the Klingons, pointing to the raving girlfriend. The Klingons "arrested" her, and she stayed in the Klingon jail and bail for a good 45 minutes, as more and more people added more and more money to keep her there.
Someone with a Polaroid camera took pictures of the couple (the girl inside the cage, the guy without)and gave it to the guy, as a memento of the occasion.
When she apologized for calling her boyfriend a liar, they let her out.
I'm sorry he got picked up, but part of me is laughing at the "fairness" of the manner/cause of her release.
How, When, Where I donate to charities publicly or privatly is my decision not someone else's.
And the Oh-So-Perky caller... (pardon me while I fume.)
They COLD-CALLED you with that? And expected you to be ENTHUSIASTIC about it? Jeezus ghod. I knew the "Jerry's Kids" people were over the line, but I didn't realize how far over.
All I can say is, they'd better not call ME like that, or somebody's going to be in jail for real.